These scaleless reptiles are exactly like hairless dogs, cats, and rodents. (I think it is actually the same gene, in fact). They will NEVER be wild, and they will never have to survive in an environment where their thin skin would be a detriment. Our albinos and leucistics won't have to live where their light color makes them a target for predators. Our spiders won't have to find food in a situation where missing once or twice could mean the loss of a meal.

These are pets. If we breed them for unusual traits that do them no real harm, what's wrong with that? Lack of scales does the snakes no harm at all. They eat, defecate, drink, shed, and breed fine without scales.

These traits all cropped up as random mutations. In spite of how detrimental they seem, they've all been seen on occasion in adult animals in the wild--including the scaleless mutation. So obviously they are not immediately deadly, and animals can possess them and grow to breeding size. I think folks are overreacting to this because it seems like a deformity to them. The line between a desireable mutation or morph, and a deformity, is not clear cut. Cinnamons have oddly shaped snouts--is that a deformity? It all depends on your point of view.

Dachshund dogs have very short legs. Everyone is used to that. Munchkin cats also have very short legs, for much the same reason, but everyone lost their mind and freaked out over the deformed cats when they were first bred. They called it cruel. Why is it cruel in cats but not in dogs? People weren't used to it, that's all--that's the only difference.

People will get used to scaleless snakes, just as they did to hairless cats and dogs. I'm personally fascinated by them, and if I had funds and opportunity to pick some up as a breeding project, I would jump at the chance. Their colors are rich and defined, and they feel soft and velvety to the touch, from all reports. Very unusual animals.

Think carefully--do you think producing scaleless snakes is cruel because it does the snakes harm, or are you actually reacting to the perception that they have something wrong with them, and you have an instinctive aversion to things that are different?
Since it's been demonstrated that the snakes aren't harmed by their condition...what is it, really? Aversion to perceived deformity? That has nothing to do with how the snakes feel. They are perfectly happy to be alive. They are not suffering even one little bit. The suffering is in YOUR minds--because you think something so different should not exist. Yes, they would lack protection of their skin if they were wild...but they're not. They live on newspaper, paper towel, or soft aspen or coconut fiber, and they're fine.