Health Defects in Albinos?

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Originally Posted by zhang317

I was told by a Zoology graduate from the University of British Columbia that albinism was nature's way of eliminating bad genes.

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Note to self, don't attend University of British Columbia. Lol.

Was this someone who graduated with a bachelor's degree?

JonV

If the jungle was all white and yellow I wonder if Albinos would thrive while the other genes got picked off by preditors?

That is the main weakness of Albino ball pythons. As far as other morphs, I'm sure given the correct environment they would thrive better than their normal siblings.

For the sake of captive animals that will not be released into the wild a blind man in the dark would never be able to tell the difference between the albino and the normal.

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Originally Posted by neilgolli

Your right, I need to go shoot my dogs and put all my morphs in the freezer and join PETA today.......;)

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No no no Neil just send them all to me (including your doggies even the one that looks like mine) and than you can do whatever you want after that. (See I am a problem solver ;))

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Originally Posted by neilgolli

Your right, I need to go shoot my dogs and put all my morphs in the freezer and join PETA today.......;)

zhang, Your friend needs some hands on experience with animals and not a left slanted "schooling" on natural evolution and genetics. An albino ball is the exact same animal, with the same needs and care requirements of a normal ball python just with a different paint job. While most are weeded out by predation in the wild, don't be fooled into thinking that adult morphs don't exist in the African bush. Some mutations hinder while others assist in daily lives.

I'm off now, be back later.

ps, go out and buy that pied, its good for the economy:D

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i knew there was something i liked about you neil i just couldnt ever figure out what till now. :salute:

Thanks for all the replies everyone!

First of all, he isn't really my friend, not sure where you guys got this idea, lol. Actually, he runs the Rainforest Reptile Refuge Society in Surrey, ( a large suburb of Vancouver) where unwanted and abused pets are taken in. I think the society is very good, because there are no government sponsored systems that help reptiles. The SPCA in Canada lacks staff who specialize in reptiles, and most of the time a reptile is taken in, it is put down. My mom took me there when I was little, because she knows I'm really into reptiles. It is actually an amazing place with tons of species and hundreds of animals.

I have learned a lot form the comments. I guess that it is true albinos, and other morphs, spider, carmel, etc. have certain defects and do not measure up to the normal, which may cause them to have a shorter lifespan in the wild. But here in captivity, since we provide them with everything they need, it is more of less that same as keeping a normal. Thanks again!

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Originally Posted by zhang317

I have learned a lot form the comments. I guess that it is true albinos, and other morphs, spider, carmel, etc. have certain defects and do not measure up to the normal, which may cause them to have a shorter lifespan in the wild.

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Ha, considering what it means to "measure up to normal" in human terms, I'd be proud to have some genetic defects (anyone seen Idiocracy?).

Keep in mind, defect is a relative term. Maybe normals were a "defect" from albinos, but ended up being a better fit for nature (ie they were selected for), and so now we regard them as the defect.

I realize this is probably not true with albinos, but puts in perspective what we consider to be the "right" genes.

JonV

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Originally Posted by nevohraalnavnoj

Ha, considering what it means to "measure up to normal" in human terms, I'd be proud to have some genetic defects (anyone seen Idiocracy?).

Keep in mind, defect is a relative term. Maybe normals were a "defect" from albinos, but ended up being a better fit for nature (ie they were selected for), and so now we regard them as the defect.

I realize this is probably not true with albinos, but puts in perspective what we consider to be the "right" genes.

JonV

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I meant in terms of normals having less sensitive skin, heads don't wobble, etc. And yes it is relative, in terms of exotic beauty, a normal cannot measure up to some of the morphs out there today.

I'm not sure exactly what the scientific definition of "albino" is. I thought it was a lack of all pigmentation. So what we call albino BPs aren't truly albino, since they still have the yellow pigment. I might be wrong, and I don't think it affects the truth, or lack thereof, of the original statement that this post is about.

Just because something is selected for, or against, in nature does not make it better or worse. It does not make the genes stronger or weaker. There are plenty of examples in biological history of something that used to be a dominant species, or a dominant trait in a species, becoming no longer viable due to changing conditions. One that is in a lot of biology textbooks is about a certain species of moth. Sorry I cannot recall the name of the species, and I might have the details slightly wrong, but the point I am trying to make is still valid. The moth comes in 2 different colors, one is many shades lighter than the other. The light colored moths used to be much more common, and the dark ones were rare and did not survive well because the different color stood out in the environment, making them vulnerable to predators. Then, with the event of the industrial age, the environment changed. Due to pollution, the colors in the environment became darker on average. Gradually, the dark colored moths became more common than the light ones, because now the light ones are the ones that stand out and are vulnerable. There is nothing wrong with either color of moth, no defects or anything, but historically, using the reasoning of the zoology graduate, the dark moths were weak. Now, using the same reasoning, the light moths are weak. Obviously this is flawed reasoning.

The ironic thing, to me, is that this story about the moths is in biology textbooks to prove that Darwin's theories are correct. Yet here I am using it to prove that this person's statements, supposedly based on Darwin's theories, are false. I think he should probably go back and study a little bit more, because I think he missed the point.

Anyway, bottom line, as many have already pointed out, is that there is nothing wrong with albino BPs, and certainly nothing wrong with keeping them in captivity. When some bizarre geologic upheaval in Africa turns all the dirt, sand, and rocks to shades of yellow & white, then the albinos will be the dominant ones in the wild.

Hey guys im sorry to say but, the guy is 100% right, in nature a color mutation will most definitaly result in the death of that animale, like to describe it as this. here is how i learned it from my professor.( but it could go both ways) for instance we will take moths for example,, in a forest where these moths live, the trees are covered in mossy grey light brown bark. and these moths live in and around these trees. now lets say a bluejay is hungry but the only defence these moths have is their color which is similar to the color of the trees so it basically is hidden, but in among the moths there are a few 1000 that are the same species of moth only white colored mutation, these moths will be eatin before the normal colored ones because the blue jay could easily see the moth, but as i learned from studying nature the enviorment is always changing, now the trees begin to white out and change color and become more white in color than grey and the moss dies, now the mutation has a better camo than the normal moths and will die before the white. and as for the weeker skin and blindness, there are different effects albinoism has on different animales and sometime individual animals, and or species. but its perfectly normal to have mutations in that is evolutions way off testing new colors and and seeing what new species may arise or what new colors would work better for survival. What i wrote here is not BS and is true, i am a bio major and am pretty smart...lol

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Originally Posted by MattZ BallZ

Hey guys im sorry to say but, the guy is 100% right, in nature a color mutation will most definitaly result in the death of that animale, like to describe it as this. here is how i learned it from my professor.( but it could go both ways) for instance we will take moths for example,, in a forest where these moths live, the trees are covered in mossy grey light brown bark. and these moths live in and around these trees. now lets say a bluejay is hungry but the only defence these moths have is their color which is similar to the color of the trees so it basically is hidden, but in among the moths there are a few 1000 that are the same species of moth only white colored mutation, these moths will be eatin before the normal colored ones because the blue jay could easily see the moth, but as i learned from studying nature the enviorment is always changing, now the trees begin to white out and change color and become more white in color than grey and the moss dies, now the mutation has a better camo than the normal moths and will die before the white. and as for the weeker skin and blindness, there are different effects albinoism has on different animales and sometime individual animals, and or species. but its perfectly normal to have mutations in that is evolutions way off testing new colors and and seeing what new species may arise or what new colors would work better for survival. What i wrote here is not BS and is true, i am a bio major and am pretty smart...lol

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I think your missing the point a little bit..
The man was saying that the gene was specifically designed to pair with bad genes to kill off those genes in the wild, which is false.
Spiders and Caramels both, in my opinion, would not stand out extremely badly in the wild, yet they both have the worst genetic undesirables of all the morphs.
Albinos, other than having sensitive skin, which does not effect them, have no other known aliment to cause them problems or for any reason to be killed off. It is a simple recessive trait, just like blue eyes, and can be produced easily with successfully thriving animals in captivity.

We understand that color mutations like albinism in the wild will often cause the animal to die because of lack of camouflage. However, that is not what the man was talking about at all, therefore you don't make a whole lot of sense. :/