Professional Breeding of Giant Snakes

[YungRasputin]

idk if i have ever mentioned this yet on the forum however i am vegetarian/vegan and as such am deeply concerned with animal welfare and this to me is the single most important thing - it comes before absolutely everything, most especially money

[nikkubus]

this brings up something i’ve felt strongly about and have experimented with in arachnid keeping that i would also like to bring into my snake keeping - my dream is to be able to keep/produce specimens so pure, so true to nature that i could actually work with conservationists to combat the extinction of endangered species - i originally got the idea through keeping pokies/Poecilotheria genus tarantulas that are endemic to India and of whom, most species in the genus are critically endangered due to pollution, industrialization, climate change, etc - i truly believe that the divide between hobbyists and scientists could be mended thru such mutually beneficial arrangements

this is what I would prefer to do rather than euthanize and all of this - i would much rather donate my surplus to conservationists to study or release back into the wild rather trying to make a buck by killing them and selling them for cobra food

If that is a dream of yours, I would work on finding a group working on a particular species to work with them, because it's going to need to be a large scale to preserve enough genetic variation for something like that to be considered to be released back to the wild, and it would probably require importing wild animals in the first place or working with stock that has been heavily outbred with strong records. They are incredibly strict about that even in heavily endangered species because the animal needs to be able to withstand shifts in the environment.

[YungRasputin]

If that is a dream of yours, I would work on finding a group working on a particular species to work with them, because it's going to need to be a large scale to preserve enough genetic variation for something like that to be considered to be released back to the wild, and it would probably require importing wild animals in the first place or working with stock that has been heavily outbred with strong records. They are incredibly strict about that even in heavily endangered species because the animal needs to be able to withstand shifts in the environment.

this is what i was doing with Pokies - i got in touch with other pokie owners/breeders for the purposes of genetic diversity and focus - i would love to be apart of a breeding collective that could be dedicated to saving certain species - i assumed it would be stricter with snakes as hybridization, morphs, etc aren’t really a thing with spiders

there has been some unfortunate cross breeding in some Brachypelma species but i think that’s more or less been corrected and that’s the only example I can think of but given the explosion of morphs, cross localities, etc ja i could def see the need to be even more strict

i am not opposed to imports - i think it can be done ethically, legally and effectively - i think the problems of the past have been illegality, no concern for animal welfare, general ignorance, etc

[Bogertophis]

If that is a dream of yours, I would work on finding a group working on a particular species to work with them, because it's going to need to be a large scale to preserve enough genetic variation for something like that to be considered to be released back to the wild, and it would probably require importing wild animals in the first place or working with stock that has been heavily outbred with strong records. They are incredibly strict about that even in heavily endangered species because the animal needs to be able to withstand shifts in the environment.

@ YungRasputin: Yes, & great care would also have to be taken to ensure that no pathogens from captive non-native animals found their way into snakes bred for release, as that could negatively impact the wild populations- so you might have to limit what you worked with to ensure that didn't happen. I know that some zoos have ongoing projects to produce animals to replenish those in the wild- & I'm not speaking about snakes specifically, I just know that a zoo I used to frequent had such projects going for certain species.

[YungRasputin]

@ YungRasputin: Yes, & great care would also have to be taken to ensure that no pathogens from captive non-native animals found their way into snakes bred for release, as that could negatively impact the wild populations- so you might have to limit what you worked with to ensure that didn't happen. I know that some zoos have ongoing projects to produce animals to replenish those in the wild- & I'm not speaking about snakes specifically, I just know that a zoo I used to frequent had such projects going for certain species.

i know i listed several species in my OP but that was just a means to generalize to get an idea of what the average set up looks like across the board because up to a point, in my research, a lot of things ring true cross-species eg: as far as size of housing goes, Burms and African rock pythons would generally require identical accommodations in this respect - my real plan is just to breed and specialize in my all time favorite species and stick to mastering this - i agree with you and others that this would be the most effective means of accomplishing the goals

1 think i have already begun acquiring/using is snake first aid - already got a gallon of ReptiRelief anti-mite spray and have started a developing a routine for quarantine, assimilation, etc - actually thought about starting a new thread just for that

[bcr229]

idk if i have ever mentioned this yet on the forum however i am vegetarian/vegan and as such am deeply concerned with animal welfare and this to me is the single most important thing - it comes before absolutely everything, most especially money

I don't think you will be happy breeding retics. I own 10 and do not breed them.

If you want to make a difference, breed something that is threatened like eastern Indogoes or Savu pythons, or even sunbeam snakes which are typically only available as WC imports and there are almost no CBB babies available.

[Bogertophis]

Great idea! ^ ^ ^ I vote for Sunbeam snakes- they're SO cool- but w/c are heavily parasitized making them a poor choice for pets. Then again, Eastern Indigo snakes are awesome too, as are Savu pythons. Another tricky snake I'd love to see more of would be viper boas.

As for breeding retics & releasing them in the wild- google says they're "listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List because of its wide distribution" so that might not work out?

[YungRasputin]

1) i wasn’t thinking of retics when writing my previous statements - the purpose of said previous statements was to highlight that i would appeal to other alternatives in the event that a snakelet took awhile to sell and that i disagree with this practice of killing baby snakes to sell for cobra food

2) to date no one has answered my question, no one is intending to answer this question, this thread serves no purpose other than to personally humiliate me and I’m 200% done with it - should’ve never started it in the first place

[anatess]

2) to date no one has answered my question, no one is intending to answer this question, this thread serves no purpose other than to personally humiliate me and I’m 200% done with it - should’ve never started it in the first place

Hi YungRasputin. Sorry that there hasn't been an answer to your "system of tubs" question. I'm fairly certain it's because nobody does that kind of "commercial breeding" that you describe.

In any case, this question can be logically planned out after you have decided what species to focus on and what exactly your vision for the breeding program is, including its constraints and risks. Simply go through the life cycle of the species you're going for with its production averages and time-to-market (this is where everybody is confused, I think, because commercial breeders have a very protracted time-to-market to remain a thriving commercial breeder, but you seem to not have this constraint at all, something that is not viable in commercial breeding), then figure out the habitats.

Best of luck on your endeavor! Keep us posted, I'd be very interested to follow your progress.

I have to say, for a vegetarian/vegan that space in your house can be very lucrative used as a commercial microgreens grow space.

[YungRasputin]

ok so i don’t know how clearer i have to be here - i am done with this thread, period end of story and I’m just about done with this entire unfriendly forum - it’s again, v clear that no one has the answer to what I thought was an extremely simple questions as in “what housing is used for breeding, what are the specs, etc” and are only and exclusively using this thread to make a fool of me and to critique things which I apparently wasn’t actually talking about - i was talking about breeding professionally, starting with 2 pairs and this is it but again, if no can answer these v basic questions then there is zero point in commenting further in this thread...