Captive hatched vs. captive bred?

[Sonya610]

When I bought my BP I thought he was captive bred, but then when returning to the store later I saw his “replacement” was listed as captive hatched, so he probably came from the same source (it was Petsmart) and he maybe captive hatched too. I feel bad now as I realize that is horrible for the wild populations.

But realistically, since BP’s have not been bred that long in captivity, does it make a difference regarding temperament or health? I mean it does not seem as if any BP breeders are working to change temperament anyway (unless one thinks genetic memory may be in play).

If he was from eggs collected in the wild (and I shudder to think of what happened to his poor mother) do they fly the eggs directly to the US and they are incubated and hatched here?

[Wh00h0069]

I always go with captive bred. Yours is likely captive hatched. They collect the gravid mothers, and have them lay in their facilities, in Africa. Most of the females are put back into the wild after they have laid. Some are sold to the food and skin market. Once the baby snakes hatch, they are shipped to the U.S. They do not eat or drink in Africa, becasue of parasite issues.

You will definately want to check for mites though, because a lot of snakes from pet stores have mites. You may also want to take him/her to the vet and take a fecal sample so they can check for parasites.

In my opinion, it is best to buy captive bred, for many reasons, but mainly to support the american breeders. Hope this helps, and good luck with you little one.

[Sonya610]

I have not seen any sign of mites, he looks very healthy and i did check the paper towls in his original carrier, it seemed mite free. He also ate well 2 days after I got him.

Thanks for the tip on parasites, I found a local vet that will run a fecal on him, my regular vet doesn't do that but they referred me. I may also call the store and see if they can tell me for sure whether he is captive bred or captive hatched, I was surprised I did not notice it when I bought him but at the time I was focused on him, and just saw the word "captive".

I am surprised the snake people in Africa would release the females back into the wild, it seems like even if the snake was only worth 50 cents as food they would sell it. Do they have fairly decent facilities over there run by educated people?

[Spaniard]

There aren't many natural predators for bps in the wild anymore as a result they have no problem reproducing in ample numbers. While a large number get exported for the food and pet industry, the people in Africa make sure there are enough adults left in the population to produce for next year. If they wiped out everything their means of producing and making a living in the future would be over.

[Sonya610]

...the people in Africa make sure there are enough adults left in the population to produce for next year. If they wiped out everything their means of producing and making a living in the future would be over.

Uhhh...I don't know about that. Ghana for example is a VERY poor country, they face chronic food shortages in a lot of areas. Those people do not think about "the future" they think about today.

I found out this baby comes from a large reptile producer called Lasco, can't find any company information on them but the guy at petsmart (he was really nice, and really loves bp's) said he thinks they are captive bred, and not captive hatched. I am going to call corporate and see if they can tell me.

[littleindiangirl]

I'm pretty sure Petsmart and Petco snakes are all captive hatched. They may have changed that, but that's been the word.

[rabernet]

The ball pythons in PetSmart and PetCo are all Captive Hatched. They don't have contracts with private breeders, and I don't know of a breeder that can produce enough babies to supply both chains.

The babies don't know if they were hatched in Africa or in an incubator here - so it makes no difference in temperment.

Some of my prized females are captive hatched - and I love seeing the new interesting captive hatched that come in each year.

Ball pythons are a CITES protected species - and their numbers are closely monitored. Their wild populations are in no danger.

An interesting post regarding this in the past for your reading pleasure:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...00&postcount=7


from this thread:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ht=populations

[rabernet]

I found out this baby comes from a large reptile producer called Lasco, can't find any company information on them but the guy at petsmart (he was really nice, and really loves bp's) said he thinks they are captive bred, and not captive hatched. I am going to call corporate and see if they can tell me.

Lasco is a distributor.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ighlight=lasco

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...3&postcount=26

[Sonya610]

Thanks Rabernet, you made me feel better. He seems like a very healthy little guy, but I do not like to support any business that abuses animals.

The Petsmart near me just recently started carrying BP's, at least that is what the cashier said and that makes sense as I rarely go in there but if I had seen them before at that store I probably would have succumbed earlier.

[rabernet]

Sonya, Petsmarts in Atlanta just started carrying BP's in the past few months. I actually spent over an hour with the staff at my local PetSmart in Marietta going over their caresheet and making corrections to it, and helping the staff. I like my particular PetSmart, because they DO want to make sure that they are caring for them correctly. They also have my phone number if they have any problems with the ones they are carrying. They even ask me to sex them for them when I come in.

I'm sure if you've reviewed the caresheet here, and have set up your baby properly that he/she will be a lovely animal for years to come!