Anyone have a boa with "flat eye"?

[Freakyboas]

Yesterday I purchased a BEAUTIFUL male albino boa, got him for a great price- under $500.

He is super active, seems 100% healthy, seems to like being held. He also is a sneaky little guy, as soon as I put him in his cage he immediately was checking out ways to escape.

I got him so cheap because he was born with 1 eye missing. It wasn't lost, damaged, etc, it just wasn't there. No trauma, etc. It was a Kahl snake, and the buyer gave me an approximate DOB, and sure enough in Kahl's online records there is a male born right around when he thought it was born.

Other than the missing eye, he really seems great- is there any reason why I should not use him for breeding when ready? I will try to get some pics of him tonight.

[morti]

There is a strong potential that this condition is genetic. It is highly reccomended that no snake that is born sans one eye should ever be bred.

We want to make the breeding stock of boa morhps better, not worse.

[trendkill]

I'm hearing about this more and more... albino boas often born missing one or both eyes. I stay far far away from morphs.. but from what I understand, it's a genetic defect that comes from poor genes and/or linebreeding and inbreeding. Not something I'd want to pass along to any offspring.

	Morph A morph is a color or pattern variation that is proven to be genetic. Common morphs include albino, anerythristic, gentically striped, Hypomelanistic, and many others. Morphs also include combinations of simple traits such as "Sunglow" which is Albino and Hypomelanistic. These traits may be recessive traits, co-dominant traits, dominant traits, or created through selective breeding (ie Pastel).

[Cristina]

Don't Breed It

[Freakyboas]

thanks for the feedback.

Here is where the birthing record is.....it seems he was the only one with the problem out of 23. Litter #9.

Peter Kahl Reptiles : Birthing Record

[Yungair23]

Wow that breeder had alot of slugs. Is their anyway that he could have prevented that many slugs being born? IE temps, humididty, cage size?

[JuliusSqueezer]

Absolutely do not breed this snake. This trait has plagued the albino boa line since it's incestuous beginning in the US pet trade and these animals should have never been sold or handed over to anyone without insurance that they won't be bred. Even if you breed and cull the one eyed snakes, the babies born with 2 eyes still likely carry the gene and if sold, you will possibly have the suffering of thousands of animals on your conscience. Greed has surely caused this. If at any time a pair of animals produces a defect such as this, Not only should NONE of the babies hit the market, the parents too should be kept from any further breeding. But they weren't. Any block however small you can put by ending this trait's propagation may seem a small effort or sacrifice but any little bit helps.

[JuliusSqueezer]

Originally Posted by Yungair23

Wow that breeder had alot of slugs. Is their anyway that he could have prevented that many slugs being born? IE temps, humididty, cage size?

Better genetics in a deeper gene pool and less power feeding ...likely would have made for a better breeding experience.