Are rat snakes (I'm thinking specifically of leucistics) naturally "bug eyed", or is this a genetic defect that I should be careful to avoid if I'm buying a breeder?
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Bug-eyed rats
buffysmom
Jan 28, 2005 10:17 PM
Replies (2)
sbogill
Feb 14, 2005 08:51 AM
Rat snakes as are rule are not bug-eyed. If you see on that does have bug-eyes, or pop-eyes, as it is sometimes called, it is definitely indicatave of a genetic defect. The only exception I can think of to this rule would be trans pecos rat snakes. They tend to be somewhat bug-eyed naturally. Even at that, I wouldn't expect one to be overly bug-eyed.
Elaphefan
Feb 27, 2005 11:18 AM
You make some good points in your post, but I take exception to the idea that the bug eye trait is a genetic defect. To argue that it is a defect would imply that a snake with this trait is harmed or less fit to survive. I am not sure that you can demonstrate that point.
Please note that I think that the trait in a Texas Rat Snake is unattractive. It is nothing that I would want to see in offspring, but that is an aesthetic judgment and not one that is based on genetic fitness. If the point were strictly genetic fitness, then we would not be breeding these white snakes. In the wild, because of their coloring, they don't survive. Their coloring makes them unfit.
