after reading the first few pages and the last few pages, my opinion about the spider gene doesnt change at all.


the mechanism is simple: heterozygous spiders are fine, and homozygous spiders dont exist because the homozygous spider is lethal.

since the original poster didnt mention the amount of slugs, i still see two options:

1.) Homozygous spider is very deadly, so that the embryo dies so fast that the mother snake produces a slug instead of a full-sized egg.

2.) Homozygous spider is even more deadly, so that the fertilized zygote cannot even split once, or something prevents the egg from forming, and the mother snake doesnt even produce a slug. I consider it remotely possible that the female simply responds by producing another egg, that females just fill their bellies with eggs and stop when they have as many eggs growing as they can handle. But i think a 25% drop in fertility is more likely.


and the consequences for breeding? i dont know, im not a catholic, it doesnt bother me when embryos or zygotes that are less sentient than a tomato die. So the only reason to avoid breeding spider to spider would be that possible (not proven out) 25% drop in fertility.

in my opinion the wobble is the bigger issue.