The hardest thing I have ever had to do as a breeder...

It brings tears to my eyes to even type this out right now, but here goes...

I was on my way home from work earlier this evening and Adam (my husband) calls and says that we have baby boas! He had just caught a glimpse of them in the cage at that point. I love coming home to babies, so I was stoked the rest of the way home! When I finally make it home, I go out to the reptile building to see the babies.

Unfortunately, four of the babies had some deformities that affected their head and eyes. One obviously had some neurological issues also as it could not keep it's head upright, but the other three seemed ok in that respect. Out of the affected babies, two were albinos and two were het albinos. Their heads were oddly shaped and somewhat lumpy looking. The jaws were wider, with the eyes situated towards the top of their heads, almost similar to a water snake. I have attached pictures below.

Now, Adam and I have talked a little in the past about deformities. The main topic was specifically quality of life issues. Can they live a fulfilling, quality life? Then there is the ethics standpoint. Do you give them a chance to live and find them a good "pet only" home, or do you put them down to keep them out of the gene pool for sure? If you do find them a good "pet only" home, how do you guarantee that they will never be bred? Especially if it is out of state. How do you also guarantee that any future owners will offer the snake a "pet only" home?

Sadly, we both came to the same conclusion. From a breeder standpoint, we felt that it was better for the quality of life of the babies, and for the sake of not risking future breeding of said babies, to put them in the freezer.

In the three years that Adam and I have been breeding boas and ball pythons together, this is my first experience with deformities in our babies. Putting those four baby boas in the deep freezer and shutting the door has absolutely been the hardest thing I have ever had to do in the many years that I have been keeping snakes...I bawled my eyes out through the whole process and again have tears streaming down my face as I type this out...

I guess I was lucky to have made it this long without any issues, but that still does not make it any easier to bear.

To all the snake owners out there that are considering breeding or have started breeding your snakes. There is a tremendous amount of enjoyment to be experienced from breeding your snakes and watching babies be born/hatched! But many people don't realize that there is also a darker, sad side to producing living, breathing animals. As a breeder, their lives are in your hands, and the decisions are not always easy to make. I realize that many will not agree with our personal decision, but I feel that it was the right thing to do for these babies and this particular scenario.

Thank you for reading,
Anya Hogan

I always say, they are yours, so whatever you decide was the right thing to do. Had you given them a chance I would have said the same thing.

As a breeder you have to do what you feel is right. What is right for you may not be right for the next guy. But, people need to respect your opinion and your views of the situation.

I have had to put baby boas in the freezer several times. Does it hurt? Sure it does, but sometimes it needs to be done.

If you breed enough boas, sooner or later you will produce deformed babies. It happens, and it is a part of life. In the animal world, only the strong survive. I guarantee deformed babies are born in the wild as well. Although, they don't have a freezer to get put in, Mother Nature takes care of them in one form or another, sometimes they are even eaten by other animals, which provides food for something else.

So, I say, what are you going to do? You did the right thing, because you did what you felt was right.

The rest of the babies look great. Congrats on the litter, and thanks for sharing your story.

I'm so sorry Anya *hugs*

i'm really sorry to hear about your lose but on the bright grats on the rest of the litter what you did was the right thing .

brd7666 said:

I always say, they are yours, so whatever you decide was the right thing to do. Had you given them a chance I would have said the same thing.

As a breeder you have to do what you feel is right. What is right for you may not be right for the next guy. But, people need to respect your opinion and your views of the situation.

I have had to put baby boas in the freezer several times. Does it hurt? Sure it does, but sometimes it needs to be done.

If you breed enough boas, sooner or later you will produce deformed babies. It happens, and it is a part of life. In the animal world, only the strong survive. I guarantee deformed babies are born in the wild as well. Although, they don't have a freezer to get put in, Mother Nature takes care of them in one form or another, sometimes they are even eaten by other animals, which provides food for something else.

So, I say, what are you going to do? You did the right thing, because you did what you felt was right.

The rest of the babies look great. Congrats on the litter, and thanks for sharing your story.

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Thank you for the support. I still feel terrible about doing it, but my views have not changed. I am thankful for the remaining healthy babies.

I wasn't sure if I should have shared this or not, as I'm sure that some people may look down on me for it. I just feel that people should see the good and the bad instead of just the sugarcoated version of things.

Utta said:

I'm so sorry Anya *hugs*

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Thank you Tyler... *hugs* back, I need it right now

jscianni21 said:

i'm really sorry to hear about your lose but on the bright grats on the rest of the litter what you did was the right thing .

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Thank you

I also respect your decision. We sometimes have to make hard choices.

Brian hits the nail right on the head.

Very sorry you had to experience this Anya....I'm sure I would have come to the same conclusion as well. I commend you for taking a difficult and heart-breaking event and turning it into a cautionary tale for others to learn from.

Melinda said:

I also respect your decision. We sometimes have to make hard choices.

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Thank you

TheFragginDragon said:

Brian hits the nail right on the head.

Very sorry you had to experience this Anya....I'm sure I would have come to the same conclusion as well. I commend you for taking a difficult and heart-breaking event and turning it into a cautionary tale for others to learn from.

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John,
It was a very difficult decision to make and I am stilled filled with remorse after having to put those poor babies in the freezer. There is no easy way for me to deal with this, but it does help somewhat to share it with others who can relate or who can learn from it.

Anya

You did the right thing Anya, it's true, this is a fact of life when breeding and you have to remember in the wild, there are natural selection that goes into effect and honestly only small portions of litters really go on to maturity, not all are meant to make it. Be strong and thank you for sharing the experience. It's something breeders will have to face at one time or another, I've been there too and it's never easy.

For those that use the freezer meathod, just a tidbit, but I do believe it's best to put them in the fridge for an hour or two first, slow them down a bit, so the freezing process isn't as painful, at least that's what I was told and what I've done. I prefer blunt force head trama but it's not for the squeemish.

I'm sorry for your loss, but you did the right thing. There's just no way to be able to say with 100% surety that animals with issues won't end up in the gene pool and with the amount of animals out there there's no need for it.

It never gets easier, either.

Congrats on the litter, looks like some nice ones in there.

I agree with Brian.

We, as breeders, are sometimes confronted with difficult, heartbreaking choices during breeding season (and after). We have to make the decisions based on our own ethics and what we think best.

I try not to be too emotionally invested in how other people raise or cull their own snakes; thus I can only say that you did what you believed best, and as they were your snakes, it was your decision to make.

Good luck, you have some beauties and thank you for sharing.

Anya, I know it still hurts to be forced to make that decision, but I too agree that you made the best decision. Doesn't really matter if my opinion is the same as yours, as it was YOURS to make, but I wanted to add my words of support to you in a difficult time for you. Thanks for the "tales of reality" for anyone new to this hobby. And congrats on the rest of your great fortune this season!

Was the Mom the Albino? What temps did you keep her at?

They look not fully formed, like not done cooking yet. Was the litter early by chance?

Sorry for what you had to do. It sucks, but it was a sound decision.

Sorry Guys!!! The rest look phenomenal

So sorry