Culling mutated hatchlings:

[Emmastaff]

I have not encountered this situation, as I do not breed. But my book "The complete ball python" says that you can freeze in these situations or take to a vet for euthanasia. You could always talk to your vet and see what their opinion is. They have a good knowledge of the nervous system of the snake and how it will be affected by either method. I would think that there being cold-blooded would affect how it feels to them differently than it would to a person.

Vader, I understand where you are coming from. I realize that your intentions are nothing less than noble and that in your opinion you are keeping the best interests of the snake in mind. However, I do see several problems with your theory

1. It is illegal whether or not the animal is likely to live or not

2. If someone who is not knowegable in snakes stumbles upon it, they are going to freak out. (Before I knew what a ball python was, I would probably would have been convinced it was a baby monster snake like I had seen on T.V.! LOL The reality is that MANY people have a deep-rooted phobia of snakes and to encounter any snake in the wild, especially one that is not native, will set of a reaction of extreme fear and then "How can we stop this from happening again?".

3. There is no guarantee the animal would not survive. You just never know, what appears to you to be a life-threatening defect may still allow the animal to survive for a while. If it encounters the right environmental factors (unlikely, but could happen), and no predators stumble upon it, it could survive. It might be better if you feel it would rather explore for a while, to put it in a clean safe cage and just allow it to live out it's days in the security of your home. You could allow it to die naturally, and yet with the dignity of being warm, safe and as comfortable as is possible.

4. Any hatchling found in the wild, whether it is the warm Everglades, or the frozen tundra land of the north, would be said by our opponents to be evidence of a wild breeding population. Like I said, no matter how unlikely the environment is to produce a breeding population, a hatclhing would be fuel for the fire... There is no room for error on our part right now, or ever. We must practice our hobby with the utmost responsibility and care, now and forever.

Anyways, interesting thread folks!