| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Blackcat |
Posted - 25/01/2012 : 22:36:32
My knowledge is limited, but do know that Melanin (missing from albinistic snakes?) is a mechanism for absorbing heat from the sun. Does the lack of this pigment cause any problems with maintenance of body temperature?
My guess is probably not due to our use of heat mats for the supply of heat to our snakes, rather than sun used by wild snakes.
I also know that melanin is also important in aspects of vision and often results in poor vision in albinistic animals.
Do albinistic snakes have poor vision?
Last question, can melanin deficiencies in snakes be connected with increased mortality rates?
I'm sure there are probably other issues that could be connected with albinism, so if any of you peeps out there can shed light on these queries I have asked I would appreciate answers/views.
Apologies for the long post, but I'm interested and thought I'd ask  |
| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Blackcat |
Posted - 30/01/2012 : 15:09:32
quote:
Originally posted by nickyff
vaguely related anecdote (haha--that was actually unintentional)- guinea pigs, reaching sexual maturity earlier than i realised (years ago) we got an unexpected litter, from a son to his mother- all the babies had an extra toe, some of them were not connected by a joint bone, and hung off by a strand of skin. they all seemed to be otherwise okay, but it was a bit weird.
Too much inter-breeding causes problems in most animals, you only have to look at dogs, Rhodesian Ridgeback - ridge is due to a spinal deformity.
King Charles Spaniels - prone to fits and breathing problems, due to shape of head.
The list goes on, but I'm not taking this any further and will not post again on this topic. |
| nickyff |
Posted - 29/01/2012 : 03:31:29
vaguely related anecdote (haha--that was actually unintentional)- guinea pigs, reaching sexual maturity earlier than i realised (years ago) we got an unexpected litter, from a son to his mother- all the babies had an extra toe, some of them were not connected by a joint bone, and hung off by a strand of skin. they all seemed to be otherwise okay, but it was a bit weird. |
| Blackcat |
Posted - 27/01/2012 : 16:39:30
quote:
Its good to know about it, and if its up your street, then great, am sure there is a bucket load of info out there, but you have to separate the good stuff from the rubbish written by someone who thinks they know something. I find that usually the bull**** detector is fairly accurate with those!
It's not totally up my street, but I have an amel stripe and an anery, both types of albinistic snakes, so I was interested to find out if they could possibly have 'issues' due to being albinistic.
Def loads of bull**** out there, but I try to locate research done for scientific journals, can generally rely on information from them
I agree stargazing seems to be the biggest issue with corns and have read the posts and links.
Again thanks for your input, I have valued it and will now go and do further reading 
I'm just glad this post didn't turn into a heated discussion
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| mikerichards |
Posted - 27/01/2012 : 11:46:12
quote:
Originally posted by Blackcat
I totally understand the point regards differences between the wild and captivity, all linked to the old addage 'survival of the fittest'.
I also understand that recessive genes come to light as the gene pool is restrticted/limited due to interbreeding and not all these genes are welcome.
I also know that removing genes can/will alter the DNA make-up of an organism and if this is done it can indirectly influence biological pathways, which in turn can cause problems that would seem to be totally unrelated.
I'm in no way trying to scaremonger, I just have an inane desire to further my knowledge
As an example I own and compete a horse, I have a desire to understand how he functions mechanically, so have participated on a spinal dissection to understand his muscular structure; so that I can hopefully prevent unnecessary injuries
Thanks for your input
I completely agree with you, stuff like this needs to be known, which not a lot of people do actually know. Its not so bad now, but years ago people were always saying, shy are the babies dead or got one eye, all i did was breed albino to albino.
A the moment, the biggest problem is with the boas, there seem to be more undesireable genes floating about with them than most others that i know of. I am pretty sure i know of one boa that was born without a spine, obvioulsy still born, but perfectly formed otherwise. Mising eyes, missing stomach, massive spinal kinks, missing heart, and just about any other important organs, even live born that dies almost straight away because it has no lungs!!!
At the moment, with corns, the biggest one is stargazing, not a fatal one just yet, but you do get minor kinks and funny eyes sometimes.
Its good to know about it, and if its up your street, then great, am sure there is a bucket load of info out there, but you have to separate the good stuff from the rubbish written by someone who thinks they know something. I find that usually the bull**** detector is fairly accurate with those! |
| Blackcat |
Posted - 26/01/2012 : 16:24:25
I totally understand the point regards differences between the wild and captivity, all linked to the old addage 'survival of the fittest'.
I also understand that recessive genes come to light as the gene pool is restrticted/limited due to interbreeding and not all these genes are welcome.
I also know that removing genes can/will alter the DNA make-up of an organism and if this is done it can indirectly influence biological pathways, which in turn can cause problems that would seem to be totally unrelated.
I'm in no way trying to scaremonger, I just have an inane desire to further my knowledge
As an example I own and compete a horse, I have a desire to understand how he functions mechanically, so have participated on a spinal dissection to understand his muscular structure; so that I can hopefully prevent unnecessary injuries
Thanks for your input |
| mikerichards |
Posted - 26/01/2012 : 15:55:26
you have to remember that it is very very different in the wild to captivity. In the wild albinos dont tend to survive because they dont have their normal camouflage, and any that do, tend to be uber aggressive!
As i mentioned, the problems a lot of the time do not come from albinism itself, its the other recessive genes that are also lurking in the background coming to light.
THe species of snake is irrelevant to a point, bad genes are present in ALL species of life, it is why we should not interbreed within family, genetically we are far more advanced than reptiles, so they can get away with slightly more line breeding before problems come to light. |
| Blackcat |
Posted - 26/01/2012 : 15:37:52
Yay, my link worked :) |
| Blackcat |
Posted - 26/01/2012 : 15:36:14
Thanks for the replies.
I have done a small amount of searching on the net and come across some research on European Viperinae, this does conclude some health issues and backs up your comment re still born clutches.
Not sure my IT is up to posting a link to the paper, but will have a go:
http://lkrecsak.uw.hu/200815.pdf
If you go to the conclusion on page 5, you will find it states albino snakes have low survival rates and still births and malformed individuals along with some other issues.
At least in captivity they get 'ideal' conditions which helps them deal with any problems they may have.
I know this research wasn't on Corns, but I found it interesting and realise how little I know regards genetics and how defects in one area are highly likely to have some kind of influence elsewhere.
Apologies I have probably bored people to death |
| mikerichards |
Posted - 26/01/2012 : 02:53:11
It does have some effects yes, but not in gathering heat, most snakes dont take their heat direct from the sun anyway, and lacking melanin wont really stop heat from being absorbed. Its not so much of a problem with corns, but some snakes you will find that albinos can be more aggressive than normal, simply down to the fact that their camo is not nearly what it should be, and they stand out like sore thumbs, so they have to be more snappy to survive.
Problems with snakes genetically come from animals that have been excessively line bred, siblings being bred to each other many times down the line, this gives a greater opportunity for bad genes (missing eyes, stomachs, etc) to show up, a fact shown in Kahl strain albino boas, breeding albino to albino is not such a good idea with them as a lot of litters have been known to be still born, and some that are alive are missing eyes completely.
The problem isnt linked to the lack of melanin, simply the homozygous effect of the bad traits that are hiding. |
| Spreebok |
Posted - 25/01/2012 : 23:21:09
To answer it all, nope!
Snows, Anerys and Amels (all types of Albinisim AFAIK) are exactly the same as any other morph :) |
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