Line/Inbreeding

[Jay_Bunny]

I kinda started this topic in another thread, but feel that it is such an important issue it needed its own thread.
Inbreeding/line breeding- When is it ok, when do breeders take it too far, and what damage has been caused by continual inbreeding/line breeding of various morphs.
Wikipedia does a good job of defining the two terms:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inbreeding (line breeding is linked there)
In spiders we have the wobble, in caramels we have kinks, there's the duckbills in super cinnamon and I think in a few other morphs as as well, right? What other genetic flaws are out there? How many of these flaws have been able to be corrected by responsible breeders who patiently out-cross generations of flawed snakes to healthy snakes to correct the damage? Many kudos and thanks to these breeders!
As a general rule, inbreeding or line breeding for a generation or two will not cause any harm. After about the third generation, you start getting retarded and deformed babies. If you see deformities showing up early, OUT-CROSS to unrelated animals! Then breed those babies together. Yes it takes longer to get the results you want, but you will have a stronger, healthier animal for future generations. What good is a pink snake if it crawls sideways and has a square head?
Here's an example of how serious this can get. In cockatiels, inbreeding was so prevalent that not only were there mutations like a bald spot on the head, thin, curled or missing feathers, and splayed legs, but the life expectancy dropped from 20 to 30 years down to around 5. It was such a serious problem that special arrangements were finally made with Australia to import a number of wild birds to save our captive population.
Genetic diversity is essential to a species' survival! So please, let's breed responsibly!

First of all line breeding and inbreeding are NOT the same thing. You can not LINE BREED for a generation or two. Line breeding involves continuously breeding down the line of related animals while in breeding can be as simple as breeding two distantly or closely related animals once or for a generation or two. Line breeding will certainly give you defects but simple inbreeding will not.

Secondly, I would like to see your PROOF that by the THIRD generation, you WILL begin to see defects. I want recorded proof from several different sources.

Thirdly, you CAN NOT compare avian genetics, mammalian genetics, amphibian genetics, to reptile genetics. Every species is different in how genes interact with an organism.

Fourthly, I do not take kindly to the fact you are pretty much saying any breeder who breeds related individuals (pretty much the MAJORITY of reptile breeders) are not responsible breeders and do not care about the health and quality of their animals.

You need to back up what you are saying with proof and not just "This breeder told me the spider doesn't wobble". Even kinks can be so slight they are almost undetectable but they are still there. I bred two unrelated snakes and either due to incubation problems or genetic problems (we are not sure yet) I lost all of the babies of that clutch, some during incubation, one right before hatching and one after hatching. The one that died right before hatching had SEVERE kinking and was missing an eye. The one that survived a while after hatching had slight kinks (some we didn't even notice were there until later) but did not thrive (could not eat). That was breeding two UNRELATED animals.

My spider wobbles. Will I breed him? You bet! To two females this season actually. Will any spider's he throws wobble? Yes they will. All spiders wobble and you will never be able to breed it out. Spiders have not been around very long and so there is no way you can say there are spiders that do not and will never wobble. Some spiders may not begin wobbling until they are 20 years old! But it is clear that the spider gene is linked to the wobble and if the spider gene is present, you WILL have an animal that wobbles.