First I must say I find this debate a little amusing, but I like to discuss things, so here's my take.



Since the animals in captivity have not been bred to the upteenth degree yet, they are still relatively close in genetic makeup to wild collected ones.



But here, we are talking about hatchlings. They are all equal at that point. Although the parents were obviously fit enough (and lucky enough) to survive to sexual maturity, they are still capable of passing along "unfit" genes to offspring.



think about it...all the stubborn feeders...CB or CH....would die in the wild. So that's just one way we perpetuate "weak" genes. I'm sure there are a myriad of others we don't yet realize.



I would only venture so far as to say that wild caught juvies or adults would be superior in health and vigor...nobody helped them along and they made it anyways. If they can survive the stress of adjusting to captivity, there you would have your "superior genetic" beast. LOL



Anytime we take an animal into captivity we alter "survival".

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