How to feel about the ethics of the spider wobble?

[Zincubus]

Mark is 100% on the money. This community has been breeding Spiders for many many generations, and the wobble is still around. If in fact the worst of the train wrecks are going in the freezer, or at least being kept as pets only, and I believe this to be true, the wobble would eventually die off. The fact that Spiders still wobble is conclusive evidence that the condition is attached to the gene.

If loads of these ' defective ' hatchlings are being disposed of .... it makes the practice of breeding them even more abhorrent tbh !

[Dave Green]

I've easily produced over a hundred spider babies over the years and I've never had to cull a baby spider and I've never had one corkscrew. Some wobble for sure but they always found a home.

[Slim]

If loads of these ' defective ' hatchlings are being disposed of .... it makes the practice of breeding them even more abhorrent tbh !

We'll never know, or even be able to reasonably guess how many are culled each season. Let's not forget that the vast majority of the Ball Python world isn't on this forum, so a poll of breeders here would do us no good.

As for culling of defects being abhorrent, I respect your opinion, even though I may not agree with it.

[MichPlat]

We'll never know, or even be able to reasonably guess how many are culled each season. Let's not forget that the vast majority of the Ball Python world isn't on this forum, so a poll of breeders here would do us no good.

As for culling of defects being abhorrent, I respect your opinion, even though I may not agree with it.

Interesting .

[MarkS]

If loads of these ' defective ' hatchlings are being disposed of .... it makes the practice of breeding them even more abhorrent tbh !

To be honest, I've culled more normals with birth defects or deformities then I have any morph. These kinds of defects can happen when breeding ANY animal. There is nothing 'abhorrent' about euthanizing any animal that is dying or is destined to have a poor quality of life. If you can't handle these kind of issues as they arise, then breeding animals is probably not for you.

[MichPlat]

Well thankfully I don't breed snakes , just collect and keep them .

Breeding them has never appealed to me in the slightest , we're all different I guess as many seem to live for the breeding part of snake keeping ..

[tacticalveterinarian]

Great thread and posts!

I can't speak for the experience of others, but I'll share my experiences. I've produced 50+ spider and spider combos over the years. None of my breeders have major neurological issues. I have never had to cull a spider or spider combo hatchling I produced. None of the offspring I've produced had feeding problems, extreme neurological or corkscrewing issues including my own holdbacks and sold subadults/adults I see months-years later. That being said, I'm also not handling every spider/spider combo on a daily basis for extended periods of time. Although I do handle them, friends handle them and some are used for educational purposes- I try my very best to keep their stress levels at a minimum. I also incubate most of my ball python eggs at a lower temperature than most others, anywhere from 84-87F. I don't know if it helps or I just got really lucky. But I do know that the nervous system, particularly the central nervous system is highly sensitive to heat- especially toward the latter stages of development (why temperature spikes in incubation can cause wobbling/head tilt/neuro issues).