........and to think all this time, I was under the false impression that normal phenotype Ball pythons were quite rare!





But seriously though, there are plenty of breeding programs being done out there for rare wild-type species and subspecies of snakes, as well as many other animals for that matter, which is of course, a great idea in my opinion.



Ball python? = HORRIBLE example however..LOL!.



When a normal phenotype Ball python becomes a rare item, I don't think man will be on the planet anymore either.



Also, there are plenty of adult oddball mutations in the wild, the real reason there aren't more seen is the fact that they would have to be paired-up with more snakes of the same mutant gene, and the odds of this happening just isn't all that likely. I also think people assume a little too often that all these different morphs are always eaten by a predators due to them being more visible. Now, while this certainly DOES more than likely happen often enough (depending on what type of mutation it is), this probably doesn't happen quite as often as people assume it does.



Most of the snakes we commonly see in the hobby are quite common anyway, regardless of the fact that tons of morphs of that particular type are often propagated and available too.







In any case, I understand the point you are trying to convey here, but I also think there are TONS of normal types that will always assure the planet doesn't run out anytime real soon.



I will say however, that it is too bad more people do not think it is a good idea to only breed snakes of the same species/subspecies together. THAT is what is creating all the havoc with everyone always questioning what they have in their collections. Because if this wasn't continually done in the first place by so many, it wouldn't be an issue. That problem will only grow more and more every single breeding season.



BTW, just the other day, a guy found this one-of-a-kind awesome adult T-positive "lavender" splendida crossing a highway. Another prime example of a morph that made it to adulthood in the wild. Nocturnal types would logically of course be far less conspicuous to predation anyway. A leucistic Black Racer would be far more likely to be seen than many other types would, this splendida would be a great example of this.





~regards, ~Doug







-----
"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"



my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

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