Dude looks like a lady + Question about inheritable behaviors

So I finally successfully popped my young BP! The first time, I wasn't completely sure, so after a few days I tried again and now I am 99.99% sure "he" is actually a "she"!

Many thanks to Heather's Herps' blog for all the good pics there that helped me understand what I was seeing. :D

So now that I know Anon is a girl, I was wondering...other than looks, does anyone know if certain behaviors can be passed on? Specifically, she's a very aggressive feeder who has (so far!) never turned down a meal. I know some of that's probably being young and growing, but I feel really lucky she loves to eat and was wondering if it might be genetic...as opposed to just my amazing husbandry :rolleyes: If I eventually breed her it would sure be nice if that trait could be passed on...

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, I wasn't sure where it should go!

Feeding response is quite variable in the BP's and I don't see it as an inheritable trait.

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Originally Posted by Slim

Feeding response is quite variable in the BP's and I don't see it as an inheritable trait.

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Ah man. :( I guess it would be too good to be true... It'd be nice though!

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Originally Posted by sbit

Ah man. :( I guess it would be too good to be true... It'd be nice though!

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It's possible. There really hasn't been much research at all done into things like that. People are just focused on color/pattern for the most part.

I dont really think thats something that can be inheritable personally...

Maybe. Whether deliberately or not most of us are indeed selecting for good captive feeders and also for the pythons that breed best in captivity-traits that are obviously linked to some extent.

It would make sense for a trait like that to be inheritable. The evolution of a species requires that aspects related to survival are inherited/taught to offspring. Rats have personality traits that can be inherited, so I don't see why not.

I tentatively suggest that yes, to a certain extent, personality and feeding response are inheritable. It's just not inherited as simply as color or pattern mutations are, and as their generational gaps are so wide, people can't see as quick of a result from breeding as in mammal breeding projects, such as rats.

For example, I have spiders and normals fathered by the same spider father, who was frankly, kind of a butt. Always active when handled, never settled down, not necessarily mean just not the typical laid back kind of ball python. His offspring are the same way, but offspring from the same mothers, with different fathers, are not.
I have a female that is exceptionally large; her offspring consistently get larger, faster, than offspring from other females. Never anything that I would say is over the top, but the holdbacks I've kept have growth rates similar to unrelated spiders (notorious for faster growth). When selecting my holdbacks, if the prettiest baby took longer to start feeding, I will sometimes skip that baby and hold back one that fed right from the start instead. We'll see if that has any impact later on, but I prefer keeping easy feeders personally! :)

I think the focus has always primarily been on colors, and less so on other behavioral traits, and since they take longer (multiple generations - which in ball pythons, can be 9 years + for 2 or 3 generations) it is less sought after.

-Jen