buyer beware (venting)

[Templ...@webtv.net]

[Templ...@webtv.net]

[STEVE S]

I just want to warn any potential new leopard gecko buyers to beware of
fancy labels on baby leopard geckos. I have seen jungle phase, high
yellows, circle backs, striped, and many other names to describe baby
leopard geckos. In fact I have hatched out geckos that look like many of
these patterns. Almost without exception they will turn into normal looking
adults within about 6 months. Certain phases do breed true, and can be
considered legitimate morphs, these usually deal with a lack of, or
extremely reduced amount, or an extremely exagerated amount of pigment from
early on. It has been my experience that most baby leopards with relatively
equal amounts of black, and yellow will turn out to be normal looking adults
regardless of the pattern on the babies.

It happens every time the price drops on a normal phase animal. Breeders
and wholesalers start to dream up provocative marketing names to boost the
sales of their animals, and everything that has the remotest of a unique
color, pattern, or combination of the two will be crowned the next gotta
have it variation even though there is a very good chance it will turn out
to be nothing more than a very ordinary looking adult. I've seen it happen
primarily with corn snakes, leopard geckos, bearded dragons, red tail boas,
and ball pythons, but it is happening with other animals as well. I
recently overheard two dealers talking at a local swap saying that they were
incubating eggs from clown ball pythons. Correct me if I am wrong here but
isn't this a rather recent development by the Barkers. I have my doubts
whether these two amatures (trust me if you would have seen the rest of the
stuff at their table you would kow what I mean) could have simultaneously
arrived at the same end product as the original clown producers.

These are my opinions of course, and I am not trying to demean the efforts
of those people seriously working on developing legitimate morphs that have
been proven to breed true over time. Even though I do not care for it
personally, the blizzard lizzard is a rather fascinating animal, and the
snow leopards are simply awesome.

It seems to me though that these legitimate morphs come from those people
who take the time to understand the genetics behind their creations and not
from some average Joe Blow who suddenly has 25 baby bearded dragons to sell
so he makes up a fancy name to try and convince people they are anything but
normal.

Steve Schindler

[Rob Jenkins]

Very well put. I've been saying the same thing about leopard geckos for a
while now. The problem is, people still buy them. Hopefully honesty will
prevail in the end.

--
Rob Jenkins
http://www.herpcam.com
webm...@herpcam.com

http://www.herptopia.com
webm...@herptopia.com

STEVE S <SSC...@BUSYNET.NET> wrote in message
news:seqm5g...@corp.supernews.com...

[Templ...@webtv.net]

OOH! Or how 'bout THIS one ( I hear this EVERY DAY )-- "MY boa's not
like ANYTHING you've ever seen... She's got silver on her head area and
pink on the sides that goes all the way down her body, and the saddles
are RED where most people's are brown, and blah, blah, blah..." ROFLMAO

[Templ...@webtv.net]

Well said, my friend... I've been saying the SAME things for the last
fifteen years... Of course, I'm always the arsehole! LOL I'm always
just "jealous" that the shmoe with the table next to me at a reptile
show has "butter-nut Mocha zipper Royal Ball Pythons from ZingaZanga
mountain range in Kilahari, Africa" which, to me, looks AMAZINGLY like
a NORMAL ball python, albeit with more xanthin than some, and a few
well-fed ticks... LOL

Robert
http://www.geocities.com/rwexotics/