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Re: Should there be a debate about captive bread vs. Wild caught?
Apologies if this rapidly becomes tl;dr, there is so much I wish to respond to.
When we have captive break pythons they have a weaker immune system and a higher risk of inbreeding. While wild caught pythons are less likely to be inbreeded and they have a stronger immune system.
Funny, but from the limited number of wild caught/captive hatched snakes versus captive bred snakes I've known, the opposite is true. I had a wild caught snake in college, and the poor thing arrived massively dehydrated and totally infested with those awful flat-bodied reptile ticks. He also had mites from being housed with infested animals. Later on, he required regular de-worming for a recurring issue of internal parasites. I have probably spent more on his vet care in the three years I owned him (before finally selling him) than I have in the last year with ALL OF MY CONSTRICTORS COMBINED, all of whom might I add are bred by reputable breeders.
Secondly, why is inbreeding a problem? Inbreeding and linebreeding do not cause issues...they merely accentuate the traits of the animal(s) in question. If the animal has a recessive or minor flaw, the flaw becomes much greater and in starker contrast in the offspring...whereas if the animal is really spectacular somehow, it accentuates all those good traits in the offspring. Crappy breeders who don't know how to cull their breeding stock perpetuate the myth than inbreeding somehow harms animals. In fact, well-used, inbreeding/linebreeding can create a strain of utterly perfect animals.
My wild caught python will let me cover her head and put her head in my mouth.
And here I thought I was a risk-taker by allowing my constrictors to sit on my shoulders or even coil around my neck. HOLY CRAP. Why would you DO that??? Cuteness factor versus SALMONELLA, dude. I don't care if your pythons look like legless persian kittens, no ammount of cute would ever get my snakes near much less IN my mouth!!!!
The Wild caught will never miss a meal while my captive breed is very picky.
My wild caught python was a terrible eater. He would prey-reject for MONTHS ON END and then he'd only eat, say...a single live mouse, never pre-killed or f/t, and if it was a mouse of the wrong colour (seriously, he wouldn't touch tan mice, only brown or white!) he'd ignore it. One mouse every few months for a three-and-a-half foot long python is not enough, and I hated feeding live. Everyone I've known who has wild caught OR captive hatched had the same kind of issues.
In contrast, all my pythons I own now are bred by responsible breeders (on that note, I can't say enough good things about Russ Lawson's snakes!) and ALL of them are great eaters, they all eat f/t and they eat with a will. All I have to do is show them a mouse or rat (depending on the size of the snake of course) and they go nuts, strike-constrict-NOM. They are all at such a nicer weight than my wild boy EVER was, too. Not too fat but nice and chunky like a real Ball should be.
P.S. Why would you want to put your snakes head in your mouth??? You know they eats rats with that mouth right?
................dang, I hadn't even been thinking about that. EW. Salmonella + rat = VILE.
These are not social creatures and when people think they are "cuddling" or "snuggling" they are actually competing for the same spot to thermoregulate.
Far too many people anthropomorphosize their pets, assigning them emotions and thoughts they never actually have. People see them "cuddling" and since humans like and need close physical contact once in a while, we assume our snakes do too. Unless of course we have the ability to research the specifics of the species we're keeping and realize they are not social animals and not actually "cuddling" at all. 
Putting them in the same cage does not harm them
Constant stress can drop an animal's immune system. It can also lead to prey rejection and if one snake gets too pushy, they can indeed harm each other. Just because they haven't been too overly harmed YET doesn't mean it isn't a potential disaster.
Glass aquariums are the worst enclosures to achieve proper husbandry in. Glass does not keep in the heat, and without cover on the top such as tinfoil or plastic wrap humidity goes out the door.
AMEN. I switched to tubs and have never looked back. No more stuck sheds from fluctuating humidity, no more temperature gradients beyond stupidity, and sooooooo so so much easier to clean. The latter is especially nice since one of my pythons like to turn his tub into a poo-smeared swamp on a regular basis.
I think everyone needs to just back down and agree to disagree (even if you walk away thinking the other party is idiotic) as long as we all just step down and walk away, this isnt an argument that either side will win.
Ironically I haven't seen much open hostility or name-calling, or anything over-the-top...unless you count the rather understandable tide of "OMG SNAKES IN YOUR MOUTH???? ". Which...yeah, okay, that's just vile. Sorry.
1.1 Mojave BP ("Caffè Macchiato;" name pending)
1.0 Cinnamon BP ("Jayne")
1.0 Pastel BP ("Elliot")
0.1 Normal BP ("Biscotti")
0.1 Spider BP (name pending)
0.1 Apricot Pueblan Milksnake ("Bowline")
1.0 Dumeril Boa ("Julien")
0.1 Super-Dwarf Reticulated Python ("Temperance")
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