What determines a snakes quality?

[aff19802]

Everyone says breed for quality not quantity ... But whats determines a snakes quality is it the breeder, pricing, colors, care or a combo of all... And if you are breeding for quantity, who's to say that they aren't quality reptiles?

I would like to hear some of your views.

P.S. I am not a breeder because i want to raise up my collection my self before i breed. but i just read 8 pages of thread on market pricing and i read over and over quality not quantity.

[mooingtricycle]

Genetics, and the breeders attention to how the animals are bred ( outcrossing, instead of breeding siblings as best you possibly can), and what reasons, as well as for color and preserving a line/morph/species.

its paying attention to everything about the animal, and what you are going for with the species.

there are many examples!!

[matt71915]

quality is basicly decided on the visuals of the animal and what morph it is. So i would say its a little of color and a little of breeder choice.

Ex: a pastel, a high quality pastel is a bright appealing color. Some people may like a lot of blushing over little to none, so someone would value a pastel with lots of blushing more. In that case its buyer preference.

on the other hand to some people the line of pastel matters because that particular line of pastels seems to have and hold the nice bright yellow color longer. All lines do have their good and bad examples from the line.

In my opinion it's mostly the buyers preference on what catches their eye

[aff19802]

Genetics, and the breeders attention to how the animals are bred ( outcrossing, instead of breeding siblings as best you possibly can), and what reasons, as well as for color and preserving a line/morph/species.

there are many examples!!

Is in breeding not how cbb morphs started??? correct me if i am wrong but do breeders not breed siblings or even back to the parents? especially if there a small breeder?

Now even so if i breed by detail in other words but try to max out my quantity are me balls not of quality?

[mooingtricycle]

Is in breeding not how cbb morphs started??? correct me if i am wrong but do breeders not breed siblings or even back to the parents? especially if there a small breeder?

Now even so if i breed by detail in other words but try to max out my quantity are me balls not of quality?

This is all just my own personal stance on this... so take it for what it is, and form your own opinion and beliefs on this stuff. I hope it helps you to understand my reasoning/stance though!

I determine an animals quality depending on its genetics, as best i can. Then health and body, then color and all the other extra stuff.

Sure, Inbreeding was used for many morphs to get them started, but many responsible breeders also outcrossed those animals to unrelated ones as well, strengthening bloodlines, so that everyone else could also enjoy them without the fear of hidden issues popping up later * or at least less worry of it* .

You want the best when purchasing your stock. Why buy an albino that was produced nowadays by its parents being bred together who are siblings to one another, when you can buy less related animals nowadays( i say less because im sure many albinos in captivity are still related somewhere down the line), and have less of a chance for problems to occur? Sure you might not have a problem, but theres also the chance that there might be something there that you dont see. Not all deformities are visible. ( we all take that risk in working with morphs)

I feel that, in these days, responsible breeding is quite attainable and easy for even a beginner breeder. I understand the need for proving out a morph, but with that, comes the responsibility to the animals to make sure that line will be stable. ( look at the kinking in the caramel albinos, for example... I personally wont work with them because of that problem, i dont want that trait showing up in my critters!)
im a small breeder, and i am definitely going to be as best i can be aware of what the genetics of my animals are, and do my best to keep bloodlines strong.

Im not against Inbreeding, im just against irresponsible inbreeding There is a right way to do it, and a wrong way. I want to support the responsible people in this hobby, and so should everyone else.

[Beardedragon]

A snakes quality is simply how good it looks compared to morphs of its own kind. Were pretty much just judging what looks better in a morph. Even non snake people will be more attracted to a good morph more than a unatractive example of the same kind.

Tell me...which one do you like better?

This pastel...



Or this one? ( By color and not age, even though the younger one did brown out a tiny bit but was far more colorful than the adult.) He did not want to stay still for the picture...








Or this spider...



With this one?






Some may like the worser of the two but most will like the reduced/ more yellow ones. They are what people breed to get because more people like them.

[mooingtricycle]

I really think it should be said that Its not all about color and looks. At least...Not over here its not! ( Sure i want Gorgeous animals! but i want quality bred stuff too!)

heres one example. do either of those spiders wobble?

[aff19802]

Good point now what determines it besides the outer appearance. I am just trying to understand what exactly people mean by breeding for quality and telling if someone does if you have a collection where you can choose to put the best 2 animals together the lets say you get 4 good looking animals out of the clutch. Of coarse as a seller when you go to a show you going to give them the best appearance.

so i have 2 great looking animals should i look at other snakes in ther collection to see who's animals have a better overall quality? Just pick the better looking one? what else determines the quality