Quote Originally Posted by catzeye21138 View Post
The problem comes in the further generations when it's harder to distinguish that the snake is indeed a hybrid. This means someone could accidentally breed a ball that they didn't know had woma in it into a ball python breeding project. This starts to muddy up the breeding lines.

I've said it before, some agree with me and others don't, but if I were to ever breed hybrids all offspring would be microchipped and the new homes they went to would be required to sign paperwork stating that they would under no circumstance breed this animal, and if they were ever unable to care for it the animal would be returned to me.

I think hybrids can be awesome things, but only in the right hands.
Is that possible? I thought that it was possible for members of the same Genus to be closely related enough to produce viable offspring, but only members of the same species can produce fertile offspring. That's the definition of species, actually, so I don't see how a hybrid could accidentally muddy up the gene pool.
Like mules- you can buy a mule, but it's not going to make baby mules. And if you bought it thinking it was a horse and planned on breeding it, you got ripped off.
Are snakes different? Or are the different types just significantly different morphs of the same species- and if so, how come they aren't mixing it up on their own in the wild?
This is a serious question, I really don't know and now I'm curious.