WC Gravids?

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Originally Posted by CeraDigital

How could you comment on the difficulty of feeding, courtship and breeding when you've only been keeping your animals, what? A year?

I posted this about the burn subject on another forum if anyone is interested to find out exactly what the burns are from. Yes, the burns are still fairly fresh, a long with a myriad of other problems they come in with.

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They get burned from bushmen, and tribesmen. They go out into their range, and instead of digging hole through hole, through all those weeds that are parasite infested or possibly hiding a larger predator such as an Afrock, or venomous snake....they simply grab a wheat/grass torch, toss it in, kick back and let it burn. When all is said and done, they go through the cleared area, collect the females in their holes, and sell them to the exporters for normally around $0.05-$0.70 or so. When the exporters get them, and have females ready to lay, they'll hold onto those females until they lay, then sell those females off to the importers here, along with the females with a little more leeway time on their hands with laying. The eggs that do hatch get passed off as c.h. animals, along with some that are actually bred and hatched in African facilities. Not many, but some.

.....a lot of African reptiles are collected, including African Rock Pythons, Nile Monitors, and Savannah Monitors. Less time spent digging and searching, more money made. You can't blame the tribesmen and bushmen....they're just trying to etch a small living and survive, and this is one of the few ways they can. Its the exporters and collectors who abuse it, and take advantage of them. 5 cents a snake to 70 cents a snake...c'mon now.

.....If those animals were close enough to get burned...some pretty bad... then they were close enough to the surface of the hole to breathe in all of that smoke. In that event, they probably have a myriad of neurological damage done, as well as internal damage to the lungs and such. It just doesn't seem quite right, from a business, conservation, or moral standpoint. Our hobby is somewhat about conservation, when this is the complete opposite. As a business, that could be taken in the same light as willingly and knowingly selling a "defective product" whether it be live animal, or a simple machine. From a moral standpoint....I think that speaks for itself... What can you say other that dirtbag?
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Take it as you wish.
Andrew

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Thank you.
Without the knowledge or experience to have a proper opinion on this matter, this information will probably deter me towards the side against wild caught gravids, without a doubt.
However, since everyone is arguing rather than talking about the subject, I wonder if anyone could share with me the PROS of wild caught gravids, considering I have only seen CONS?

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

Thank you.
Without the knowledge or experience to have a proper opinion on this matter, this information will probably deter me towards the side against wild caught gravids, without a doubt.
However, since everyone is arguing rather than talking about the subject, I wonder if anyone could share with me the PROS of wild caught gravids, considering I have only seen CONS?

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As of now, there aren't many do to the large amount of animals that founded the captive breeding population. They do bring in fresh blood, with the rate we are breeding morphs, and inbreeding them, that might possibly help with outcrossing. Other than that, not many. You can get the same from captive hatched animals. Its not nearly as detrimental, and it supplies fresh blood. It just takes longer for them to be raised for breeding.

PRO-
THERE GRAVID.
that means for the price of one snake, you could get like 5!!!

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Originally Posted by azpythons

PRO-
THERE GRAVID.
that means for the price of one snake, you could get like 5!!!

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CON
THEIR WC

So for the price of one snake, you get like 1000 mites 5 ticks two different parasites and a large vet bill from vetting the adult female after she lays and then all of the babys once they hatch!

( Im sorry, couldnt help myself here)

CON
ALL THOSE COULD VERY EASILY BE with any c.b snake as well
might be higher chances for w.c. but its what goes with it.

p.s. i only had two ticks, and they were dead!!

(so far)


p.s. Wheres all these 100 mites???

ahh no i must gotta broken w.c......do you think i could get another????

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Originally Posted by azpythons

CON
ALL THOSE COULD VERY EASILY BE with any c.b snake as well
might be higher chances for w.c. but its what goes with it.

p.s. i only had two ticks, and they were dead!!

(so far)


p.s. Wheres all these 100 mites???

ahh no i must gotta broken w.c......do you think i could get another????

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I wouldnt, im sure they have them as well. Ticks hide in the Vent btw so watch out when they lay.

ive never seen mites on wc gravids that didnt get them from some other animal. as for the ticks the most ive seen was 40 but i have seen some that had none at all.

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Originally Posted by nixer

ive never seen mites on wc gravids that didnt get them from some other animal. as for the ticks the most ive seen was 40 but i have seen some that had none at all.

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Im not sure, but mites might not be native to africa? Any info on that?

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

Im not sure, but mites might not be native to africa? Any info on that?

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ive never not heard that they were from africa but from asia.
the common reptile mite is Ophionyssus natricis

I heard they originated in India.