>>I've got a question about selective breeding for temper and/or feeding response; has anyone done this, and how well did it work? How many generations did it take to notice a difference? When I breed I'd like try this, particularly with my bigger snakes. I mean color combos are nice and all, but a house snake that'll jump right on F/t is also nice, or a retic that won't go spastic every time you go into his cage...and if all my kings could be as mellow as my florida's that'd rock too.

So...are you asking about the feeding response of the snakes out of the egg? Or an enthusiastic feeding response throughout the lifetime of a snake?

John Cherry has claimed to have bred thayeri for feeding response.....I don't know how many generations it took, but he claims all of his eat readily as hatchlings......
I bred one line of thayeri for 3 generations and still had some stubborn feeders....But never as stubborn as a clutch of Corns I hatched once........Or the those wild collected splendida eggs that hatched...And they say Mexicana and Alterna are hard to get on f/t pinks......lol

What I am getting at is this........I don't think it can be done...Along with all the genetic variables snakes are individualistic too......I think you will always have a couple stubborn feeders out of the egg...and...I have yet to see a snake in my collection that turned down f/t after they have eaten a few prior........
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...
www.coastalbendcaptivebreeding.com

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