Genetic Diversity in a Collection

[OhhWatALoser]

The mechanism is the same across the animal kingdom, and you can find many examples in many different species (including snakes).

Dont get me wrong, I am not of the opinion that all inbreeding is bad. Yes line breeding can be an effective way to make healthy animals. What concerns me is when people seem to be under the impression that inbreeding is never bad. I think that understanding what inbreeding depression is, what causes it, and how it works is beneficial for any animal breeder.

I find more often people demonize inbreeding and do it pretty blindly also, especially when putting a generation number that is "ok". I am not referring to Pythonfriend, they explain their logic, while I might not agree with it, they are at least not doing it blindly. Many other I have talked to though, seem to have this magic ok number of generations then SHTF.

The same general concept (high homozygosity) that causes inbreeding depression can also make a stronger animal. I think both extremes should be talked about in the same conversation. I think the key is being selective. I mean in all honesty, why treat any pairing any different, if there are problems, stop them, why does the relationship matter? I see no reason to think after 3 generation all of a sudden defects happen out of nowhere and shouldn't breed after that magic number. It can be tough because we are always introducing new morphs, but be selective about your pairings when you can.