Hereditary blindness

[Spankenstyne]

Of course I worry too much. From the minute I laid eyes on my new babies, just a couple minutes after they were born I was attached to them. I wouldn't want any offspring to have issues, because I'd have a hard time dealing with it, and if I'm upset over that... I start getting depressed, and I wouldn't be taking that great of care of my snakes due to the lethargy.
I don't plan on inbreeding, though, if I could help it. The only way it'd happen is if I accidentaly left someone in the tank for too long while cleaning the other tanks.

I would say from this post to not breed her. While it's not likely a hereditary condition for the reasons already mentioned, if there's a chance of it effecting you that deeply then imo it's not worth the risk to your mental well being and the care of your animals. Just enjoy Runt for the special snake that she is & if you feel differently in a few years then you can always rethink things then.

[Thamnophis]

Chantel, blindness CAN be genetic, but the chances are not that big, I think.

You must look at the good qualities of Runt. There must be many cause you like this snake that much.
And those qualities can be reason enough to breed.

[kibakiba]

Well, Chris, I've dealt with my two beloved concinnus dying, and I had to put them down myself. I do have emotional problems, but at the same time, after putting Snap and Ember down... Nothing really seems as hard as that was. I am also on medication for stuff like that so it wouldn't be *as* bad as it used to be. At most I'd just slow down on feeding time. Who knows, in 3 years, when Runty is an adult, I may be in perfect mental health. In 3 years I (hope) I'd have a job, and if I do (that's a big if for now) I could have a few shoe boxes if the babies ended up partially blind/blind.

I don't know if you can tell, but the tone of my posts changes based on my mood while I was typing them. That is the loveliness of my... Condition? Haha. I can go from pessimistic, to realistic and optimistic within an hour!

[ConcinusMan]

Chantel, blindness CAN be genetic, but the chances are not that big, I think

I agree. Besides, if you breed them to be captives (pets) the eyesight issue isn't an issue at all. Even wild snakes can live for years completely or partially blind. Its no big deal for captives. They don't even need the advantage of good eyesight in the absence of predators, and they don't need it for hunting either. I didn't care one bit about Amy's nearly blind condition and he didn't seem to care either.

[Spankenstyne]

Hi Chantel,

I wasn't inferring any emotional problems or mental health issues. I don't know you well enough to make such a judgement & wasn't aware that there was an existing condition involved or that you were on medication. I apologise if it appeared more personal than I intended, I certainly wouldn't make light of such a thing.

I only meant "mental well being" in the sense of one's immediate mood really and that if it was to be an upsetting enough result that would really get to you, then you may wish to wait and rethink it down the road.

I try not to read too much into posts and tend to take them at face value. I'm quite an easygoing, happy guy in person so I tend to take posts in that sort of conversational mindset. Cheeky & sarcastic perhaps, but certainly not mean spirited. Nothing negatively personal was intended.

Cheers,
Chris

Well, Chris, I've dealt with my two beloved concinnus dying, and I had to put them down myself. I do have emotional problems, but at the same time, after putting Snap and Ember down... Nothing really seems as hard as that was. I am also on medication for stuff like that so it wouldn't be *as* bad as it used to be. At most I'd just slow down on feeding time. Who knows, in 3 years, when Runty is an adult, I may be in perfect mental health. In 3 years I (hope) I'd have a job, and if I do (that's a big if for now) I could have a few shoe boxes if the babies ended up partially blind/blind.

I don't know if you can tell, but the tone of my posts changes based on my mood while I was typing them. That is the loveliness of my... Condition? Haha. I can go from pessimistic, to realistic and optimistic within an hour!

[kibakiba]

I wasn't offended or anything, I make fun of my own problems as a way of dealing with it and I'm open when it comes to talking about it, so don't worry about it. Stuff like that doesn't bother me anymore and I've learned to deal with it. I didn't mean to sound rude, if I did. I tend to word things weird sometimes. I tend to be a happy, sarcastic sort of person. I'm sorry if you thought I meant something rude! Anything that has "haha" or a face usually means I'm in a great mood, and I'm making a lighthearted joke about my own problems

[Spankenstyne]

I didn't take your response as rude at all, just wanted to make sure you weren't thinking I was being an arse (at least intentionally lol). It's all good. I'm a longtime mod on one of the most trolled & nastiest sites around, I don't tend to take anything personally. I don't know if it's even possible to actually offend me lol. There are lots of good people here & folks newer to the hobby so I try to play nice.

[kibakiba]

No need to play nice with me, I don't get offended too much anymore. If someone is taking a (non-playful) jab at my 'issues' it might upset me a little bit, but I know people seem to like to poke fun at things they don't understand. I am awesome and indestructable! Lol.

[Selkielass]

Finding the single non viable offspring of Abby and Ziva afffected me deeply for at least a week, in large I think because. It was a complete surprise. The associated smell of unfertilized eggs hits me *hard* every time Abby passes more jellies.
Weird how the mind works, eh?
Id say breed her and plan on pet-homes for all offspring. Poor eyesight isn't much of a problem for pets as others have said.