Quote Originally Posted by Namea View Post
Exactly. Even snakes are family to me. When I'm doing private owner rehabs I never give a snake to someone who already has 10+ or refers to them that way. I also don't believe in breeders who haven't seriously researched what they're doing. Too often you get people who don't know what they're about or don't care enough about the snakes to do it right. They'll breed morphs who have known defects and high mortality rates just because they know that surviving snakes can be sold at higher prices because they're considered rare.

Snakes aren't a collection. You shouldn't just get one because you like the looks of it. That's why I'm against buying snakes online and putting them through the stress of shipping. Like any other pet the ownership of a snake should be based on a connection with the animal.
I am admittedly semi-guilty of that as I have chosen a snake to be shipped to me (banana morph). But it's my first snake I've had since I was a preteen since the initial one (a corn) regrettably was rehomed at the time (long story short, friends kept giving me animals they couldn't care for anymore, some multiplied, and it became way too much for my age to the point where I had to downsize) so I did want something a little more unusual. And even then, I'm taking extra precautions and have requested that mine sheds first before he makes the journey as he was in deep blue when the breeder showed me a current picture this week, plus this time of year has the perfect weather conditions to ensure as little stress as possible.

Also did my research on which morphs to avoid like the notorious spiders. I don't care what anyone says, if a snake can't even move its head around normally, it probably shouldn't be bred. The scaleless morphs give me pause too, it's like hairless variations of mammals. A change of color is one thing, but why selectively remove a part of their biology that they specifically have to survive better as an organism? I watch Snake Discovery and while it's a wonderful channel for the most part, they breed a lot of scaleless snakes and even right out of the egg it's apparent they have a harder life (always seem to hatch slower than their scaled siblings, when they get out they get twice as much substrate stuck to themselves, and I'm sure they're more susceptible to cuts and bruises).