Scaleless BP

[Haitun]

It is incredibly cute and looks so smooth and soft but I am guessing they aren't going to be as healthy as a normal snake with scales would be...

[Morphie]

Not gonna comment on this one

that was a comment. just sayin'.

[Morphie]

Scaleless snakes are just like hairless monkeys or hairless whatever. It's a mutation that causes a change. Completely natural. Everything on this earth came to be as it is by this process, and there's nothing wrong with it. If it makes this animal more fit for survival in its domain, this gene might end up being more prevalent than the one for scaled ball pythons. Since this animal lives in captivity, the selective pressures are different from where its ancestors evolved, and it stands a good chance of being successful in passing on its genes - simply because we like it.

It's the same reason so many pied balls exist nowadays. The bright white color would make them an easy target in the grasslands of West Africa, but they're safely here in our collections and we think they're beautiful, so we make more.

Something that seems irrevocably true is that the angrier something makes you, the less you understand it. Calm down and look at things from multiple viewpoints. We can explain much of what we observe simply by studying it. Some of the more complex processes still evade us, but we're making progress towards grasping all of it. Nothing you can see is unnatural. If it were, it wouldn't be happening

[Slim]

Are you ok with people breeding Spiders?

Actually, since you asked, I don't agree with breeding Spiders or any BP with Spider genes, and I don't own one. I don't soap box about Spiders, because I know many, many people enjoy Spiders and Spider crosses. It's just my personal decision.

It's a mutation that causes a change. Completely natural. Everything on this earth came to be as it is by this process, and there's nothing wrong with it.

Don't make the mistake of confusing a mutation with a genetic defect. Someone born with thalidamide type flippers for arms isn't a mutation, they are defective from a genetic standpoint.

[Morphie]

Don't make the mistake of confusing a mutation with a genetic defect. Someone born with thalidamide type flippers for arms isn't a mutation, they are defective from a genetic standpoint.

Dictionary:
mutation
(myū-tā'shən) pronunciation

3. Genetics.
1. A change of the DNA sequence within a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not found in the parental type.
2. The process by which such a change occurs in a chromosome, either through an alteration in the nucleotide sequence of the DNA coding for a gene or through a change in the physical arrangement of a chromosome.
3. A mutant.

The ball python in question is a mutant (def #3), a result of the event of definition #2: a rearrangement of chromosomes prior to its birth, dealing it a set of alleles that resulted in the inability to form scales, or perhaps a result of definition #1: a change in the sequence of its DNA making the proteins required for scale formation not-viable. Obviously this process could have been interrupted on any part of many pathways.

The organism is viable and stable. It could be considered "defective" because it doesn't have the protective layer over it, but neither do hairless rats, cats, or monkeys, who all do well and thrive in the comfort of a domestic environment.

I am wondering what definitions of 'mutation' and 'genetic defect' you're using that you don't think both are possibly applicable here (even interchangeably). I'm also wondering what course you took (who your teacher was) that gave you this impression...?

[J.Vandegrift]

Actually, since you asked, I don't agree with breeding Spiders or any BP with Spider genes, and I don't own one. I don't soap box about Spiders, because I know many, many people enjoy Spiders and Spider crosses. It's just my personal decision.

I can agree with you on that one.

[Oxylepy]

you shouldnt compare Mammals to reptiles

Why not? According to the theory of evolution mammals evolved from reptiles which had evolved from fish. A scaleless or hairless or featherless animal is but a mutation in genetics which could lead to something new. Mankind decides now what lives and what dies within captivity. Do not argue that it "has a lesser chance at surviving" this is captivity, it isn't about predator and prey or climate, it is the choice of the owner what survives or not.

[JAMills]

This is not the same animal as the Derma Ball. Here is a picture I took of the Derma Ball at one of the shows up here last year. Interesting animal but I really did not like the look. Though the feel was interesting. the skin with no scales was kind of satin feeling.
I do like the look of the animal at the begining of this post with no scales at all.

[azpythons]

Why not? According to the theory of evolution mammals evolved from reptiles which had evolved from fish. A scaleless or hairless or featherless animal is but a mutation in genetics which could lead to something new. Mankind decides now what lives and what dies within captivity. Do not argue that it "has a lesser chance at surviving" this is captivity, it isn't about predator and prey or climate, it is the choice of the owner what survives or not.

Which is exactly why you shouldnt...evolution schmevolution

[Texas Dan]

This is not the same animal as the Derma Ball. Here is a picture I took of the Derma Ball at one of the shows up here last year. Interesting animal but I really did not like the look. Though the feel was interesting. the skin with no scales was kind of satin feeling.
I do like the look of the animal at the begining of this post with no scales at all.

Lol, only took 4 pages before someone responded to me. haha. Oh well, I hve only seen one picture of theDerma ball. Now that I see that one.. doesn't look that cool.