Is it ok to breed brother with sister??

[ballpython19]

Wondering if it's ok

[irishanaconda]

your gonna get some people that say yes, and some that say no.... most will agree that breeding the daughter back to the father or son back to the mother is better than brother to sister. many breeders do all of the above.... ready for a ton of different answers??

[ballpython19]

So then their r risks involved

[WingedWolfPsion]

The primary risk is that minor genetic mutations may become expressed--in other words, a hidden deformity could be brought to light.

Reptiles in general seem very resistant to the ill effects of inbreeding, however--much more so than mammals. If neither animal does carry any problem genes, then breeding siblings won't cause any problems. It should not be done repeatedly over generations, because this increases the risks--as the parents become more and more similar genetically, small errors will become magnified until you inevitably WILL get noticeable genetic problems.

But for just one generation? Little risk is involved.

Line breeding, which involves breeding a son or daughter back to its parent, is a standard practice for 'fixing' a trait in animal breeding. We use this to prove traits to be genetic, and force them to express. (Breeding a het daughter back to a homozygous father to produce more homozygous animals, for example). Like inbreeding, it should not be done repeatedly over generations.

[bkelley02]

I can understand the risk, but would it be lessened if the male and female mated had different mothers but same father?

I picked up a couple hets like that.

Thanks

Brian

[Simpson Balls]

Brian from BHB, one of the worlds biggest reptile breeders says it is fine to breed brother to sister or brother to mother or sister to father just for one generation. He's says after breeding them generation into generation the egss become more infertile, more slugs and the ones that make it have a diesease or are kinked.

Daniel

[DillanSimpson]

Doing it is fine but after the 3rd or 4th generation of inbreeding you might start seeing some deformites!

[NorthernRegius]

I'd prefer you do it if you are "fixing' in a favorable trait. If you're merely trying to work with what you have, you may wish to consider swapping even with another breeder for an unrelated animal. If that's not an option for you, then you can line breed. But it will enhance the existing traits for good or for bad.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Yes, breeding half-siblings is less of a risk than breeding full siblings.