TheOddBall

Just like the egg cutting debate, there has always been a debate over the infamous spider wobble. The spider mutation is one of my favorite traits and I have quite a few spiders and spider combos in my collection and will be hatching more soon! So I may be a little biased in my thoughts on the wobble…

I always get asked these same questions by potential buyers. I assume these questions are posted as fact somewhere on the internet.

Is it lethal? Is it genetic? Are they inbred?

I have had my original spider male since 2006. He is now 8 years old and has sired well over one hundred offspring. What I have found is this: the spider wobble  in no way negativity impacts the snakes. Some will be born with it, others will develop it as they age, and some that have it will stop doing it. It is the strangest thing, but in my opinion, it gives the snakes character.

Lethal: No. After years of breeding them, I have never produced one that was so severe that it could not eat and thrive. The wobble gives them a quirky personality. Breeding spider to spider will only produce more spiders. There is no more risk with this pairing than there is with any other pairing.

Genetic: Probably. In a clutch of spiders, I have not seen the wobble displayed by non-spider siblings. It has always seemed, in my opinion, to effect only the spiders. While it appears to be genetic, some display the wobble more obviously than others. And some will grow out of it, like my original male did after a few years.

Inbred: Absolutely, positively not.    The spider mutation is a very out-bred gene. By that I mean that pretty much every spider was produced from a pairing where only  one parent carried the gene.

Are there benefits to the Spider gene?

While some may not like the spider wobble, there are many positives to the spider gene. One being that they are strong animals. By that I mean, I’ve never had a baby spider that was difficult to get eating and established. They often grow very quickly and gain weight like there is no tomorrow. Males are strong breeders and can breed easily 7 to 10 females in one season.  And in my experience, females tend to have decent sized clutches.  The first female spiders that I produced in 2009/10 had on average 7 eggs when they had their first clutches in 2013. That is pretty impressive for a first time female, considering most first time females will have 4 or 5 eggs.

Have a different opinion or experience? I would love to hear it. Comment below and let me know what you think!