> The problem is one of greed. If a breeder sells his captive born

> offspring for more money than a wild caught animal costs, he is

> encouraging others to collect more from the wild, not

> discouraging it.



I'm not sure that is always true.

Commercial breeders often breed for pattern and/or temperment traits, wild caught specimens are whatever they are.



I believe an example of this can be seen with mountain kingsnakes - getting the young to feed can be a pain in the soft flesh below the lower back. But some breeders have intentionally only bred the young that took pinkies relatively easily, resulting in young that are much easier as a general rule to feed f/t pinkies from the start - and thus, are theoretically more desireable to hobbyists and pet stores than wild caught younglings.



I'm hoping to find a wild caught L. Zonata. Went specifically looking for one a couple of days ago, but did not find any.



Know why I want to take one from the wild?

It is illegal to sell them in the state of California. I can not get one from a captive breeder, I _have_ to get one from the wild. And even more bizarre, since the bag limit is one - effectively I am not allowed to ever breed them, even if I have a breeders permit from Fish and Game for native herptiles.



How crazy is that? I'd buy a captive bred specimen in a heartbeat if it were legal, that way I could get one that is a known good rodent feeder.
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3.0 WC; 0.1 CB L. getula californiae

0.1 CB L. pyromelana pyromelana

0.1 WC Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata (gravid)

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