Heterozygous traits, how much would you pay for 100% reassurance?

Originally Posted by Clay Davenport

I wouldn't use it myself. The way I look at it is if I have so little confidence in a sellers word that animals are hets that I need insurance to feel comfortable with the deal, then I'm not buying the snakes in the first place.

My thoughts exactly.

interesting concept. I think that even the lowest priced hets out there would warrent the 150.00 "insurance" just due to the fact that the animal will produce ???? offsping over the course of its life and insuring the fact that you got what you paid for more then makes the 150.00 worth it.Say you buy 2.2 hets and three years later the seller goes under and the next year you produce your first clucth and wham nothing, well there is no seller to fall back on.

In order to be taken seriously by the people I'm discussing this with I need to achieve a critical mass of members (or not) voting.

What's that figure? Well maybe 10% of the Fauna members...I know, I know that's being overly optimistic. So far I've got 15!

So if you know of friends, relatives, bus drivers , etc. that may be willing to vote and give their opinions please let them know about this thread.

Do we want to end with the uncertainty of the heterozygous/possibles plague or are we going to go on forever complaining about being ripped off and do nothing about it?

Thanks

Dan,

I am intrigued. To be honest, right now I do not buy real high dollar reptiles since my education and family take up most of my spare change.

I would like details of your interesting idea, though. In my experience, insurance is something I pay for, but many times it is difficult to deal with.

I have been with the same reputable firm for over 20 years for my homeowners and car insurance and never had a problem, but one time when a car ran onto me, it was a nightmare enforcing the other insurance company to pay, and in fact they did not end up paying for some of my damage.

If you were to form a company, based on the absolute integrity I have seen in you, I would join in a heartbeat if I ever needed this kind of peace of mind.

Insurance companies are in business to make money, so they pay out as little as they can. The good firms do it as they should, but other insurance companies make a person fight hard just to get what is coming to them.
I'd like to hear more about your plans.

Originally Posted by Clay Davenport

I wouldn't use it myself. The way I look at it is if I have so little confidence in a sellers word that animals are hets that I need insurance to feel comfortable with the deal, then I'm not buying the snakes in the first place.

That is exactly how I feel about it.

I have to bring my pet idea into this issue.

Genetic testing.

Zoos do it. And if Biologists can gather field data about bears by setting up stations where tufts of hair are snagged off of bears just passing by, then the technology already exists.

You can get your bird genetically sexed for $20. The same lab testing birds is offering genetic sexing for iguanas.

If, the only extra expense is for labwork, not only will the fee paid be reasonable but the information gained will be superior to any type of insurance. It has to cost less than investing into the insurance industry.

Testing a newly purchased hatchling will tell you at the outset whether you got what you paid for. No more investments of years and money into an animal raising it up only to find that you were duped. You would know right away. And if this option was available, just telling the seller that you are going to have the testing done is a strong incentive for him or her to be honest.

Granted, my idea is somewhat of a pipe dream right now. A data base needs to be built and proven. Laboratories and techniques need to be proven reliable. But I still think it has merit and has highly beneficial implications for the entire hobby.

Marjee I like the idea!!!!

Lucille,

Regrettably I was asked not to disclose any more information at this point. But I can say one thing though, Marjee had an excellent idea...

Regards.

Sexing is done on a chromosomal level, what you're talking about is verifying a certain gene....MUCH harder to find. They haven't even finished the human genome project, so I doubt they have started on the various reptile genes. It's theoretically possible, but as of right now I don't see how it's anything but a pipe dream.

(unless you were talking about verifying sex....yet another common problem)

Furthermore Lucille, your avatar is "enlightening"! And that's all I have to say about that (Forrest Gump)...

Best regards.