"I was just wondering what you guys think about morphs being more prone to illness due to lack of genetic diversity..."



I don't believe there's any truth to it, at least, not with today's Burmese python morphs. I think that kind of talk got started several years ago when it appeared to some people that many Burmese pythons were dying at an early age (somewhere between 2 - 5 yrs of age, if I'm not mistaken).



That all took place before I became active in the reptile community. Even though I was keeping them then, I wasn't active within the reptile community and was sorta - out of the loop. Some members here can shed more light on that, and I'm sure they will before long.



If I'm not mistaken, I believe that all took place about the time there was a big boom in Burmese morphs, which undoubtedly led to large numbers of inexperienced keepers coming onto the scene. Any Burmese python can become deathly ill when kept in sub-optimal temperatures & humidity.



I've also heard that today's Burmese pythons seem to be more susceptible to RI, but then again, I think we have to keep in mind that with so many forums today that we are just more likely to hear about such cases than we were, say....., 30 years ago. I had to treat my first Burmese python for an RI over 30 years ago due to poor husbandry. Nobody knew about it but me & my Vet because there weren't any Internet forums back then.



That's just my view on it, so don't take that as fact.



Later!

HH
-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,

this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:

Appalachian American





www.natures-signature.com

[ Hide Replies ]

• thoughts on morphs - drugscrub, Wed Jun 10 21:16:20 2009
• RE: thoughts on morphs - HappyHillbilly, Sat Jun 13 00:40:18 2009