One eyed albino boa, should I kill him?

Should I kill it ? that's pretty much what was said to me by another breeder/ reptile dealer.

here's one of the PMs I got about my non breeder/pet

His PM to me
(not trying top bug you just curious as to who would sell that albino is all one eyed snakes are king snake food and not to be sold or breed imo)

who the hell would kill such a healthy pet? (no its not a breeder)



I just wont to here from some of you on whether they should be sold as pets or put down? I dont want a flame wore, I may not agree with putting them down, remember I'm not looking for a fight, I just want your honest opinions.

Bill

I would keep him as a pet. There is no reason to kill him.

Keep it as a pet. You may want to ask how many eyes the reptile dealer has.........We may have to dump him off.....LOL

Still a nice snake.

Scott Sweeney

That was no breeder that PM'd you. That was an idiot. I agree that the animal, assuming the eye defect was genetic, should not be bred. However, that animal will still make you a wonderful pet. Heck, I'll give you $150 for him right now just so my daughter can have a beautiful pet!

It is very common that some boa's are born with eye infections that can cause blindness. I had a few in my last litter of Sunglows. A little bit of medication cleared the eyes right up and they were as good as new. If you are not aware of what can be done in those circumstances then the animal ends up losing their eye/eyes. What a shame when a little bit of knowledge can resolve it.

However, if I had a litter whereby they showed true genetic eye deformity, then the babies would be sold as pets to individuals to whom I know would honor that agreement. The parents would then become pets as well.

Griz

I must admit I was a bit shocked that someone like him would say something like that.

I beleve this is a genetic eye deformity, 2 out of a 23 had it.

Just wondering, is there any way to neuter a snake?

I was recently told by UF that they routinely spayed monitor lizards. Anything that has reproductive organs can apparently be sterilized. Ask your local herp vet about it.
Wolfy

Very interesting, better then putting a beautiful animal down.

Definitely should be prevented from breeding (let's face it, as animals change hands, someone might try it down the line, not caring about the defect).... but he/she is so pretty and can function fine with one eye.

I had a litter of Hog Islands born and some were born with no left eye. Not knowing any better I put them down
I know a lot better now. I spoke with another great very knowledgeable breeder friend of mine who simply explained there is a lack of genetics( a week link) somewhere in the line between the dad and the mom. I know where the dad came from and the intire back ground on him but not the mom, we took her in on a trade from a local pet store because she was so darn good looking we had to have her!
He said I should have kept them and either gave them away or adopted them out as pets only.
I'm kicking myself for doing so. They were great little lookers even though there eyesight was cut in half.
Please keep it or adopt it out! You can even put in writting- a no breding contract on it if you so desire.
Good luck, Shanell.