Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So for all of you larger scale breeders out there, I was wondering if you could guestimate a percentage of hatchlings you get each year with birth deformities.

I have bred kings for many years but never in very large numbers (5-10 clutches per year). For the first 15ish years I could count on one hand the number of kinked babies I got. The past two years I have only bred two pairs of kings each year and have gotten one deformed baby in each clutch from the same female. So 2 deformed babies out of 32 eggs total over 2 years from the same pair. I have bred them a few times before with fully normal clutches.

Just wondering if this is normal luck catching up with me or if I need to assess why this is happening.

Cheers

Not to say anything or anyboby, but what ive seen and learned from most hobbiest/Breeders they seem to blame it on TEMPS of incubation.though . the Drs. (which are Educated Guesses)hypothisizers have told me that morphs are nothing but genetic deformities which often accompany other weaknesses(deformaties) .thogh being lower life form,(or really SLOW Nomads) reptiles are put through inbreeding in nature for millenium plus. and the weaker loose unable to continue breeding

Thanks for the input.

These are just plain jane cal kings that are completely unrelated. And I have always used the same incubation temps.

As a long-time herper and an environmental science educator, I wouldn't dismiss the notion that the increased rate of deformities in snake hatchlings could be in part due to compounds in the water and/or in the mice. Every year more and more synthetic, bioactive compounds (e.g., estrogen mimics) are introduced into the environment in products such as medicines, paints, plastics, glues, coatings, additives, etc. These compounds eventually make their way into local water supplies. Think of the deformed frogs, alligators, and turtles that are regularly found in the Everglades! Since these nasty compounds can have effects at extremely low doses, they could be a contributing factor to some kinking and other deformities in captive (and wild) herps, fish, and other creatures, with humans being no exception. Not much we can do about it individually, except to press our elected officials to increase the levels and frequency of monitoring commercial and industrial effluents into our common water supplies. Everyone and everything deserves safe, uncontaminated water!

Just something to think about . . .

Plastics are what I am most concerned about. I use so many different ones. Plastic tubs, plastic pots for hides, plastic water bowls, plastic bags to store frozen mice... it does make me a little concerned.

But on the other hand I have been using plastics for years so why the increase now...

That is an interesting reply, I wasn't aware of deformities in the Everglades..... that's awful. The snake pictured is incredible, man that is a looker.
Tom Stevens
-----
TomsSnakes.com

yep, I'm thinking we let our water quality slip and we are now seeing the effects of years of contamination, it's more than a little scary. Every year I hear how the water supply has to be shut down for contaminates, but how many of us know what we are really drinking and watering our stock with?
-----
Todd Hughes