More mud in the debate over WC Gravids

[wilomn]

I'm neither a supporter nor non-supporter of imported gravid ball pythons.

I am a realist a tad past teenage years. Whether or not you or I feel one way or another about it, it will continue to happen.

Personally, I think we've got enough blood here in the states to get whatever may be available out there. Further that with the parallel belief that babies can and should be imported and I see no way to miss out on anything new so long as they are.

Politics aside, country aside, species aside, as long as there is demand, no matter from whom or for what, there will be supply until the item wanted is gone or so prohibitive to get that it is no longer profitable to obtain.

[Bruce Whitehead]

Maybe it got missed... but it seems no one questioned the authenticity of the snakes in the original ad being a bogus clutch?

If it was excuse me.

Just a way to pop up the hype.

Bruce

One bonus to acquiring a gravid female is that you need to worry about ticks and parasites on your haltching.

The adult you can treat, and if you're committed to taming out a WC, or have a contingency plan.

Maybe I am being too optmistic?

Bruce

[Bruce Whitehead]

Should have said no ticks and what not on the eggs/hatchlings.

[slartibartfast]

One bonus to acquiring a gravid female is that you need to worry about ticks and parasites on your haltching.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but maternal parasites aren't passed to eggs, right? So if the eggs were removed and incubated seperately, shouldn't the hatchlings come out clean?

[Bruce Whitehead]

Yeah... I addendud that to say NO ticks, etc. It was a typo.

[Ginevive]

I just don't have the time and facilities for the large amounts of WC gravids that I think you'd need to have the odds of hitting something different. I don't know enough about the numbers, statistics, and that to judge whether or not this is "ethical."

[littleindiangirl]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but maternal parasites aren't passed to eggs, right? So if the eggs were removed and incubated seperately, shouldn't the hatchlings come out clean?

Well, in VPI's book, they observed some ticks release and start moving down the mother as she was laying the eggs to wedge themselves onto the eggs. Perhaps to wait till the new snakes hatched and find new hosts.

[dr del]

There are also morphs in the UK that are not in the states.

Hi,

Sorry for the hijack but could I ask you what those are?


dr del

[Thomas Jones]

There will always be a big debate over importation of ball pythons. I feel it is good and bad. It allows for fresh blood to come in. But then there will be many that die in keeprs hands who do not know how to care from them.
I am glad for one that WC are allow to be imported. Mr. Billingsley was nice enough to work a deal with me on the Het Red Axanthics he hatched from the WC female. If you do not like the fact that WC are coming into the country then why buy morphs you are just supporting Africans and the importation of ball pythons. The morphs had to come from somewhere, right.

The choice is simple if you not like the importation of ball pythons then do not buy WC/imported animals.

[wilomn]

I think there is good debate on either side - but numbers wise it doesn't appear that the exportation of balls is making much of a dent in the general wild populations - there are designated areas where trapping is permitted there are areas where it is not - according to the cities investigations there doesn't seem to be a big difference in the number of balls per acre between the two. Also put into place are the rules and regulations about releasing the percentage back into the wild to accommodate for what is being taken. Blah Blah Blah. Whether they keep true and accurate records is another argument.

My major problem is that these animals get over here - they are completely misrepresented and sold as ghosts, desert ghosts, axanthics, etc. when their coloration is most likely due to being gravid - and then the "oddballs" that are hatched are almost as likely a result of stress on either mom or the egg and are not in fact genetic. How few of these oddballs actually prove out?

Anyway - it's economics for a poor country - and if we didn't buy them as pets they would end up as food. If the wild populations die out - there are plenty of unwanted normals in the US we can send back for re population.

tasha, is this another one of your pull facts out of thin air then run when someone asks you to back them up routines?

I asked you for your sources several times, you've been here reading the thread, and yet you have nothing to say.

Why is that?

Are you just making things up?

Again.