Hybrid talk

[dylanjwicklund]

So I was doing reading and seeing how atleast 80% of people maybe a little more say it's wrong and you shouldn't play god and what not but what are we doing when we cross a pastel to a spider to get a bumblebee we are playing god by forcing something that wouldn't occur in nature lol because we all know that theirs now way a spider and pastel would meet but I do get how people would see that it is but to me it's no different and want to hear your opinions and I know I probably could have used a better example just thought it would be easy that way

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[BCS]

There is a BIG difference between mixing a species and mixing a color... that is my opinion. A pastel ball python is still a ball python. A lesser ball python is still a ball python... a plesser is still a ball python. A ball python is NOT a blood python and is far different then mixing colors.

[Slim]

we all know that theirs now way a spider and pastel would meet

Do we know that? Both are naturally occurring morphs. And while the chances may not be good, it could happen.

Hybrids on the other hand are a different story...
Hybrids are an abomination.

I wouldn't presume to infringe on someone else's rights to breed abominations, but I personally don't want anything to do with BP hybrids.

[JodanOrNoDan]

In my opinion, if you attempting to make an animal that has a "use", in the case of snakes a "better" pet, hybridization can be a good or a bad thing. They have been making mules for a very long time. At one time the mule was a very useful animal. The problem begins when people loose track of the genetics and don't know what they are selling. That said, if the hybrid can breed, is it really a hybrid? In my opinion it is not but I am not a geneticist. I personally have no desire to try to hybridize ball pythons, they are fine the way they are, but something like a burm hybrid that made them smaller would interest me. I really like them but they are just too big for what I would keep as a pet.

[PitOnTheProwl]

Some of them do interest me. I currently have a Superball in my rack that a friend asked me to keep.
She is probably one of the easiest to handle and most outgoing snake I have ever had.
Neither of us know her history though.

The question is what happens in nature?
Nothing "we" are doing is totally natural and given the chance we don't know what breedings would/do happen.

I say, if it you want to try then go for it IF it interests you. Just be honest when/if you produce offspring and want to sell them.

[JoshSloane]

Some of them do interest me. I currently have a Superball in my rack that a friend asked me to keep.
She is probably one of the easiest to handle and most outgoing snake I have ever had.
Neither of us know her history though.

The question is what happens in nature?
Nothing "we" are doing is totally natural and given the chance we don't know what breedings would/do happen.

I say, if it you want to try then go for it IF it interests you. Just be honest when/if you produce offspring and want to sell them.

Totally agree. In the moment that we selectively pair snakes together in an artificial enclosure we are already departing from 'natural' and creating our own selective evolutionary pressures.

The key to creating hybrids is transparency so that people understand the genetics of what they are receiving.

[AbsoluteApril]

Hybrids on the other hand are a different story...
Hybrids are an abomination.

I'm not a huge fan of hybrids (not usually a fan of locality crosses in other snake species either) however some are naturally occurring.
Amazon Tree Boa x Emerald Tree Boa have been found and collected in the wild
Bullsnake x Foxsnake, I believe some rat snake subspecies have been found as well
I think most of these are all the same genus however and obviously naturally occur in the same area.

As long as the animals are honestly represented, to each their own IMO

[JoshSloane]

Man, if you think that a hybrid in the animal breeding world is an abomination, then you better never own a domesticated dog. Every single dog breed is the result of careful planning and pairing of hybridized traits over thousands of generations of selective breeding.

Yes, all dogs are the same species, but 99% of dog breeds wouldn't exist without human interference.

[AbsoluteApril]

what are we doing when we cross a pastel to a spider to get a bumblebee we are playing god by forcing something that wouldn't occur in nature lol because we all know that theirs now way a spider and pastel would meet

I know others already have but just to touch on this specific point some more, it's very possible that could happen in the wild, same with pieds or albinos or anything. However, the chance that the 'morph' would survive to adulthood is probably low as it would be brighter and easier for a predator to find.

[Darkbird]

I personally won't do hybrids, either buying or breeding, but I have no issue with what others choose to do. Just not my thing. And I don't place breeding for certain color traits in a species in the same subject as breeding two different species to produce something new.