Reptile & Amphibian Forums

It seems that there has been a change in perception about the albinos with bad eyes. The thinking used to be that these would be pets at best. Now apparently they can be treated and become "normal" although we have no way of knowing how well these treated eyes function. In the past selling and especially breeding animals born with bad eyes was regarded very poorly. I was wondering now if people treat the babies and raise them to adults and sell them and don't disclose that they ever had bad eyes. Clearly some lines are more prone to producing bad eyes and that is important information to potential breeders.

Kirby

I think that bad eyes in Albinos is a problem that ALL Albinos are more likely to have, and that no single Albino is genetically more likely to make bad eyed Albinos than any other Albino is. I have seen hets with the bad eye too. I have seen this is Kahl and Sharp bloodline animals. When a single eye is bad, it is always the animals right eye. The Boas right, not our right.

I have personally never sold an Albino with a bad eye. I have had a few born with both eyes that were bad. I produced a female in around 1996 or so with two bad eyes. They were worth a small fortune at that time still. I kept her. I raised her pretty slowly and eventually gave her to a friend of mine when she was around 6 years old and 5' long. She was totally blind. When I fed her I would just touch her nose with a rat and she would strike, wrap and eat it. I also gave the same friend a one eyed male. He took them both home, bred them and she produced a litter of 23 Albinos with 46 perfect eyes. Only one eye between the two parents and they made a perfect litter.

I have no clue what causes the bad eyes. I suspect it's environmental, but only have my own experience to make this wild guess. I used to never use a night time drop. I started doing a night time drop about 11 or 12 years ago. Since then, the incidence of the bad eyes has gone way down in the Albinos I have produced. So it could be environmental but who knows?

All that being said, a bad eye is a possible indicator of other possible problems. Or maybe whatever causes the bad eye, causes other issues as well. Many babies with the bad eyes would die anyhow, even if I tried to save them. Some would make it. Perhaps the bad eye is an infection that causes additional problems other than just with the eye. I would not post pictures of babies produced with bad eyes, and like I said, I just think that selling them is not a good idea. It's not immoral on any level, I just don't think that imperfect animals, generally speaking, should be sold.

That's my 2 cents worth and worth at least half that. LOL
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Jeff Ronne Sr
The Boaphile
Director USARK

Originator of Boaphile Plastics
The Boaphile Boa Site

I fully agree with all of Jeff's opinions on the Albino matter.
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Snake room janitor