GAME CHANGER: Half Mojave / Half WHS Scaleless

[cheosamad]

I prefer the full scaleless snakes. But this is still absolutely mind blowing!

[TurkeyPython]

Just gotta say this guy isn't a "game changer". The half n' half thing isn't genetic so guy isn't a game changer at all. Genetically he might even have normal scaly mojave bits.

[kxr]

I've gotta say I'm in the boat with the people who aren't a fan of this animal. I don't mind scaleless animals in their own right and I understand what this animal is genetically but just think, if you were the breeder and this animal hatched from an egg when you weren't anticipating scale abnormalities wouldn't it be more considered a genetic defect like a kink or the duck bill of a super cinnamon? To me it looks like someone covered half of its body with acid which left it disfigured... I know the breeder wasn't trying to get an animal like this but showing off as the next big thing doesn't seem right to me.

Just my 2 cents

[Ax01]

that's an amazing BP. mind blowing!!

[Mangiapane85]

I will agree. It is very special. But it is also very NOT good looking. :/


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[Coluber42]

I agree that the genetics and developmental craziness that makes something like this happen are fascinating, but I can't get past thinking the snake kinda looks like a burn victim or something.

I'm also not really ethically comfortable with the idea breeding for scalelessness. Maybe a scaleless snake can lead a perfectly normal life in captivity. But I can't help but wonder if it's likely to be more sensitive to husbandry issues like the humidity range, scrapes or cuts or injuries from nose/head rubbing in amounts that wouldn't much affect a normal snake, infections, or just overall skin sensitivity to things like moisture, urine, substrates, etc. That's not to say they can't live perfectly decent lives if properly provided for, but if it makes them harder to provide for appropriately, that is not a good thing considering how popular they are as low-maintenance pets.

Yes, different "paint jobs" are mutations, too. But I see an ethical difference between a mutation that makes a superficial color change (think blue eyes or red hair on a human) and a mutation that removes a protective element of the animal's skin, particularly since they don't have belly scales like the scaleless corn/rat snakes do (I'm not wild about the ethics of the "wobble" morphs either).

Maybe I'm wrong and they'll turn out to be no less resilient than scaled ball pythons. But if not, you'll have people buying them at Petco ten or fifteen years from now thinking they're getting a fairly hardy, easy-to-care-for pet that turns out to be sensitive to all kinds of things and where even good advice about the normal care of its species doesn't cut it.

[redshepherd]

This snake is more appealing to me than a full scaleless, but probably because it's seriously one of a kind.. It makes me think of concept design where the artist intentionally splits a monster in half, like two fused animals. Which I guess is called a chimera. And this is actually a chimera. LOL

While full scaleless have always just reminded me of a worm, this half scaleless makes me think "frankenstein" or something intentionally designed, with that perfect split.

I'd love to own it, anyway. It's incredible.

[piedlover79]

I'm also not really ethically comfortable with the idea breeding for scalelessness. Maybe a scaleless snake can lead a perfectly normal life in captivity. But I can't help but wonder if it's likely to be more sensitive to husbandry issues like the humidity range, scrapes or cuts or injuries from nose/head rubbing in amounts that wouldn't much affect a normal snake, infections, or just overall skin sensitivity to things like moisture, urine, substrates, etc. That's not to say they can't live perfectly decent lives if properly provided for, but if it makes them harder to provide for appropriately, that is not a good thing considering how popular they are as low-maintenance pets.

I can't speak for scaleless ball pythons, but scaleless corn snake are just as hardy as their scaled counterpart, they even did scientific studies and proved that they do not dehydrate or require different humidity ranges, nor are they pron to injury.

They can also live perfectly normal lives in the wild. Wild rat snakes, rattle snakes, hognose, and bull snakes have all been found in the wild as adult animals.

[lawnchaircrisis]

Just gotta say this guy isn't a "game changer". The half n' half thing isn't genetic so guy isn't a game changer at all. Genetically he might even have normal scaly mojave bits.

Beautiful snake, congratulations! I am also guessing it's a chimera, which means it will be interesting to see what happens when you attempt to breed it. Since it is half and half, the gametes could end up being half scaleless and half mojave, or just one genotype. As with most chimeras, the offspring won't be nearly as exciting as the parent unfortunately, there's no way to replicate such a cool phenomenon.

[Coluber42]

I can't speak for scaleless ball pythons, but scaleless corn snake are just as hardy as their scaled counterpart, they even did scientific studies and proved that they do not dehydrate or require different humidity ranges, nor are they pron to injury.

They can also live perfectly normal lives in the wild. Wild rat snakes, rattle snakes, hognose, and bull snakes have all been found in the wild as adult animals.

That is encouraging. But those do still have their belly scales. Maybe it matters and maybe it doesn't, to me the burden of proof should be on demonstrating that it doesn't adversely affect the animal rather than on proving that it does. Humans have a long history of continuing to breed animals for traits that we know have adverse affects and then being in denial about it.