is it ethical 2 buy a wild caught gravid female

[exiled reptile]

i have a chance to do just that. i have heard that alot of new mutations or morphs could be linked to this i guess it would really just a crap shot just would like some feedback thanks

[dr del]

Hi,

It depends on your level of experience if I'm brutaly honest.

WC snakes can be a nightmare to get feeding and happy in captivity. I have heard of some horrific stories about getting them to eat - and remember it is WC so may need treatment for parasites - and you may have to wait until they lay before you can do that.

Quarantine is obviously going to have to be far stricter if you already have reptiles.

Shipping can be stressfull and she might slug out.

The chances of getting a morph that way are about the same as from buying a bag of fancy CF hatchlings more or less I think.

Personally I wouldn't do it for love nor money.


dr del

[greghall]

why?? too many nice captive bred snakes on the market.Why would you want normals that you can barly give away,Ive seen some nice CB females ready to breed as low as $75 breed them to a morph male & you got something. & yes I think its unethical leave them in the wild we dont need them.

[Mike Schultz]

If you are experienced and want to get some fresh blood go ahead. Sometimes cool stuff does pop out of them.

Then again, Dr. Del is right about the difficulty in acclimating WC snakes. I have a snake that was imported a year ago and hasn't eaten a single meal since... but has only lost about 50 grams (weighs just about 2000 grams now). Crazy stuff.