Quote Originally Posted by rufretic View Post
I don’t know about the genetics behind it but based on my experience with breeding a spider with no signs of wobble, I would say it is not just random. She laid 7 healthy eggs which all hatched, 6 out of 7 being spider combos. Not one of them showed any signs of wobble. If it was random, I have to think at least one of her offspring would of had some wobble. This year will test the opposite because I am breeding the girl I have that does the corkscrewing. If her offspring do it as well, I think it will be pretty obviously that the severity of wobble in offspring is directly related to the severity of wobble in the parent. If this does prove out, I personally won’t be breeding any more spiders that show wobble but will continue to breed the spiders that do not show signs of wobble.
My spider dam (pictured earlier in the thread) has a moderate wobble while her hatchlings have shown little to no wobble so far. Just one example, but it confirms with what I've heard from other breeders. The wobble is said to be random. You can produce a low wobble spider from a high wobble spider and visa versa. That said, really bad wobble seems rare. I've never heard of a spider hatchling fail to thrive solely because of wobble. Here's a good read on it: http://www.owalreptiles.com/issues.php

The worst cases I've heard of seem to happen after the snake leaves the breeder. And while I'm sure there are a variety of reasons why, I don't think we can rule out the effects of stress. Some wobblers seem to get worse with age, and others seem to get better, but stress will always make a wobble worse. Most of the "bad wobblers" I've seen and heard about were either subjected to stress specifically to show the wobble, or they were kept in glass tanks with questionable husbandry. Not all, but it seems to be a common thread among really severe cases.

As a breeder, I understand and accept that the amount of wobble my hatchlings may have is out of my control, and that it's possible that if I bred spider to spider (not something I plan on doing) it may result in dead hatchlings (it doesn't always, but it has happened to some). That said, I've had more issues with thermostat malfunctions than I have had with the spider gene. I don't regret breeding my spider girl. Her hatchlings are healthy and beautiful and I'm proud of them. If she regains all her weight, I plan on breeding her again next season.