Wild caught? Pros and cons wanted.

[Daniel_Effler]

So I have one uscb ATB female and was considering getting a male to breed with later. I'm still weighing that thought of breeding but the question for now is. Should I consider a wild caught or just stay captive bred?

Here is my thoughts so far. (let me know if I am wrong or you can think of any more points.)

Pros:
Cheaper (50-75%)
Seemingly more availability
New genes and better diversity for future growth.

Cons:
Possible of parasites and disease.
Longer QT time.
Less tame
If with parasites or diseased could mean total loss or higher vet bills.

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[bcr229]

Another con is there are very, very few reputable sellers of WC imports. There's only one I would ever personally deal with, the rest are either convicted felons/smugglers or are well known for sending out sick and mite-ridden critters of all species.

[Daniel_Effler]

Another con is there are very, very few reputable sellers of WC imports. There's only one I would ever personally deal with, the rest are either convicted felons/smugglers or are well known for sending out sick and mite-ridden critters of all species.

Most likely not the one I'm looking at. Yes I definitely do not want to support illegal activity.

Good point

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[Erie_herps]

My recommendation is to just get a captive bred one. It's a better choice in the long run. Since ATBs are more sensitive animals a wild caught animal might not survive. It will likely have parasites, and may not survive the treatments. You might not end up with a male, and I wouldn't trust the sellers on this. Most sellers aren't trustworthy and, as mentioned above, have been convicted and are notorious for not refunding money, poorly packagine animals, sending them out in terrible health, and sometimes sending them out dead.

[Armiyana]

Another one here to say just go CB.
not just the whole needing to go through the process of deworming and all that, shipping sickness in a chondro is preety rough from what I understand. It's not just that it will be less tame.... unless it's a hatchling, you'll need to undo however many years of living wild this animal had (who knows how old an adult will actually be) and train it to eat how you want it to eat. It may not even have a disease to blame, there just may be an entire failure to thrive because they won't adapt and starve or dehydrate themselves.

[Bogertophis]

My vote is for CB also- for all the same reasons already given. To me, the loss of wildlife due to poaching from the wild is tragic, especially since so many of those animals taken do not survive, or do not survive for long, from the combined effects of poor treatment causing stress that allows parasites & diseases to proliferate, exposure, shipping & general inability to adapt to captivity. Wildlife already has a hard time surviving climate issues, predators & loss of habitat- without humans taking the best specimens away for themselves. Please support captive-bred.

[Daniel_Effler]

Good points from everyone and I think I will stay CB. That was the way I was leaning but it's good to get confirmation that is the best thing to do. One might cost more at the sticker price but will save more in the long run.

Also I do not want to support unethical practices.

Thank you everyone.

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[Albert Clark]

Born free, live free. Simple. I will admit I didn’t always have this mindset however.