Mainland Chahoua

[Nickelless]

I have noticed that in the pictures of most mainland Chahouas that they have a slight underbite... is this something that only mainland Chahouas have??

[Salzy]

It's something that can occur with all the Rhacodactylus species. I've noticed a lot more jaw issues with mainland chahoua as well, but that may be merely coincidence. I have seen it with the Pine Isle locality too, so it's not just something that is occuring with those from the mainland.

Perhaps there is some type of underlying issue that nobody really knows about yet, but I haven't heard of anything specific.

[sushigex]

Don't feel bad my only mainland chewie has a slight underbite as well. None of my Pine Island chewies have this minor defect. I have heard that it is more common in mainlands as well. One possibility is that it might have something to do with them having less genetic diversity here in the states.

I have seen people blame inadequate supplementation for such abnormalities. I know in my girl's case this is not the fact. Going back to her hatchling pictures I can see the small underbite.

[Debbie]

Originally Posted by Salzy

Perhaps there is some type of underlying issue that nobody really knows about yet, but I haven't heard of anything specific.

We were told it was because of the inbreeding, which happened a lot with the mainlands (at least here in Europe)......

[Salzy]

Originally Posted by Debbie

We were told it was because of the inbreeding, which happened a lot with the mainlands (at least here in Europe)......

That was my initial thought as well, but I wasn't sure if something like that had been proven or not. It surely makes sense that it could have been caused by inbreeding though.

[godzillizard]

I have seen people blame inadequate supplementation for such abnormalities. I know in my girl's case this is not the fact. Going back to her hatchling pictures I can see the small underbite.

There are some breeders that are so infatuated with continuing a specific line, they choose to ignore signs of genetic issues. Pawning these issues off as dietary and/or environmentally caused. Of course these can be contributing factors-but a line of animals with a narrowed/minimized genetic may have an increased proclivity for certain "issues"...IMO/E...

[anarchy99]

Originally Posted by godzillizard

There are some breeders that are so infatuated with continuing a specific line, they choose to ignore signs of genetic issues. Pawning these issues off as dietary and/or environmentally caused. Of course these can be contributing factors-but a line of animals with a narrowed/minimized genetic may have an increased proclivity for certain "issues"...IMO/E...

Agreed but if you intermingle the best of either mainland or PI will the resale value be as good compared to a pure Pi with a minor deformity, personally i believe in diversifying. the gene pool is so small as it is compared to the spider in ball pythons and the enigma in leopard geckos where they are more diverse yet have the neurological issues have become prevalent if not overbearing at times. As for the thread i find it hard to narrow it down to just the mainland as it is to narrow the locale of the guys/gals

[RhacsEtc]

Originally Posted by anarchy99

Agreed but if you intermingle the best of either mainland or PI will the resale value be as good compared to a pure Pi with a minor deformity, personally i believe in diversifying. the gene pool is so small as it is compared to the spider in ball pythons and the enigma in leopard geckos where they are more diverse yet have the neurological issues have become prevalent if not overbearing at times. As for the thread i find it hard to narrow it down to just the mainland as it is to narrow the locale of the guys/gals

It isn't really narrowed down to JUST mainlands, although it is MUCH more common in mainlands because they have been in captivity about a decade longer than the P.I. chahoua. From reading a post by Allen Repashy a while back I read that Mainlands have been in the country around 20 years, P.I.'s about 10 years. P.I.'s were also imported in larger numbers than the mainland, which is why they have a smaller gene pool. I think that we should be very careful about the inbreeding about our animals and we should keep trading from Europe/Canada/US to keep our lines clean.

Thanks,
-Armen