Should I breed her

[T&C Exotics]

I just got a female Bee that is beautiful. Only problem is a pretty bad wobble. I want to know if you would breed her. She won't be ready for at least another year so I have time to decide I just wanted to know if anyone out there would and why or would not and why.

[sheffernan13]

This is just my opinion, but I would not do it. That is only because I feel bad when I see them wobbling and from talking to some big time people they told me that as you breed it to other genes can actually get worse.

[mr. s]

I can't even pull myself to buy a morph that is known to have a wobble because I think it just isn't right. I know lots of people have them, and they can have full lives and some don't even really have a wobble, but I just don't think I could look at my snake every day thinking about that wobble.

[A.VinczeBPs]

Depends how bad. I have a bee and she has a mild wobble, and I plan to breed her in 2 years....However, I only breed to normals with her, to help strengthen the line.

If it's a very bad wobble, I wouldn't, as that line is already weak by that point. If you decide to do it, I would avoid breeding to another spider morph.

[kc261]

Since you say you just got her, her wobble may seem especially bad due to her being stressed in her new home. I'd wait until she is closer to breeding size until you make a final decision.

Even if she continues to be a bad wobbler, I might give her at least one trial breeding, to see what her offspring are like. I've heard that some bad wobblers can produce spiders with low wobbles, and vice versa.

If all of her spider offspring are bad wobblers, then I'd probably discontinue breeding her.

[Russ Lawson]

This is just my opinion, but I would not do it. That is only because I feel bad when I see them wobbling and from talking to some big time people they told me that as you breed it to other genes can actually get worse.

There is no evidence to support that it will get worse as you breed them. That's just hearsay and assumptions made by individuals with a limited understanding of genetics and cellular biology. The wobble is a result of the spider mutation. Some just express it more than others. It's perfectly normal to get spiders with hardly any wobble from extreme wobblers as it is to get extreme wobblers from spiders with hardly any wobble.

Depends how bad. I have a bee and she has a mild wobble, and I plan to breed her in 2 years....However, I only breed to normals with her, to help strengthen the line.

If it's a very bad wobble, I wouldn't, as that line is already weak by that point. If you decide to do it, I would avoid breeding to another spider morph.

A spider with a bad wobble isn't the result of a "weak" line. Again, the wobble is a direct result of the pattern mutation that results in the "spider-webbed" phenotype. Because of this, it doesn't really matter what you breed a spider to, you still have the possibility of getting spiders with almost no wobble to spiders who spin like a helicopter. From what I have seen, though, the more common are spiders with a little to moderate wobble, though my personal results are a bit limited. Out-breeding your animals will never reduce that wobble - it will always be there if you're breeding spiders.

On an unrelated note, if you are alternatively worried about genetic disorders caused by the increase in homozygosity resultant of inbreeding specific mutations, you may consider avoiding breeding her to another spider. Because the mutation is dominant, however, few people breed spider to spider anyway. Additionally, relative to animals like dogs, the amount of inbreeding in ball pythons and its negative effects are essentially negligible.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that you don't have to worry about your female producing offspring with a worse wobble than mom if you were to breed her to something other than a normal male. Your chances of getting spiders with all the varying degrees of a wobble are equal no matter what you breed her to.

As far as my suggestion to OP, I find it highly unlikely there would be any ill-effects of breeding this particular female bumblebee. Best of luck with her.

[WingedWolfPsion]

What Russ said, except that I think the mutation may be co-dominant, homozygous lethal. (super-spiders die in the egg).

Pinstripe is a true dominant, as I understand super-pins which look like normal pins have been produced.

If you like animals that carry the spider gene, then go ahead. Wobble is part of it. It is virtually never a serious problem.

[Russ Lawson]

What Russ said, except that I think the mutation may be co-dominant, homozygous lethal. (super-spiders die in the egg).

Has there been any evidence to support this idea whatsoever? Last I heard that was just speculation. I've never heard of an instance of someone counting up eggs that go bad during incubation in multiple (or even just a single) spider to spider pairings.

[mpkeelee]

like people have said, u may want to wait until shes closer to breeding weight cuz it may not be as bad. also, as people have said, i would try breeding her anyway cuz the offspring may be different from the parents, good or bad. some dont have it as a hatchling and get it as they are older and vice versa. and its not wrong to own an animal with a wobble, its in their genes and they dont know any different so they wont mind if they wobble, y should we.

[greghall]

Breed her its a trait of the morph some do it more or less.offspring may be fine .