Help needed!
 

Hello all!

I am a reptile genetics researcher and I need help. This is non-traditional, but I am in a dilemma. I'm also posting this in the python forum. Here is some information on me:

I have created an unprecedented research program in its development and in its subject matter. I'm trying to show the world that gathering DNA does not have to be invasive and that reptiles are a highly valuable resource for medical research. They receive only the best treatment from me, as it is the least I can provide for them. My husband and I have spent our entire savings building this program and lab, so I need help from you, the breeders, dealers, and hobbyists. I can't succeed without you!

Once purchased or donated, the individuals I acquire cannot not be resold and their progeny cannot enter the pet trade, per animal care regulations. They will spend their lives donating ONLY their sheds for my DNA research, living happily under optimal conditions (insert: spoiled rotten) in my lab, and then in my home office as personal pets after breeding or they reach old age. I am not permitted to euthanize unless under severe duress or trauma, nor am I permitted harm individuals (such as tail removal or unnecessary handling) for my research, which is why I developed the program.

Now, for what I need from you:

Lygodactylus williamsi - Desperate for almost mature/mature females. Unsexed may be permitted, but contact me for possibility.

Lygodactylus capensis - Preferably more females than males (duh), but unsexed juveniles/hatchlings are permitted.

I also need Spider morph Python regius juvenile or breeding-ready females and one more male (any age). Also, the worse the wobble, the more I need them. I have a lead on the cause, but I need to compare my results. I have several light wobblers, but I need severe wobblers to compare to.

Lastly, even more odd of a request, but if you have deceased and frozen/preserved specimen of bps (spider or normal/Wild-type color) PLEASE PLEASE contact me! I need them frozen for necropsies and for internal imaging of spine and skull. Age does not matter, but as much information on these as possible helps. The facility is a sealed environment, so all imaging specimen must be dead for sanitation/infection reasons. And, since I cannot euthanize, I need YOUR dead. (Monty Python suddenly comes to mind...)

Thank you all so much for your help. This program is off to a great start, but has hit a dead-end until I get more specimen, both live and dead, to work with. I'm also working to convince a local university to allow this research to get me an advanced degree. They think reptiles are a waste of time and money. Help me prove them wrong!

Rayachick

Please PM me for my contact information. PETA and other animal rights activists tend to target people like me for unfounded and untrue evils against the animals I love and care for so dearly, which is why I have to use a screen name. Thank you again for all of your help! I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me and to the few of us in biomedical reptile research!