So the UK Really Banned Spider Balls

[the_rotten1]

@royalreilly It is unfortunate that people jumped to conclusions about the UK ban. I think people should understand the nature of a ban before complaining about it. Admittedly, I don't have the best concept of how things work across the pond myself, but that's why it's important to do research, right?

What I meant by "Why can't people just mind their own business?" is that if you don't like something, don't buy it. It's fine if people don't like the spider morph and choose to stay away from it. Nobody's saying you have to have one. But by the same token, don't try to police the behavior of others. There are a lot of people who love spider ball pythons. Whether you personally believe they should be bred or not, I think each person should be able to decide for themselves whether or not they want to own and breed them. When there is a ban, that decision is taken from us (at least, at that one venue anyway, but who is to say it won't spread?).

And I'm not saying all breeders are trustworthy. There are definitely some deplorables out there who abuse their animals. By the same token though, it's equally ignorant to assume that all breeders are greedy bastards who are only in it for the money and don't care about the welfare of their snakes. The vast majority of breeders do it because we love our animals. Breeders typically put a lot more work into maintaining their snakes than someone who is just keeping a pet and many have decades of experience. Some of them have been breeding snakes longer than I've been alive. You gonna tell me that the opinion of someone who's owned a snake for a year is equal to that?

I can't speak about every snake out there carrying the spider gene, but all the ones I've worked with have been just as healthy as all my other BPs. Without question. And based on all the information I've learned from people who've been in the industry far longer than me, and produced far more animals, I think the main reason you don't hear more about the really bad wobblers is because: A, they very rarely happen, and B, the wobble is dependent on the stress levels of the snake. So if a snake is kept well it likely won't show severe wobble. If it is kept poorly, it gets worse.

So people take a few isolated instances of really bad wobble, the worst they can find, and post it on youtube for shock value. People watch that and think all spiders are that bad. I don't think you should underestimate the effect that media hype has had on this issue.