Quote:
Originally Posted by whiskersmom
Lately there's been quite alot of discussion regarding inbreeding bearded dragons in order to create what some people think are a desirable trait. I think this is wrong but would like to know what others think.
Let me put it this way...do you think that it's worth the risk of genetic related problems (even years down the line) to breed related dragons?
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First off - lets take all the "fear of the unknown" out of the word and give it a concrete definition. Inbreeding is the mating of closely related individuals, which tends to increase the number of individuals that are homozygous for a trait and therefore increases the appearance of recessive traits. You are basically concentrating the gene pool - reducing the number of alleles (genes) available within a population.
This can be good - such as when you use inbreeding to produce desirable traits, and this can be bad - such as when animals loose vitality after too much close inbreeding. Inbreeding is essential for producing color morphs, albinos - pretty much anything that goes beyond the norm.
BUT- there are ways to minimize the problems associated with inbreeding. Let's take for instance the silkback. If you breed that silkback to two completely unrelated dragons, you will produce animals that are het for silkback. Then, if you breed those het offspring back together, you get silkbacks. You just reduced your chances of problems by half. Consider if you continue outcrossing...a few generations later and your chances of having any problems are minimal.
I personally do not have a problem with inbreeding when it is used in a responsible manner. I do not agree with breeding brother and sister together, and then breeding those siblings together, and on and on. But with careful outcrossing, I believe that the problems associated with inbreeding will be minimized.
Jamie