Breeding Standards

[Eric Alan]

I just hate seeing snakes for sell with poor patterning and bad markings at an upscaled price. Add some Fancy words like pixilating, swirled, or one of a kind and charge way to much for a snake that is clearly not a good example of the morph they claim it is. I agree that something should be done if for nothing else than to help the non educated consumers aquire nice healthy animals that are exactly what they are being sold as and not an undesirable defect that someone can decide to over price. A morph standard for each morph would help not only the breeders keep the genes stronger but also help new snake owners know and understand the morph they are purchasing. Right now I hear a lot of people talking about quality animals but no one has yet to say what makes them quality animals.

What do you think makes a quality animal? Why do you care so much about what the rest of us think are quality animals? Who are you to say that those animals you're talking so much smack about aren't someone else's dream animal? How much do you need to understand about a morph in order to see its beauty? What happens to those animals that don't meet the standard?

Here's my definition: A quality animal is one that makes you stop and smile every single time you see it - even when the rank poo-casso art it just smeared across its enclosure rivals the beauty of the living art smiling back at you.

Honestly, if someone doesn't inherently see the beauty of the animals in this hobby for themselves, I'd be questioning what they're doing in the hobby in the first place - it's not like ball pythons make great companions.