Selective Breeding

[Jay_Bunny]

When I purchased my spider there was no mention of wobble. I didn't even know it existed. He's about 2 years old now and I'm only now seeing a ever so slight wobble. It is barely there. The wobble is ATTACHED to the gene. The gene causes it. If you have directions to build a bookcase you cannot use those same directions to build a car! The directions tell you to do one thing and one thing only and in the case of the spider gene, it causes both the color/pattern change as well as a neurological problem that is the wobble. The gene won't tell the organism to do anything else. You can't breed the wobble out of the spider gene. We can attempt to breed spiders that wobble LESS but they will always wobble to some degree.

[Mike Schultz]

why not breed the pastel to all 3 females?

[Jay_Bunny]

Well one female just doesn't have the pattern I'd like to see in my pastels so she will be bred to my spider. The other female is breeding with my het pied male and I want 50% possible het pieds from her so I want to make sure any females I get from her are 50% possible het pieds and not normals from a pastelXnormal or spiderXnormal pairing. I've only got 3 females to work with this season. My pinstripe is only 750g right now so she's got a ways to go before being ready to breed.

[rabernet]

I have a spider that I have never seen wobble. I got lucky with her as I bought her before I knew about the wobble problem. My bumblebees (not related to the spider) sadly both wobble. I have seen a number of ads on kingsnake stating "no wobble" in spider ads. I suppose they could be lying, but these are well known breeders in many cases- I don't think that would be wise for their reputation to say "no wobble" if they wobble! So apparently there are spiders out there that do not wobble!

I think a more accurate thing to say would be "no visible sign of wobble". But they all do it - even yours. You just have to know what to look for, and be watching late at night when its cruising its tub. Check out these two videos.

YouTube - Understanding the Spider Wobble

YouTube - Spider Wobble part II

Call Kevin McCurley or Ralph Davis - they'll both tell you all spiders spin/wobble.

[Jay_Bunny]

And this thread has gotten WAAAAAY off topic. I did not intend this thread to get into a boxing match about inbreeding. I was talking about breeding for specific traits, like how I am breeding a high blush normal to my pastel in hopes of some high blush pastels. It is all a matter of preference but I was just curious as to what people look for when they are selecting pairs. (I really don't want to discuss the good/bad of inbreeding any more on this thread.)

[m00kfu]

Something like this maybe?



Enchi to a (mostly) banded girl who also happens to be fairly light. Hoping for some enchi's with nice banding and bright colors.

[Jay_Bunny]

Very nice pairing!

[zombieon3rd]

You know Virginia is for Lovers, So yes I think selective breeding is a must. You pair up the best looking and hope for better looking results. I feel you are on the right track with your selections. PEACE

[dreese88]

Here is my take on this subject.

First it starts with your animals. If you buy low grade animals just because they don't cost as much as the nicer ones, you can breed as selectively as you want, but the end result will not be as good as someone who buys nicer animals for most likely, a higher price.. (Browned out pastels vs. pastels like the one pictured below or Robin's "Winston"....Side note, I have no idea what Robin paid for him)



From there, you can select your breeding pairs. If you like blushed pastels, you would obviously want to start with a pastel with some blushing and then breed it to a normal(or other type) to get the blushed pastels. Also with a pastel, I would advise breeding to a lighter animal to avoid the whole browning out of babies, but looks aren't the only thing that would go into it. How well do each of the animals eat? Are the animals good breeders that have gotten to be a good size? What is their handling disposition?

HTH

[rabernet]

Here is my take on this subject.

First it starts with your animals. If you buy low grade animals just because they don't cost as much as the nicer ones, you can breed as selectively as you want, but the end result will not be as good as someone who buys nicer animals for most likely, a higher price.. (Browned out pastels vs. pastels like the one pictured below or Robin's "Winston"....Side note, I have no idea what Robin paid for him)



From there, you can select your breeding pairs. If you like blushed pastels, you would obviously want to start with a pastel with some blushing and then breed it to a normal(or other type) to get the blushed pastels. Also with a pastel, I would advise breeding to a lighter animal to avoid the whole browning out of babies, but looks aren't the only thing that would go into it. How well do each of the animals eat? Are the animals good breeders that have gotten to be a good size? What is their handling disposition?

HTH

I paid a nice chunk of change for him in 2007. I've also been offered a nice chunk of change for him a few times over the last few years, significantly more than what I paid for him. My boy's not going anywhere!

Your pastel is SMOKING hot!!!!! I love seeing really hot pastels!