Ever think that my spider may be more adapted to this world then your normal?

[MrLang]

I hear and know what you are talking about, however just because something is classifieded as a disorder or dysfunctional doesnt mean that it couldnt serve or hasnt served as a beneficial survival tactic. Sickle Cell anemia for instance us considered a disorder in humans but in a place where malaria is prevalent say Africa or anywhere tropical this disorder would be beneficial since malaria is rampant there and people with this disorder are less likely to get and better equiped to deal with malaria. Just so happens that many Africans and people of African descent carry this gene or exhibit it. Just playing devils advocate.

Sickle Cell Anemia wasn't selected for by natural pressures though... this is a 'unrelated helpful side effect' from a genetic disorder that overall reduces the fitness of the individual. I agree with you totally, which is kind of my point about Spiders potentially being better suited for domestication. As someone with a background in science I need to draw a distinction between evolution and flaws having dumb luck positive consequences. I'm not saying evolution doesn't start with such mutations, just that it isn't what we see with Sickle Cell (which by definition reduces the fitness of the individual) or Spider Wobble (which, in captivity, doesn't reduce the fitness.) There aren't separate populations of Spider BPs living in the wild (which by the way would be the only way you can support a claim about them being 'evolved'). Being a man of science, I won't be bullish enough to make unsupported claims as fact. I can't say that they would have reduced fitness in the grasslands because I couldn't support that with real science, but if I were a betting man I'd put money on them being disadvantaged.

@ Mike - I'm not going to get into a personal squabble with you, so don't bait or I'll leave the discussion. I don't get the sense that you're contributing to your thread to learn anything, which is a real shame since you're wrong on many of your points. I'm confused how owning and breeding more spider ball pythons in plastic bins makes you better equipped to discuss evolution, genetics, or medical disorders with me. I'm speaking under the premise of what is known fact and universally accepted by people much smarter and who have done much more of their homework than you or I. You're speaking to your own personal speculation. I'm not telling you that you're wrong to be a jerk... I'm telling you that you're wrong because you're wrong.

I'd pit my background with an Evolutionary Biology degree, veterinarian sister who attended the most accredited vet school in the country and who owns her own practice, and mother who has worked in Neuropharmacology for 30 years over your experience raising snakes in an environment that doesn't even come remotely close to mimicking the wild.