John, Mike, and Adrian,
I don't want to take this thread too far off topic, but my comment was one of playing a bit of devil's advocate regarding the "moral" view, and using myself and my critters as the example. Since others had raised the moral issue, such that one's view was morally superior to another's, I only wanted to highlight that its a matter of degrees. In my case, as John noted, I breed a delicate animal for profit. I would be naive to think that a higher percentage of my critters survive once out in the marketplace say than someone who sells beardies, etc. I sell a higher risk animal for sure. To those who tend towards, or even embrace, the Humane Society view, it is a valid argument that what I do is not of the highest moral cloth, at least to them, and they hold themselves in high regard from which to look down on me .. and YOU. Mike, I chuckled when I read your comment, secure in knowing that the only folks who would hold me to such accountability would not be customers of mine anyway.
Bottom line IMMHO is that I recoil a bit at the ad for the eyeless boa, and at the price and profit hoped for. Rhetorically debating, the original ad poster showed his character otherwise. Looking just at the ad, I do not hold the seller in any moral contempt though. I profit from the sale of animals that in many cases end up not being well cared for. Even unto myself, that requires a certain moral trade-off to keep doing it.