Hello from South Africa!

[-MARWOLAETH-]

Same here.Normals seem rarer than albinos garters

[@ndy]

Wow. Albino checkereds are practically free here. Perhaps $30 USD at the most. I think it was last year, so many were produced that people had a hard time selling them even at $20.

Man if we were so lucky, Wish I was there, I would have bought a few, I have been trying for 2 years to get my hands on Albino's but we only have 2 keepers that have Albino's. This year I am lucky my Friend Graeme Lotter is breeding normals and Albino's this year and I have already placed my order.

[ConcinusMan]

Inbreeding is a huge problem around here if you're seeking albinos. Too many of them are related and most, if not all lines of them have symptoms of inbreeding depression.

[@ndy]

Inbreeding is a huge problem around here if you're seeking albinos. Too many of them are related and most, if not all lines of them have symptoms of inbreeding depression.

I know, the Breeder that I buy my snakes from is against inbreeding and he only breeds unrelated stock, even my 2 Females 1 normal and 1 100% Het albino that I have comes from 2 different male / female pairs, and his Albino Male is CB2010 male from a European breeder and the female comes from another local breeder she is CB2009 if i remember correctly, this is the first year that he will be breeding albinos since the male is only ready this year and it looks like the pairing was a success.

My het 100% Het Albino female is from a Different Male that was on a breeding loan.

[ConcinusMan]

I guess what I'm trying to say is, it doesn't really matter where you get them anymore. They're all related. So unless you're a breeder who is taking the time to outcross albinos/het albinos with freshly WC normals, for several generations, (which would mean years of producing normal looking snakes that nobody wants) you're not going to be able to "undo" what has been done with inbreeding for the albino gene.

[@ndy]

I guess what I'm trying to say is, it doesn't really matter where you get them anymore. They're all related. So unless you're a breeder who is taking the time to outcross albinos/het albinos with freshly WC normals, for several generations, (which would mean years of producing normal looking snakes that nobody wants) you're not going to be able to "undo" what has been done with inbreeding for the albino gene.

Aaaah ok now i understand what you mean, i didn't know they are all related. was there a WC albino found, anyone know?

[ConcinusMan]

Aaaah ok now i understand what you mean, i didn't know they are all related. was there a WC albino found, anyone know?

Well of course. And every dang albino or het albino out there is descended from one or a very few original ones. Think about it this way. Somebody imports a couple of albinos to your country. They have offspring which are then sold to various people. They then begin breeding them and selling them to other people. Then you guys get a couple from two different people and assume they aren't related, but they are.

The only way to prevent inbreeding depression in a situation like this, is if more people are outcrossing the albinos/het albinos with WC snakes but that would mean years of breeding without producing albinos. Just outcrossed hets. Nobody wants to do that. They want to produce albinos right away and the only way to to that is to inbreed. So the next person buys two siblings and does what? You guessed it. They breed them to each other. Then the next person gets those babies and does the same thing, and so on...