Ralph Davis Clutch Gone Wrong

[starmom]

If this is the case then I recommend you take your hearsay and innuendo and implications to Ralph and/or his forum. He'll share with you what the facts are and your drama will cease.

[TripleMoonsExotic]

He'll share with you what the facts are and your drama will cease.

Drama? Get real. Posting an opinion is drama?

I think the corn snake clutch with such a high reported percentage of problems tends to indicate that case is NOT genetic but some common environmental factor. Most serious deformities are recessive or spontaneous because of the high selection rate against a life threatening dominant mutation. Sounds like you got well over 25% kinks so unless it was some sort of genetic compatibility issue between those parents I’m betting some freak environmental factor. Figuring out what would be a great service to the herp community. Have you ever breed the same pair again and if so what where those results?

Yes, I did this past year. One hatched kinked, 2 died in egg kinked (I don't agree with cutting eggs either - they can't make it out on their own, they weren't meant to live)...BUT the other 8 turned out great. What's interesting is the parents are in no way related...They were purchased from opposites sides of the country from different lines. If it was environmental, I would imagine the other clutches would have shown kinking...But only one other did, the clutch sired by the same male to a different female...Only one was severely kinked.

Whether these deformities are genetic or not (how will you 100% determine that it is not genetic unless you breed them or have obvious environmental issues, like heat spikes for example), they should be culled and not sold.

Severe deformities, be they genetic or not, should be put down. But the lesser stuff can be given a chance.

I agree...But missing eyes and sections of a jaw is a severe deformity in my opinion. A slightly kinked spine (as long as the animal can still move, feed and defecate fine) could live a "happy" life as a pet, if you could find someone trustworthy enough to actually not breed or sell the animal. Problem is, how can you 100% guarantee that person is going to follow your request unless you're personal friends with them.

[RandyRemington]

So the same corn snake pair produced some kinks in two different years (one year high percentage, another year lower) and other clutches incubated under the same conditions where fine? Then you may well have something genetic. If it where just one year I would think it could be some fluke like the pre lay temps in the female's cage. Hard to explain how the genetics might work. Maybe a recessive gene that they both happened to have and just very unlucky the first year to get a higher than 25% rate. Or maybe there could be some incompatibility between the two, something like an rh factor difference in humans.

[TripleMoonsExotic]

So the same corn snake pair produced some kinks in two different years (one year high percentage, another year lower) and other clutches incubated under the same conditions where fine? Then you may well have something genetic. If it where just one year I would think it could be some fluke like the pre lay temps in the female's cage. Hard to explain how the genetics might work. Maybe a recessive gene that they both happened to have and just very unlucky the first year to get a higher than 25% rate. Or maybe there could be some incompatibility between the two, something like an rh factor difference in humans.

Yes, I've only had issues with offspring produced from the Lavender Motley male. Not only from the same pair two years in a row, but also from another female this year who is neither Lavender or Motley (she's a Blizzard - produced a perfect clutch in 2007 with another male) that produced a grossly kinked/fused hatchling.