Hey, Robyn, thanks for the post.
I think it's very cool that Chad is so interested in the business (PE.) I also think it's natural to experiment to some degree. It's also disturbing for the "purists," those that love the species as they are, to think that the subspecies may be muddled together in the future. You guys are the largest suppliers of porphs, I believe. There's also the public (consumers), who likely will pick up on any good deal, given the chance. I just hope there is always the "pure" subspecies, or locality animals, if you will, available.
From a business point of view, one has to ask, "How will the market react to subspecies crosses?" "What will be the economic gain, if any?" I would think it's possible that a flood on the market of "crosses" might lower the demand or prices on pure subspecies of porphs.
From a hobbyist pursuit, out of curiosity, etc, I would think that the offspring are very pretty. From an intellectual, or scientific angle, I think the crosses are interesting. I'm always curious about how much a species can vary.
Now, a very popular and common species in the hobby is the corn snake, Pantherophis (Elaphe) guttatus. I happen to work with P. emoryi. I'll admit I've done some crosses to try to improve on the species (Emory's ratsnake.) There are tons of corns, or Emory's rats, out there that can't be traced back to their origins. So, we don't know how pure they are. In this case there is a market for locality animals, as well as the other kinds. I personally keep mine separate and have not marketed any crosses, yet.
With porphyracea, this species is not widespread in the hobby. It is still popular mainly with the connoisseurs. I can see working with crosses, experimenting, etc, but I can also see where one would want to wait before putting them on the market, if ever. I can imagine you would want to see the reaction from folks, which will be mixed, I'm sure. I think there will be lots of questions about what the snakes look like both as babies and as adults after their change and what might be going on genetically, whether or not a "generic" form of the species is pratical, etc, etc.
Robyn, I love what you've done with the business. Your breeding programs are awesome. I hope you do well dealing with these decisions about your programs and I hope you continue to post on what's happening. Personally, I think the data and photos from your breeding projects should be shared. I believe input from other hobbyists could be a good thing, although hard to take sometimes. I'd love to continue to hear about and see the results of your breedings.
Best Regards....
Terry Cox/Ratsnake Haven
>>This is a pic of a recent Lata x Coxi cross hatchling.
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>>I see that most folks are not thrilled with crosses. I'm not thrilled either, actually. Not super stoked on it, but I find it interesting : )
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>>You wanna know why Chad wants to cross Porphs? I can tell you, but it will have to be a secret, you can't tell Chad that you know...
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>>The reason is that he is a reptile nut. PE is into our 16th year, and for 15 of those years, he has had to balance pro football with Pro Exotics. During the season we would to talk twice a day (or more), every day, and he has always led the charge with pairings, and he would come to the shop every day in the offseason, for at least an hour or two.
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>>But this year is different. He has approached this year as if he isn't going back to play (he may be NFL retired), and he has been putting in 40 hours a week at PE. Everyday, every weekend, including Sundays. He does all the physical Ball python pairings, unpairings, and we work together on breeding strategies. But he lets Jimmy and Ollie (Jollie) do the cleaning.
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>>For the Porph and Mandarin group, which is perhaps the largest in the country, he does ALL the work. Cleaning, feeding, pairings, incubating, cleaning poop, every bit of it. And he DIGS it, in the most reptile geeked way.
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>>I don't know of a smarter reptile guy, and I think he is super thrilled to get so much direct time with the animals. Onward and upward for PE and our breeding groups, it is an exciting time.
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>>We will produce plenty of straight and pure Porphs this year, but be like me, and give him some grace to bring out his inner 10 year old being thrilled with making snake babies. He is doing some great work, and these dinking projects, which are both interesting and weird, won't stop the world from going round : )
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>>robyn@proexotics.com
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>>Pro Exotics Reptiles
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