Quote Originally Posted by mechnut450 View Post
Ok good input so far guys, thanks. But some just a hair off topic....esp all the German Shepherd stuff. Truthfully, I was inquiring about their immune systems. It just seems to me, like dogs today, being selected and bred for certain traits, ball python morphs today and in the future might seem to develop immune problems more readily, and be more susceptible to illness. Especially considering more and more focus is being put on super forms, and triple, quad, and quint gene animals. And my friend is def not a newbie. Weve been breeding snakes for 10+ years, and hes been doing it much longer than we have. I told him I personally think its the room. there may be mold in the walls he cant see, or something like that. Hes considering that possibility. But anyways, really I love all the gorgeous colors and awesome possibilities of all the 4-5-6 gene animals...they are simply stunning and amazing! But Im also concerned that they wont be as healthy, or hardy as some of the older morphs and wild types.
Reputable breeders keep inbreeding to a minimum. Most BP genes are totally free of health issues. And the ones that cause issues, well, these are known: http://www.owalreptiles.com/issues.php . But the link is a bit outdated, banana and coral glow appear to sit on a sex chromosome and do not impact health at all, and some strains of cinnamon and black pastell produce very nice super-forms that do not have an issue.