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Inbreeding

Teddy Roosevelt

Teddy Roosevelt

i loev cronsankes
How big of an issue is inbreeding in corns? Does it cause neurological/physical defects like with humans, or do they pretty much shrug it off? I ask because I hear of a lot of people buying two snakes from the same clutch with plans to breed them.
 
Inbreeding does not "cause" defects, it only makes apparent defects that were being carried in a line already, and inbreeding animals (or people) without genetic defects is not an issue. It can actually help fix good traits within a population.

The popular idea that line breeding has caused all the defects we see amongst purebred animals is a myth. Excellent stock can be very tightly line bred as long as the breeder is extremely selective and knows the stock well.

I would assume the same is true of corn snakes.
 
I must spread some reputation around before giving it to Emily again. We would not have morphs (and especially combo morphs) if this was not practiced. Most of us who breed try to outcross all we can, but when preserving a gene, it is routinely done with no ill effect.
 
Don't worry - I took care of her, lol!

Great answers!

I always outcross IF THERE IS NO REASON TO INBREED. But if there is a reason, and I have not observed genetic problems in the bloodline, I don't worry about it - especially if they were unrelated a generation or two ago. Evey breeder should know the strengths and weaknesses of the lines they work with, and breed accordingly. If there ARE known problems with a line, I may STILL inbreed if I need to in order to "fix" a trait. But in that case, I will have to cull even more carefully than usual in order to keep the line healthy and hardy.
 
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