Desert Storm???

[Failshed]

Hey guys, I was on KS forums and was reading some (very disputed) posted about Deserts and the THEORY that they grow slower or may not be good breeders (females). I did some asking around locally and I got mixed reviews from different breeders (large and small), but nothing really to sway my opinion one way or another.

I read the entire posting and there are some valid points on both side of the arguement. However, I feel it's too soon to make a decision for me whether or not i would be investing in a desert project.

I LOVE Deserts, but I can't afford them right now (and I want Phantoms ). That is my main reason, but the post did make me question things for a minute there.

But then again, this could be like the whole Caramel rumor about the females not being able to lay eggs. But with Caramels I decided not to go with because of the kinking issues.

I just wanted to see what everyone thought about the conversation.

[spitzu]

Someone on KS did say that he had successfully bred females, but I don't remember who it was.

Personally, I don't think Pro Exotics and other reputable breeders would be selling the females for full price if they were aware of any flaws in the genetics. Though, that doesn't mean that the flaws are absent...

A definitive answer to the question may have to wait a bit until the morph isn't so new.

[Failshed]

Someone on KS did say that he had successfully bred females, but I don't remember who it was.

Personally, I don't think Pro Exotics and other reputable breeders would be selling the females for full price if they were aware of any flaws in the genetics. Though, that doesn't mean that the flaws are absent...

A definitive answer to the question may have to wait a bit until the morph isn't so new.

That is the way I'm leaning with waiting on more people to "risk" it (if any risk at all).

How long have deserts been around?

[spitzu]

This thread from Jan 2008 has a pretty decent history. If the first deserts were imported in 2001 there should be enough data, I think, to give an answer about this. Maybe someone can ask Stan Chiras or Peter Kahl what they know?

[Serpent_Nirvana]

What I don't "get" about the rumors is that I typically hear a line like "Desert females never get big enough to breed," but I've seen lots of pictures of BIG desert females that looked perfectly capable of breeding size-wise.

I think I read that Pro-Exotics did have one female get egg-bound and need to have the eggs aspirated and removed, but that could've been any morph; also seems like that would've been more of an issue of uterine tone than of size.

Basically, I'm nowhere near convinced that desert females have issues, based on the paucity of evidence one way or the other. (Not like the many pictures I've seen of caramel girls on slugs. Booh.)

[mainbutter]

It is pretty interesting that since the project started in 2001, that there hasn't been much info on a homozygous desert and what it may look like.

[fredanthony]

I've got a desert lemon blast, she's an 10' around 400 grams. Not the best feeder but she seems to be putting on weight. I guess I'll let you guys know as she grows

[mc5guy]

my desert butter from Brad Boa is a great feeder. She is a 10 and almost 500 gram. She is feeding on 1 or more ( if other didn't take their rat) small rat every 5 days.

She is so beautiful !

[spitzu]

my desert butter from Brad Boa is a great feeder. She is a 10 and almost 500 gram. She is feeding on 1 or more ( if other didn't take their rat) small rat every 5 days.

She is so beautiful !

Those pics you posted last month are what forced me to go buy my desert spider from Pro Exotics. I would have gotten a butter/lesser if they had one.

She is definitely beautiful! Post some more pictures with better/natural light please.

[m00kfu]

It is pretty interesting that since the project started in 2001, that there hasn't been much info on a homozygous desert and what it may look like.

When you think about how long it can take to prove animals out with only one founding animal, it really hasn't been around that long. I don't know if the original desert was a male or female, but if it was a female it could have taken anywhere from one to five years just to get the first clutch out of her depending on how old she was when she came in. It took SEVEN YEARS for VPI to get their first clutch from the burgundy albino.