Breeding Ethics

Morph Issues (Ball Pythons)

There are a few gene complexes or genes with similar health issues that we at Inspiration Exotics have chosen not to work with in breeding projects. These morphs are commonplace in the hobby and many breeders feel they are completely fine to produce. I believe that any gene with an increased potential to reduce an animal's quality of life should not be intentionally produced, and that human aesthetic preference should never be more important than animal health. 

​

Neurological/Inner Ear ("Wobble" Syndrome) Genes

Genes associated with neurological defects: Spider, Woma, Hidden Gene Woma, Champagne, Spotnose, Super Sable, Super Blackhead, Super Chocolate, Super Cypress. Some of these genes, if combined, cause death or severe symptoms.

​

Why I don't work with these genes: Neuro genes, often called "wobble" genes, cause neurological deficits in snakes that carry the genes, though there is also the possibility that this is an inner ear defect. Spider is the most well-known, but all of the listed genes and combinations have been proven or consistently observed to display symptoms. The symptoms of the syndrome include visible head tremors ("wobbling"), non-visible head tremors, balance issues of varying severity, decreased muscle tone/muscle development in the neck and near the tail, diminished righting reflex (difficulty telling up from down), and in severe cases, corkscrewing (moving the head uncontrollably in a circular motion) and completely missing strike attempts. Through breeding trials over multiple decades, the wobble syndrome has been proven to be paired directly with the gene itself - in other words, it cannot be selectively bred out, and even animals that do not display the more severe symptoms such as visible head wobble and corkscrewing still have the neurological defect which can worsen at any point in their lives. Not all snakes with any of the aforementioned genes display all or even most of these symptoms, but because snakes are significantly less studied regarding pain and discomfort, we are unable to properly judge their level of discomfort and therefore cannot make a true judgement on the degree to which their quality of life may be negatively impacted. Symptoms can improve throughout the animal's life but they can also worsen with age, in addition to other factors like stress or improper nutrition/husbandry. Many breeders don't breed animals with visible head wobbling, but due to the neurological syndrome being inseparable from the genes that cause it, a breeding animal with no symptoms can produce offspring with severe symptoms, and an animal with severe symptoms can produce offspring with none. If I were to breed these genes, I would have no control over the potential negative impact on the breeding animal or the offspring. I could produce animals that are completely unaffected, and I could also produce offspring with severe symptoms. Due to all of these factors, I believe that the risk for an increased negative impact on an animal's quality of life does not justify the production of these genes simply for human aesthetic preference. In a perfect world, we would phase these genes out entirely as part of breeding. Some places have already taken steps to do so; the UK instituted a ban on the sale of neuro gene ball pythons at expos, and if you look at MorphMarket prices, the spider gene in particular decreases the value of an animal almost across the board. I do work to actively advocate against the acceptance of breeding these genes. 

​

What I do work with: I do breed single-gene forms of chocolate and blackhead, as both of these genes are part of my high-contrast projects.

Neither chocolate nor blackhead have been observed to wobble in the heterozygous (single gene) form. If that were to ever change, or if evidence came to light that these genes can negatively impact quality of life, I will remove both genes from my breeding plans entirely and sell breeding stock as pet-only.

​

Skull and Spinal Deformity Genes (8ball complex)

Genes associated with these issues: Super Black Pastel, Super Cinnamon, 8Ball (Black Pastel Cinnamon), and Panda Pieds.

​

Why I don't work with these genes: Super black pastel/super cinnamon combinations, highly desired for their patternless black phenotype, have an increased risk of skeletal deformities. This includes an increased risk of kinking (minor or severe spinal kinks that may impact a hatchling's ability to swallow food, defecate, properly move, or even survive outside the egg) and an increased prevalence of duckbilling, a skull deformity characterized by a narrowed skull around the eyes and middle of the snout which results in a pronounced "duck bill". While duckbilling is not known to affect the lifespan of an animal, kinking absolutely can, and in some cases kinked snakes need to be culled just days after hatching if the deformity is deemed severe enough to prevent normal movement or bodily function. While kinking can happen in pairings without these genes present, it is often a random incubation error and these genetic combinations significantly increase the likelihood of these deformities. Some breeders incubate these eggs at lower temperatures in an attempt to reduce the risk, but there is no existing proof that this actually prevents deformities in any way. Because there is an increased potential to produce animals with a decreased quality of life (or which may ultimately need to be culled), I will only work with these genes in the heterozygous form and will never perform pairings where a homozygous result is possible. 

​

What I do work with: single gene (heterozygous) black pastel and cinnamon. These genes are only known to have issues in the homozygous forms. Should that change, or should breeding prove to produce offspring with deformities even in single gene form, I will remove these genes from my breeding plans entirely and sell breeding stock as pet-only. 

​

Scaleless Ball Pythons

Genes associated with these issues: Super Microscale, Super Scaleless Head

​

Why I don't work with these genes: Scales have a number of functions for snakes, including locomotion, temperature maintenance, protection from environmental hazards such as sharp edges, and protection from extreme heat and UV rays. Many species with scaleless phenotypes retain some scales - for instance, scaleless rat snakes generally retain their belly scales and the scales around their mouth. However, scaleless ball pythons do not retain any scales. This means they lack all protection against environmental factors. Scaleless ball pythons often cannot be given decor or certain substrates due to the risk of harm to their sensitive skin. They have no belly protection when they move around in their enclosures, and because their body is exposed, they can get dehydrated more easily and often struggle to shed. Some scaleless ball pythons even need to be soaked and/or moisturized to prevent their skin from flaking. Another function of scales in pythons specifically is the formation of heat pits, the outer pits in the snout that help the snake sense the heat of its prey. While the organ responsible for heat sensing is internal and unaffected, the heat pits formed on the snout help to direct the snake's sensory ability. Scaleless ball pythons lack heat pits, which means that their sensory ability may be diminished. Additionally, scaleless ball pythons tend to grow more slowly than their scaled counterparts, and there is ample reason to suspect possible sub-fertility or even infertility in scaleless females. At the time of writing this, we have had scaleless ball python females for between 7 and 9 years. As of yet, no one has successfully bred a scaleless female; in other words, despite having multiple mature adult scaleless ball pythons, not a single one of those females has successfully been paired and laid a clutch of eggs. If these animals had standard fertility, we would expect to have seen scaleless females reproduce already. Due to the obvious potential for a scaleless ball python to have a diminished quality of life or require special care in order to survive, I will never buy or produce these morphs.

​

 Fertility Issue Genes

Genes associated with these issues: Caramel Albino, Desert

​

Why I don't work with these genes: In some cases, sub-fertility may only mean a female is less likely to produce eggs, but it often also means that there may be more complications. Caramel albino is known to be sub-fertile, where females produce at lower rates. Desert (not to be confused with Desert Ghost, a completely separate gene) females have been proven to become severely egg-bound, or unable to pass eggs after they had already been created within the body. In multiple instances this resulted in females requiring surgery to remove eggs, and in some cases, the female ended up passing away. I do not work with these genes to prevent any potential issues for my females. Breeding is already risky for them - there's no need to make it any more difficult for them in my opinion.

 Banana/Coral Glow

This gene is not an issue! You will often see banana/coral glow listed in "morph issues" lists because it is a sex-linked gene, so I wanted to include it here. Animals with this gene are predominantly male, and produce predominantly males. However, since this has no impact whatsoever on quality of life, I am perfectly comfortable working with this gene! In order to not contribute to the overpopulation of males, I invested in female bananas, which are rarer. They will produce an equal sex ratio (50% male/female chance per egg) and the males they produce will be female makers (i.e., will produce females rather than males with the banana gene). 

​

​

​

Breeding and Feeding

​

Breeding

For a long time, the common belief in the ball python hobby has been that females are considered ready to breed once they have hit the 1500g mark. Some females simply grow quickly and can reach this size within a couple of years, while some breeders may feed growing females more often to get them to reach this weight sooner (power feeding). At Inspiration Exotics, my animals' breeding readiness is evaluated based on sexual maturity and age, rather than weight. Ball pythons are known to reach full reproductive maturity around the 3 year mark, and oftentimes wild females are observed producing healthy clutches at smaller weights (even as small as 1200g), which suggests that ball pythons in captivity do not need to weigh as much as we expect them to. Waiting these full three years allows my animals to grow at a natural pace and their organs to mature fully. Think of it this way: while a 12 year old human girl can be perfectly capable of getting pregnant and carrying a baby to term, we don't make the assumption that it would be healthy or medically safe for her to do so. I believe this to be similar for reproductive maturity in snakes. As such, none of my females will be bred before age 3, regardless of their weight. This means I have longer to wait in between clutches or project advancements, but in the interest of long-term health for my breeding females, I don't mind the wait. 

Also regarding breeding, I follow a 2-on 1-off policy. This means that none of my females will be intentionally bred more than two years in a row. Ball pythons are not known to double clutch like some colubrids; they produce one clutch of eggs per year. If a female in my collection produces a clutch two years in a row, she will have the next year completely off from pairing. If she produces for one year and then does not produce a clutch the following year despite pairing, she will have the remainder of the year off and I may choose to pair her again the following season. 

​

Feeding

Power feeding, defined as feeding a reptile meals that are too large and/or feeding too often to encourage faster growth, is known to severely reduce a snake's lifespan and overall health by creating excess fat deposits in the body. It's often done by breeders to encourage quick growth so that animals can be bred sooner. However, because prey is readily available and offered by keepers in captivity, we often feed ball pythons more than they need to eat, and as a result, many snakes are overweight even if they have not been intentionally power fed. I feed my snakes on a more spaced out schedule in an attempt to prevent any negative effects that could come from quick growth or overfeeding. 

​

Unless otherwise noted, I feed my snakes loosely based on the following: 

Hatchlings (50-200g) get one appropriately-sized meal every 7 days 

Juveniles (200g-500g) get one appropriately-sized meal every 9-10 days

Large juveniles (500-700g) get one appropriately-sized meal every 11-12 days 

Subadults (800-1200g) get one appropriately-sized meal every 12-14 days

Adult females (1300g+) NOT in breeding season get one appropriately-sized meal every 16-18 days

Adult females IN breeding season get one appropriately-sized meal every 14-16 days 

Adult males (900g+) get one appropriately-sized meal every 18-24 days

​

My breeding females will get meals more often to allow them to stock up on the nutrients they will need to last through the period of time in breeding when they do not eat at all, generally between two and four months. I also vary my feeding schedule - that is, I do not feed my snakes on a strict schedule, but rather the estimated day plus or minus a couple of days. For instance, a subadult female might get a meal 13 days after the last meal, and the next time I may not feed her until it's been 16 days. 

​

All of my snakes, unless otherwise noted, are fed frozen thawed rodents. I do this for a few reasons, including: the safety of the snakes (larger live feeders can bite and scratch, which can cause wounds); the health of the feeders (I have not been trained in the proper, ethical way to cull rodents, and therefore will not do so myself because I don't want them to suffer); and ease of transition to new homes, where new owners might be unwilling or unable to acquire live feeders. I also vary my feeders when possible - I feed primarily mice and rats, but I will supplement with quail and chicks when I am able to find them.

​

​