[question] is anyone interested in milk x corn snakes?
 

I've been contemplating breeding my snakes next year..
I've got a male milk, and female corn.. I've bred snakes before, and really like the looks of milk x corn, but rarely see them for sale... But this will be my first crossing..

I am just curious, is there any people interested in buying a milk x corn snake?
I'm nervous if I breed them that I'll end up with 20 pets and nobody interested in taking a few off my hand XD... I mean, I would not complain about having that many snakes...
And like, what would a decent price be for them?

Someone might buy a few, but I really hope you don't do it. The herp hobby seems to have enough lines genetically ruined by hybrid breeders as it is.
Why not just get a female milk of the same species, and/or a male corn, and produce some nice animals instead?

I agree. There's enough damage being done with accidental crossbreedings of all sorts, and many animals being sold as pure when they are not. So the 'I'd be sure to label the offspring appropriately when I sell them' claim that people often trot out doesn't matter, since you can't tattoo it on the animal.

Some species/locales cannot even be brought into captivity from the wild anymore because of export regulations. Making novelty mutts out of these animals isn't responsible herpkeeping, in my opinion. We need to improve captive lines, not waste them on personal ego projects.

If you want to cross your milk and corn, go for it! I'd be shocked if you couldn't sell the offspring.

While I am an avid proponent of wildlife conservation, it is not accurate to conflate the reptile hobby with conservation issues. These are not endangered species and we are not breeding to conserve a species. This is the pet trade. I would cross a corn snake with a squid if I could!

Certainly hybrids should be labeled as such and certainly there is a place for folks who want to maintain pure lines and locality lines. However, there is absolutely room in the hobby for a variety of opinions (I hope:).

... and you guys (Socratic Monologue & Herpin Man) have a right to your opinions but the tone of your responses to MasonP13 were condescending and don't have a place here IMO.

Snarky terms like "genetically ruined", "nice animals", "novelty mutts", and "personal ego projects" just make me want to breed hybrids to spite purists like you. A well reasoned argument without the condescension would be much more effective. IMO you should both apologize to MasonP13.

Using animals as a weapon of spite? Wow.

I hope I never catch myself saying something that makes reptile keepers look this bad.

You already treated MasonP13 in a way that makes reptile keepers look bad. That is the issue here. I'd suggest you look at yourself instead and try to stay on topic instead of taking my statements out of context. Weak! Tom Robbins would be ashamed.

The first two responses hit the nail on the head, were well thought out and written and basically covered everything that needed to be said…and then things fell apart. Of course they did.

Look back at the thread. Read it from the beginning. Note the point at which it turned away from criticisms of herpkeeping methods and toward criticisms of people. Then think about what it takes to keep a thread on topic.

Listen, I realize it takes a lot of time to figure out where the hobby has been, and where it is now, and where it is going (and there are certainly old-timers who could whoop me at this kind of understanding -- thank God we have those people). Because of that, it is pretty harsh to come down on newer keepers in such a firm way. No secret about that.

But just because someone doesn't realize that if he pisses in the river he's ruining things for those people downstream doesn't mean that anyone should just hold his beer for him while he does it. And like it or not -- better: know it or not -- animal breeding is a river.

People upstream set things up so that now, for me and you, things are like they are. Could they have done better? Yes, absolutely, and distinctly in the area of the more common colubrids, many of which are genetic messes. Do we right now have the ability to make things better or worse for those standing downstream -- that is, future keepers? Absolutely.

Are future keepers going to wish we, now, had made more intergeneric hybrids? Perhaps a multi-generic thing that can only be called 'Colubrid' since all the genera went into (or maybe didn't; is there lineage info kept on any of these animals?) making it? Or are future keepers -- like serious keepers now -- going to wish that they had access to actual species? Actual species with natural history information, and habitat data, and a captive breeding history plan beyond 'yeah, this'll look cool' or 'I wonder how much I could charge for this'.

The OP has brought this up before, and knows that this is charged territory. The first time there were well-reasoned arguments. Go read those and see how reasonable people can be.

This isn't a new discussion, this hybridization speculation. On other forums, in face to face discussions, it comes up -- too often. It gets old for people who want the hobby to be something more than pretty animals, novelty animals by the very definition of novelty. If a reader can't look past some firm -- not abusive, or insulting, or even personally-directed, ahem -- language from those who see all the harm that comes of these sorts of poorly thought out projects, then the reader will not be happy, I guess.

This should be on a discussion page.... that being said...

I am not a hybrid breeder / keeper.... BUT, I agree with snakesmiths on this one... Everyone has a right to their own opinions. Don’t be condescending & demeaning when sharing your OPINIONS on if hybrids should be bred. You make yourself look like... well... I’ll leave that alone :0)

To the OP, I would personally look for like species to breed with. If hybrids are what you’re into, there are forums focused especially for them.