Scaleless Corns

Originally Posted by Nanci

I wanted to touch Brian's, but his wife had a tight hold on it!!

Well, Nanci,......the main thing is....Did you get a good look at it?

Photographs?

Do they have the scale on their eyes? I always wondered about that and if not wouldn't their eyes be easily injured?

I have some experience with scale less Texas rats. Don't ask how, but I do! They can vary in the amount of scales present, or lack there of. You do need to be careful not to allow them to injure themselves. Basically they lack the scales, which protect the soft, leathery skin like skin under the scales. The biggest thing about scale less to remember is that under the scales, it is very different and can vary greatly in color, and pattern from the original scales. The Texas Rats I have experience with can vary from brick red with saddles to a mustard-ish beige with saddles.

just doesnt seem right to me but thats just imo.

If we start breeding strictly for whats cool without regard to the snakes health than how long before we have dwarf corns, eyeless corns, etc etc.

Originally Posted by Kuzco

just doesnt seem right to me but thats just imo.

If we start breeding strictly for whats cool without regard to the snakes health than how long before we have dwarf corns, eyeless corns, etc etc.

Everyone who's actually worked with scaleless snakes has reported no health issues at all though

other than the issue that they have no scales?

Originally Posted by Kuzco

other than the issue that they have no scales?

Erm, yep! They report the snakes move, poop, feed, shed, breed normally, so where's the health issue?

the health issue is that it has no scales; a snakes #1 way of fighting off infection.

I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do. just saying for me, I draw the line at pigment and pattern morphs.

Originally Posted by Kuzco

the health issue is that it has no scales; a snakes #1 way of fighting off infection.

I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do. just saying for me, I draw the line at pigment and pattern morphs.

I haven't got any wish to own a scaleless corn myself, but there haven't been any health issues reported by owners and breeders, no increased rates of infection either.
Personally I'd be happier about owning a scaleless corn from a health standpoint than introducing sunkissed (a pattern morph associated with a known genetic problem) into my breeding group.

What's the difference between breeding snakes to be scaleless and breeding mammals to be hairless. There are hairless cats, dogs, and rats to name a few and no one seems to think there is any problem with that. So I don't see why it's such a big deal when a reptile doesn't have scales.