I would say that it probably is, in part, inherited. However, to study this in captive animals is missing the point. There is no way to tell if these animals would be fine in their natural habitat. I think this process simply eliminates animals that are not suited for captivity. Acaptive environment is so fundamentally different than anything they would experience in the wild that it would be impossible to isolate any other variable. Reptiles are creatures of instinct and seemingly nothing else controls their actions. Although I have no evidence for this, I would assume that this problem was even more common in the earlier days of captive breeding. This should be especially evident in an animal that has been bred in captivity as long and as much as corn snakes. I have to disagree that this is actual suicide and not just an inability to cope with captivity.
-----
International Snakes Meetup
International Herpetology Meetup

[ Show Entire Thread ]