Believe me Brad...what has been discussed here is only the surface of this problem...not to mention other idividuals who unknowingly bred hybrids and sold them for several years...good honest people who were duped...along with a well known zoo who muddied the pool with it's own hybrids it distributed. Throw all of this in the mix and I'm not sure it can be fixed. But, again this is not a scientic forum, but a hobbiest. The only sure fire way of knowing that you have a true "ruthveni" is to go out and catch them youself...anything less then that all you can do is trust the person you are buying from. Most of what is on the market today could only be distinguished from a true "ruthveni" is by DNA testing. Unfortunatley so many things come into play in this subject, money, marketing, ego's, reputations just to name a few. Throw in the fact that probably one or two wild caught animlals are added every year or so to the mix by people who no one knows...so they surley must have hybrids...and the problem just keeps growing. So, don't get to discouraged over this matter...just enjoy the hobby and the animals you have. So far I haven't sold any of my "ruthveni", as I have been holding them back. If the market drops to fifty dollars for them, hey I'll be happy...because it really shouldn't be about the money, but the love of the animals. The only thing that cares if it is a hybrid or a pure ruthveni is humans...the snake really doesn't give a darn what you call it.

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