|
 The
hybrid snakes that I breed are done so through a desire to
create something beautiful and unusual, they are purely for
the "Designer Pet" market. It is not my intention
or desire to pass these off as anything other than what they
are. The hatchlings I produce besides being beautiful to
look at, behave, grow and reproduce like any other snake.
It is not the snakes in captivity that are in danger from
hobbyists hybridizing, as there will always be those that
will produce normal coloured snakes and continue the wild
type lines in captivity. It is the wild populations that
are at risk, not through hybrid or captive bred escapees,
but from habitat destruction and the collection of reptiles.
So for those who are against the breeding of hybrid snakes
or snake keeping in general, it is not the very few designer
breeders, who are putting the wild populations at risk, it
is all those who turn a blind eye to what is happening in
our world, where habitat is being torn down to make room
for roads, supermarkets and the like.
Some species and subspecies are similar enough that many
of them can interbreed and share genes with the help of man.
A variety of hybrids have been bred in captivity, in the
vivarium herpetologists have been able to break down the
barriers of timing, breeding behavior & geographical
isolation that prevent species from breeding together in
the wild. Breeding hybrid snakes in captivity has always
been a controversial subject amongst the herpetological community,
those who are against hybridization usually have the following
lines of thought.
- It isn't natural
- Hybrids could escape
into the wild and contaminate wild populations.
- unscrupulous
breeders may sell hybrids as pure species and therefore
contaminate captive populations
of otherwise pure species
- Hybrids are sterile
Natural in it's true sense is a population of snakes in
the wild, a population that is free to choose who they mate,
where males combat for the privileges of the female,
where only the strongest and dominate are allowed to pass
on there genes. Take a snake out of the wild put it in a
vivarium and it immediately becomes unnatural, a controlled
environment determined by man, where we choose when and what
it eats, it's temperature range and who it should breed with
etc. For a snake to be truly pure bred in captivity, one
must breed it with another from the same locality as each
population in the wild across it's range has a different
genetic makeup. For example a cornsnake from the Miami area
of Florida expresses different traits to those that are found
in Okeetee region of South Carolina if we were to breed these
together yes we would still have a cornsnake but it would
not be true to it's own unique population we have genetically
changed it, in the wild Miami hatchlings have a preference
for small lizards whereas Okeete cornsnakes preference is
for rodents other differences are colour and size of individuals,
these are all determined by the genetic makeup of the snake.
Even if we were to breed animals from the same locality together,
more than likely when choosing animals to add to our collection,
we would choose those that expressed the most desirable traits.
eg: bright colours, well defined pattern, healthy and robust
etc.By doing so we are determining who breeds with who and
choosing what traits of the animal we want their babies to
express.
Those who breed normal coloured snakes be it King, Gopher, Milk or Ratsnake
and keep them lines pure, are still producing Pet snakes, yes they will
be able to show there children/grandchildren a Black Ratsnake or a Californian
Kingsnake that looks like those found in the wild, but they have become
domesticated through captivity and would have no chance of surviving
in the wild. We have no end of colour and pattern mutations being bred
in captivity, achieved by crossing animals that express or are heterozygous
for these traits, these snakes are not seen in the wild, but are abundant
in collections worldwide. To take the Cornsnake as an example again,
how many different mutations are bred in captivity? my guess is hundreds,
are there populations of mutations in the wild, with the exception of
the anerythristic corn, No. Because the chances of two individuals expressing
or carrying the same mutant gene in the wild breeding together is very
slim. So what we have produced is man-made, we have bred for certain
traits, more than likely inbred to maximize the amount of hatchlings
expressing any given trait, . We are in effect producing "Designer" snakes.
These mutant snakes have been excepted into the hobby, embraced even.
Most are beautiful, expressing brilliant colours and patterns, hobbyists
mix and match both colour and pattern mutations in the hope of breeding
something just that little bit different. Normal coloured snakes are
bred to enhance there natural colouration. None of this is natural. What
we are producing are pet snakes, those that fit in to our idea of beauty.
This desire to breed the ultimate snake has lead us along the hybridization
path, most hybrids bred in captivity are not "normal" coloured
snakes but albino or hypomelanistic or express some other mutant gene.
The fact that different species when bred together can produce viable
offspring defies all the rules of classification, The 'Darwinian' definition
of a species is 'a group of individuals which can freely interbreed and
produce 'normal' fertile offspring'. Today species is defined using a
number of criteria including geographical, chemical, physiological and
genetic bases of reproductive isolation, often there is conflict among
researchers as to which groups form species. As all groups of living
things are continually evolving, there will always be situations where  intermediate
forms, will be difficult to classify in a 'man made' category. Take the
Ruthven Kingsnakes this is believed to be the most primitive of the Kingsnakes,
and it has been suggested they are responsible for the evolution of several
other species including mexicana, triangulum, pyromelena, and alterna.
Indeed the Ruthvens Kingsnake hybridizes with other species that overlap
it's range in the wild. In the vivarium it has been responsible for the
introduction of the Albino gene into many King & Milksnake species.
This is certainly true, but the same could be said
for any escapee snake, the chances of a hybrid snake surviving
in the wild in our country (UK) is very slim, and then to
breed with one of our native snakes and produce young, highly
unlikely. Even escapees in countries where the conditions
are right for them they would probably perish and die before
reproducing as there immune system would not be sufficient
to survive.
 Again
yes this is true, I believe that hybrids should be sold as
such and full disclosure of there genetic background will
be made at both the point of enquiry and sale. Unscrupulous
breeders will tell you anything to sell an animal, can you
honestly say that you know the genetic makeup of all your
animals. Is that Normal Cali King really pure bred or is it
heterozygous for some trait or other, are your snakes unrelated,
just because you brought one in London and the other from
Scotland does not mean they are unrelated, do you know the
parentage of all your snakes. With the hobby in the position
it is today we should be pulling together for the good of
our reptiles not arguing about the ethics of breeding. If
you are unaware that our hobby is in danger just visit the
FBH website for information on the threat to our reptiles.
When buying any snake you should always buy from a trusted
source.
I have heard of individual hybrids being sterile
but also some wild types. All the hybrids I breed are fertile,
and many show higher fertility than some normal snakes. More
fertility problems have been seen in snakes that have been
inbred than with hybrids. A lot of hybrids are stronger more
robust than there parents, this is known as hybrid vigor,
the passing of good traits from both parents gives the snake
a survival boost. Evolution is based primarily on changes
in gene frequencies, resulting (among other processes) from
mutation, reproductive isolation, and recombination of genes
through hybridization.
Breeding hybrids, king x corn.
I get many emails asking " how do I make a jungle corn
" usually these questions come from inexperienced breeders,
nothing wrong with that.
Often not having much keeping or knowledge behind them, even
so their minds are made up.
I hope this message helps others to re'think those plans.
So here's just a couple of things you need to think about
before you go ahead.
For all most any snake that meets another it can be stressful,
even king to king, sometimes even corn to corn, but almost
any snake even if it's the same species will feel a high level
of fear on a visit to a king snake.
The Cali king being the most commonly kept king is also the
most likely king thought of when wanting to breed jungle corns,
it is also the most likely king to want to eat your cornsnake.
Kingsnakes are born reptile eaters, many kings are lizard
eaters rather than snakes, but for Cali kings, snakes are
high on the menu. Cali kings will hunt snakes, even highly
poisonous snakes are not safe.
For the welfare of your cornsnake I would advise not to try
this unless you have some kingsnake breeding experience behind
you, after that you will understand the dangers involed, you
will learn that even when two kingsnakes are put together
they can be in danger of each other.
You will learn the best times to put them together, the diffence
between breeding and hunting behavour, not to leave the room
and what to if one of them grabs the other.
So I would advise not to do this for most people, of coarse
there are always exceptions to the above, but you risk injury
and death to you snakes if you lack the experience in breeding
kings in the first place.
If your going ahead with a jungle corn breeding plan, then
I would advise to make the corn bigger than the king.
© Pete Quinlan & Sue Knight
|
