#spider ball python

Pugs have been bred so that they are born unable to breathe properly. Their tails are deformed. Their eyes are prone to just falling out. They are ugly creatures who live their shortened lives in pain. Movies like Men In Black which featured a pug made them popular and more pugs have been bred (I don’t blame the movie, but any movie featuring an animal will have this effect, like Finding Nemo made kids want pet fish). When pugs are fitted with breathing tubes for surgery (which is common because they ar prone to organ failure), they don’t want them off. Unlike other dogs, who hate breathing tubes and find them painful, pugs are the opposite of desperate to rip them off. Its because they have a squashed face, and are unable to even get enough oxygen. There are programs to try and breed pugs back into a reasonable existence where they are more like actual dogs, instead of the inbred creatures they are. All of this is because the features of pugs were arbitrarily decided cute.

Pugs are not the only dogs which have been ruined through the selective breeding of humans, but they are one of the worst examples.

There are similar issues in other pets. Reptiles can be selectively bred to contain different colorations referred to as “morphs.” The hobby is huge, with countless breeders dedicating decades to achieving unique animals. Ever seen a photo of a solid black gecko? Or a snake with smiley faces? Those aren’t always photoshop. Sometimes, photos are uploaded with filters, but the most part, it is real. On websites like Morph Market, breeders can list reptiles for sale. If you sort by rare or expensive morphs, you can see these animals.

I’m most familiar with ball pythons. I have one as a pet and have done the most research on them over other pets. Ball pythons have hundreds, maybe even thousands of different morphs which have been selectively bred. Most of them are fine, great even. Countless beautiful snakes are out there with vibrant colors and patters. Unfortunately, certain morphs are linked to certain traits. For a harmless example, ‘banana’ morph (also known as ‘coral glow’) ball pythons tend to be male. Unfortunately, certain colorations which have been selectively bred over time are linked to various health defects and neurological issues.

The most common and well-known example is the ‘spider’ morph. The ‘spider’ morph is associated with a pretty spiderweb pattern, and one of the worst neurological issues. This problem (commonly referred to as a ‘wobble’) is linked to the gene that causes the pattern. Among other things, this results in a snake that cannot tell up from down. This results in the snake struggling to eat, and in some cases biting itself. Spiders are some of the most popular snakes with such defects due to their color. They sell, so they continue to be bred. Morphs containing ‘spider’ (as in, the when two snakes are cross bred to result in new morphs) are often names various ‘bug’ names (usually ‘bee’ is somewhere in there). Breeders will point to certain crosses or even individual snakes whose ‘head wobble’ is less severe, or even crosses the which seem almost fine as a reason why this morph should continue to be bred and sold. It should not and has even been banned from some reptile conventions. Some pretty patterns are not worth continuing to breed an animal which should not exist and is prone to moving backwards, upside down, and quite literally trying to eat itself. The snakes already exist, and I don’t see an issue in having a rescue as a pet, but breeders need to just stop bringing more into the world.

Spider ball pythons, pugs, even glow-in-the-dark goldfish. So many animals which should have never existed continue to exist due to selective breeding, capitalism and the barely-regulated supply and demand of pets. I’m not against selective breeding, but at some point there has to be a line.