Inbreeding taking a toll on albinos?

Albinism is not a flaw, it is an anomoly. The only thing that is flawed is your opinon on the health of albino animals. They are not physically(with the acception of appearance) different, thier organs are still in the same place and they still function normally. However in the wild, Albino animals health is comprimised, not because of health issues, but because of predation.
Albinism is a chance occurance. Some genetisists theorize that it is literally a one in a million shot. Just a few thoughts on a good issue.
Jesse Smith

That was a reply for dembinski

Jesse,

They are not physically(with the acception of appearance) different, thier organs are still in the same place and they still function normally.

Yes, I agree except for one thing. Albinos lack the pigment melanin. Melanin protects the skin from UV radiation. It also protects the retina (in the eye) from the same rays. That's why people with albinism have to take extra precautions (hat, clothing, dark shades) to protect themselves from the sun.

However in the wild, Albino animals health is comprimised, not because of health issues, but because of predation.

True. And also due to the fact that they can be spotted easier by potential prey items.

[/quote]Albinism is a chance occurance. Some genetisists theorize that it is literally a one in a million shot. Just a few thoughts on a good issue.[/quote]

The spontaneous occurrence might be one in a million as you say. But once you breed to albinos together it's 1 in 1 (unless they are genetically incompatible like for example the Kahl and Sharp strains in albino boa constrictors).

Regards.

Some genetisists theorize that it is literally a one in a million shot.

Which geneticists?

Well...it seems not only albinos are showing the problem. On second thought maybe an albino carrying a defective gene was also involved in producing this snow.

Female Snow boa. (good deal)
The Great Northeast
Posted by XX on December 10, 2003 at 17:29:49

This female snow is about 2 feet long and doing great. It only has one eye though. It will eat every time you feed it, and doesn't act any different than one with 2 eyes. I will sell it for $1000 less than regular retail price. Please e-mail for price and pics.

My apologies for keep posting these, but IMHO it is getting out of proportion, and as breeders, businesses, and herp lovers we should be more responsible for what we are doing here. These animals need to be withdrawn from the market. Period. By selling these "adult breeders" at discount prices we are perpetuating and compounding a problem. What we are not allowing nature to do in it's own (natural selection), we should do ourselves. If you can't afford a defect free albino but you still want to buy a one-eyed animal, at least don't breed these animals.

Just the HO of a concerned herpetologist.

2 Albino Boas Male Adult Breeders $1500/$2500
Florida
Posted by "X" (Contact Me!) on December 23, 2003 at 15:37:23

Click on thumbnails to view fullsize in a new window

(2) Albino Male Adult Breeders. #1 Albino Male was Proven last season $2500 Firm. #2 Albino Male missing 1 eye, but he did show breeding activity last season $1500 Firm. Both Albinos are excellent jumbo rat feeders, & both are pictured above. Sorry no trades, Thank you,

Albino Boas

Date Posted: 11/05/2003

Price 0.00($USD): $1,700.00 pr.

Age: 4 months

Size: 17 in.

Description

1.1 albino boas born 6-7-03 the female is healthy and eating nonstop the male has an eye impairment but other than that he is eating nonstop also
Contact Information

State/Province: Maryland

Why don't we see any blind or one-eyed albino ball pythons for sale? Checking the ads for both boas and ball pythons for a while there have been several eye problems showing-up in boas, although I haven't seen even one in ball pythons. There has to be an explanation for that. It is not likely that ball python breeders haven't been using inbreeding as they do with boas. Is this just a species difference? Any speculations?

Just as speculation here...

There were a few things which were mentioned earlier in this thread which could have a huge impact on the tendency for this deformity crop up and some of them can be explained by the reproductive differences inherent in the animals...

Just as a recap kinda thing for anyone hopping on this thread at this point who doesn't bother to read through, there were a few proposed reasons that might explain the tendency for albino boas to have eye problems-

• It could potentially be a gene which is indirectly linked to the bloodlines. Meaning; only a few albino boas have been found in the wild and added to the captive breeding population, this means that many of the boas in the hobby share a good number of genes. While the traits of albinism and eye problems are not directly linked, both exist in the same gene pool and are reinforced with every breeding.
• Formative differences that affect boas far more than pythons... Since boas incubate internally, the temperature and conditions encountered by the developing neonates are directly related to the conditions the mother is kept in or chooses to keep herself in. Because albinos tend to be light sensitive, it was proposed that gravid females may shy away from the warmer ends of their enclosures, causing the babies to develop at lower temperatures and be more prone to physical deformities. Eyes are just more noticeable than internal problems.
• Directly linked genetics... Something about the mutation which stops melanin production also changes the way in which the eyes grow before birth and/or repair themselves afterwards.

One thing I can't remember... are these deformities cropping up more in Khal or Sharp strain albinos? Are the numbers for each proportional with the numbers produced (I think the breeding population of Khal's is larger)?

And once again, as has already been said... Most breeders are under considerable financial burden when it comes to animal production. The profit margins are razor thin, the overhead is enormous... it's simply an impossibility for the majority of individuals producing these animals to take five or six years (minimum) to try isolating the problem's source.

Seamus,

One thing I can't remember... are these deformities cropping up more in Khal or Sharp strain albinos? Are the numbers for each proportional with the numbers produced (I think the breeding population of Khal's is larger)?

So far I haven't seen one Sharp strain with eye problems. Then again this can be explained by the fact that it's fairly new so ther hasn't been a lot of inbreeding taking place yet.