# Colubrids > Ratsnakes >  Just say no to bugeye....LR buyer beware!!

## 4theSNAKElady

I only got one out of this clutch of four hatchlings...I consider that very good odds compared to what I've seen. If you are in the market for a leucistic Texas ratsnake, do your homework and be a smart buyer. It has been my experience that 75% of the LRs for sale have bugeyes, of varying degrees. For those who are new to LRs, or newbies shopping at a show, they may never see one for sale WITHOUT, and accept this grotesque form as the norm for that type of snake, never having seen the "real" normal. Most vendors won't disclose the info on the bugeye trait voluntarily, and some even charge MORE for individuals without the bugeyes!!!! Yes, there are some folks out there who enjoy the bugeye trait, No beef whichoo guys.. :Wink: ....however, I'm just informing those that are new to LRs to BEWARE. Hope this helps.

you can plainly see the difference between the two. "Spirit", the one on the left is normal, and is in shed. Sadly,I beleive this lil bugeyed lady is blind. She doesn't really respond at all to movement. I am going to do some further tests, but I'm pretty sure she's blind. I'll have to check into blindness occurrences in LRs as well...... :Sad: .

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## joepythons

Wow i never relized their was a differance in the LR's.I thought it was two totaly differant snakes the ones with the bugeyes and the ones without.Thanks for posting this info

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## 4theSNAKElady

No prb Joe... :Smile:  anythin fer yooo....

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## frankykeno

Thanks so much for educating us.  I never would have known to avoid LR's with this trait.  Sorry about the little bug eyed one.  :Sad:

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## joepythons

> No prb Joe... anythin fer yooo....


 :Snake:   :Embarassed:  lol

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## MedusasOwl

Poor little gal...  :Sad: 

On a completely unrelated note, the bunny icon cracks me up!

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## Colin Vestrand

> I thought it was two totaly differant snakes the ones with the bugeyes and the ones without.


well there is another rat snake that always has bug-eyes... its the trans pecos rat snake.  they come in so many different color forms that they kind of have their own little cult following.  i personally think that breeders should use their bug eyed TR's for hatchling kingsnake food so as to try to breed it right out.  then again, there's no evidence to support that its really inhibitive to them at all.

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## 4theSNAKElady

Thanks for the info kzoo. Yeah, I hope to eventually breed it out too....in many years to come. I had to go through quite a few shows to find the male that i got, and the two females i had (originally) were obtained as a b-day gift from friends, who had a not so easy time finding them. I lost one of the females, so ended up with just a apir instead of a trio. But, with these new babies, I'll get to keep one and have a trio again, and by line breeding them, breed out  the bugeye and eventually have a pure line.

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## jason221

Does it really matter? I mean, is a bug-eyed one unhealthy or is it just a "cosmetic" thing?

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## 4theSNAKElady

Well, so far it's a cosmetic thing. But those bug eyes are definately IMO, not a desirable trait, as the eyes are more prone to getting injured, and just not normal. Iam not sure as far as the blindness thing goes, I'll have to do more recearch on that one.

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## Ginevive

That is scary; most regular people probably wouldn't even think there was something wrong..

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## lillyorchid

Yup you got that right Jen!

My girl has little buggy eyes. Not bad, I've seen A LOT worse, but her eyes are a bit bigger then normal.

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## Colin Vestrand

> Does it really matter? I mean, is a bug-eyed one unhealthy or is it just a "cosmetic" thing?


well....could be either.  but i think most 'professional' breeders look at them as defects just like you would with kinks or other deformities.

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