Artificial inseminaton for ball pythons?

I am by no means going to ever try this but, it was something that struck my mind. Would it be possible? I mean it works with humans. If it did work with snakes it would certainly make things easier, you wouldn't have to buy any male snakes, just the sperm. I know its sounds ridiculous and in my opinion it is but yeah. Anyone got some thoughts about it? :oops:

you would think it would be possible since it can be dont with pretty much anything so i dont see why i couldnt be done

There was another topic recently on this and they discussed why it wasn't practiced, I don't remember the exact details.

I can see it happening, I just can't see myself doing it.

I enjoy the animals too much to want just a vial of sperm plugs to insert into my females. I want to see the ACTION (:O) and know that MY male bred MY female and made MY babies.

Also, the biological implications of it have not been researched much if at all, so that would have to be a thing to think about...

Already being done. :D http://aprilfirstbioengineering.com/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SPJ

Already being done. :D http://aprilfirstbioengineering.com/

---

very cool i love the ivory snakes

Everytime I see a Coral Glow I start drooling... I don't know why!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SPJ

Already being done. :D http://aprilfirstbioengineering.com/

---

LOL!!! That's a crackup.

i think you would be spending more money on just a vial of sperm for one breeding session then if you were to buy the male snake so in the long run its actually smarter to by the male then just the sperm of him. think about how much money sperm for the albino gene would be prolly double the cost of the actual albino itself. it take time money and patience for that. and you would need a sterile lab.

I think our zoo here, The Henry Doorly did it with corns a couple years back

Yes, it HAS been done already with corn snakes, several times over a number of years as a matter of fact. I don't see why it wouldn't be possible with balls or any other snake too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SPJ

Already being done. :D http://aprilfirstbioengineering.com/

---

haha ok this is a joke. right...?

i would seeiously hope so bigballs

there is no way it het for everything it would have to have like 30 recessive genes correct me if im wrong.

ok it has to be a joke lol!

:rofl: Look at the URL/ Website name "April First Bio Enginering" Hmm, april fools? Plus all the photos are from NERDs site, and there other site that it links to sells Dinosaurs? Hmmm...
Kinda funny though.

Quote:

---

There is no way it het for everything it would have to have like 30 recessive genes correct me if im wrong.

---

Also id assume some of those traits are found on the same gene so you cant have all the genetic morphs, as they are genetically same in terms of where they are found. But thats just splitin hairs.

On Topic:

My only question would be why would a breeder use his males for sperm to sell, versus just have him mate with there own females? How do you know the health and quality of the male? It would be alot harder to tell how good the genes are ext, because its not your animal to judge.

Also, how would they get a substantial enough amount to sell? I know how they do it in many different species, but i cant think of that in snake terms :O :8:

But i really dont see a reason, To get enough over time to inseminate all the females, will add up to close to, or more than the male itself. And the male will last alot longer. Plus i dont beleive artificial insemination works as well as natural methods.

its not a joke. You dont beleive scientists can create het for anything, but they can clone animals. The snake is probally inserted with the het of your choice while still in the egg. science is amazing but we will never see its true capability with government restrictions

i think it would be more work to get python sperm, store it and sell it than just keep male pythons and breed them to your females.

imagine trying to get python sperm from your bp... would you do that for money?

+ all those snakes are from NERD's website.
http://www.newenglandreptile.com/ner...ollection.html
But I guess since Kevins got a pretty big collection hes the best bet for all of those morphs.

It would be difficult to Artificially inseminate bps because of the following difficulties:

1. collection of sperm
2. Insertion of sperm would be easy enough but bp females need the act of breeding in order to continue the follicle maturation process. I don't think a syringe would replicate this for them. So in my opinion it would take having sperm inserted and then a non-viable male to breed throughout the season just to keep the female from reaborbing follicles at some point.

I agree with those above... I wouldn't give up the process for anything. I love the old fashioned way. :)

Justin

Justin makes a very good point :gj: in that the behavior is all part of the egg development process. By the time the shell has formed around the embryo the deal is done genetically speaking. Even with artificial insemination you would still need a visually proven homozygous animal for all recessive traits to get 100% hets for every trait otherwise the offspring would be 50% poss hets for about 8 -10 different traits.

LOL I would be neat to do with say a co-dom animal that is a one of a kind and maybe dies to have its genetic material on hand to reproduce the trait artificially. But thats the only reason I could see doing it. :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 420 boa

its not a joke. You dont beleive scientists can create het for anything, but they can clone animals. The snake is probally inserted with the het of your choice while still in the egg. science is amazing but we will never see its true capability with government restrictions

---

i think we can see science's true capability everyday and that the government's restrictions only limit man's ability to mess around with it.

but thats a different thread all together...

but imagine we learned to clone piebalds and bp.net became about cloning morphs instead of breeding them?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bigballs

i think we can see science's true capability everyday and that the government's restrictions only limit man's ability to mess around with it.

but thats a different thread all together...

but imagine we learned to clone piebalds and bp.net became about cloning morphs instead of breeding them?

---

I can already clone a pied :gj::gj:

In fact I plan to this year..

i wish you the best of luck with that new and exciting venture!;)

send me a cloned pied when you have some extra!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bigballs

i wish you the best of luck with that new and exciting venture!;)

send me a cloned pied when you have some extra!

---

LOL Yea the day I get a pied I am taking off of work to take pics and make phone calls.

That project excites me more than any other in the future.
sorry for the Hijack.

Back to the AI conversation

i'd quit my job for piebalds....

back to AI!

yea but with cloning they are all gonna look identical so why would you want a bunch of snakes that look exactly the same i like the variety in the ball pythons

you can clone variety!

everything i ever heard about cloning the sheep rats monkeys whatever have been cloned looked identical to the animal is was cloned off of so i think variety will only come though actual breeding

well if you get the genetic information from different animals of the same morph with specific traits that are desired by the buyer then you can clone variety.

yea but that will cost way to much in the long run instead of just breeding. think about it this way you spend 1200 on an albino male and 2000 on a female albino . you have how many breeding seasons. then if you go and use artifical insemination your prolly spening 2000 on the sperm itself for what one season of breeding to me it seems a waste of money and time i would rather buy the snakes and breed them out myself that way i know that its coming from a good stock. and not some over used under nourished male

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bigballs

i wish you the best of luck with that new and exciting venture!;)

send me a cloned pied when you have some extra!

---

ditto! since you can clone, they must be cheap right?? XD

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Monty

yea but with cloning they are all gonna look identical so why would you want a bunch of snakes that look exactly the same i like the variety in the ball pythons

---

Monozygotic twins have all the same genes, but they aren't ever EXACTLY alike, just very similar. The same kinds of genes can get expressed in different ways. They can both have the same gene, but it may be "ON" in one twin and "OFF" in the other, which will result in slight or even extreme differences in appearance. I had twins for roommates and I could always tell them apart, one was taller and had a thinner face. At a distance it was hard to tell, but close up it was pretty obvious who was who. Some twins look more alike than they do, but there are always going to be differences.
I'd bet you could get low, 50% and high white pieds from a clone of the same animal.

YAY 700th POST! WOOP! SORRY THAT WAS RANDOM, LOL.

i often wondered if that was poss but seein all those morphs on one page like that WOW i mustve stared at it for a good 10 mins

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 420 boa

its not a joke. You dont beleive scientists can create het for anything, but they can clone animals. The snake is probally inserted with the het of your choice while still in the egg. science is amazing but we will never see its true capability with government restrictions

---

Haha...yeah if the name "April First Bio Engineering" isn't a hint, check out their "Really Big Lizards Division" linked on that page.

http://lizardkeepers.com/

rofl!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 420 boa

its not a joke. You dont beleive scientists can create het for anything, but they can clone animals. The snake is probally inserted with the het of your choice while still in the egg. science is amazing but we will never see its true capability with government restrictions

---

Yeah, for sure they are real. Check out their "Really Big Lizard Division" linked on that page. ROFL! http://lizardkeepers.com/

"Really Big Lizards has actually cracked the genetic code and begun limited commercial breeding of a select variety of prehistoric animals. We will have a small number of breeder pairs of animals available in the spring of 2008. Please review our pricing and availability below"

They even sell supplies to go with their lizards:

Tools and Supplies
Mite Spray - 55 Gallon Drum - $700
Worming Paste - 55 Gallon Tube - $900
"Piggy" Pump - For picky Feeders - $500
22 Foot Steel "Travel" Cage - for pets on the go - $19.995.95
Set of 8 foot stainless steel sexing probes(5) - $220
20 Foot Feeding Tongs - $350

I am in the show cattle buisness. I can spend 20,000 dollars on the bull, or 45 dollars for a straw of semen from the bull. A straw of ball semen wont be nearly as much as the animal, hopefully.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 420 boa

its not a joke. You dont beleive scientists can create het for anything, but they can clone animals. The snake is probally inserted with the het of your choice while still in the egg. science is amazing but we will never see its true capability with government restrictions

---

I'll believe that when I see some of those velociraptors that are supposedly "AVAILABLE NOW"

http://aprilfirstbioengineering.com/-----HAHAHA....if you go to the really big lizards page and click the contact, it gives you "jeffb@kingsnake.com" whoever that is, that is hilarious.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by darkbloodwyvern

Monozygotic twins have all the same genes, but they aren't ever EXACTLY alike, just very similar. The same kinds of genes can get expressed in different ways. They can both have the same gene, but it may be "ON" in one twin and "OFF" in the other, which will result in slight or even extreme differences in appearance. I had twins for roommates and I could always tell them apart, one was taller and had a thinner face. At a distance it was hard to tell, but close up it was pretty obvious who was who. Some twins look more alike than they do, but there are always going to be differences.
I'd bet you could get low, 50% and high white pieds from a clone of the same animal.

---

I agree. Developmental biology is very interesting. Just because two animals have identical genotypes does not mean their phenotypes will be identical. The way phenotypes are expressed can be affected by many factors including the environment.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dacalio

I agree. Developmental biology is very interesting. Just because two animals have identical genotypes does not mean their phenotypes will be identical. The way phenotypes are expressed can be affected by many factors including the environment.

---

I remember many years ago reading about some scientists who had cloned a cow. If I remember the article correctly, what they had done was typical IVF, then somehow divided the embryo before implanting it/them back in the mother(s). I have no idea if that is how cloning is always done, but anyway...

the article focused on how shocked the scientists were when the 2 cows came out with DIFFERENT patterns in their black & white spots.

I can say, i have never seen it work (Artificial) (or tried with ball pythons) but my girlfriend who owns Calico Dragons, did it earlier this year with dragons. I was laughing when she said it would work... She had the last laugh since it did. She hatched them out a few months ago. It was a smaller clutch but it definately worked. Basically the dragon missed and went on the females leg, she sucked it up with a syringe and put it in the right place...

Last year she took it straight from the male when he was breeding a different female and did the same thing... pretty cool!

Maybe i will get her to try it next year with a ball. I could pop one and let her try it and let you all know how it goes.

Ps. i didnt read the whole thread just the first few and thats where my comment came from...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NextWorldExotics

Basically the dragon missed and went on the females leg, she sucked it up with a syringe and put it in the right place...

---

Sorry but this part made me laugh so hard...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NextWorldExotics

Basically the dragon missed and went on the females leg, she sucked it up with a syringe and put it in the right place...

---

I got a kick out of this one too....LOL