Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What is the result of inbreeding boas with the same bloodline...??? Don't get me wrong I'm not even thinking of doing it I just want to know why you can't do it .... Joe

all the same reasons its bad for humans.
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recycle your pets

There are alot of speculation on this subject, but as with many other aspects of husbandry and care, there is not alot of GOOD scientific evidence.I tend to believe that inbreeding reptiles over several generations can start to have a bad effect as far as resistance to disease, low clutch sizes and slugs and also size to name a few. However, the thing that I always consider is the Island boas that are probably all somewhat related with the exception of the occasional boa brought in on a garbage raft from the mainland and when I think of that it leaves me scratching my head.Some people have stated that: " The higher death rate and lower resistance in albino boas and other morphs are a result of alot of inbreeding. " If I had to make an opinion on it, I would believe a little different.I believe it is a result of breeding genes that are not strong over and over. Albinos in the wild would be the first to be picked off by a predator and to me is a less desirable gene. To reinerate what I am saying is this and I think this is more of a problem than even inbreeding; " When a clutch of babies and ( this applies to many other animals too ) is born in the wild, not all of the babies are meant to survive, ( only the strong. )" Therefore it should be the same in captive breeding. In captivity, we are able to take babies such as: " runts, premies and reluctant feeders and keep them alive were in the wild they would not survive." As crazy as it sounds and as hard as it would be to do, maybe we should euthanize them. Maybe, by keeping them alive and raising them up and breeding them, we are simply " making the genepool weaker" and this in itself could be our real enemy as far as keeping things strong and long lived. Boas should easily live to be 30yrs old or older. How many people have snakes that old? Not many if any. The oldest snakes in captivity that I am aware of are imports. This makes you wonder and its food for thought for everyone to consider. I personnaly would like to try and avoid inbreeding. More than anything though, is to not breed the weak to the weak.............Johnson Herp

I have read some of this info on this link below. Not sure if it accurate but it is worth reading

http://www.boa-constrictors.com/com/com.html