Funky Gecko

[Dr-Zoidberg]

A deformed animal is not a "mutation"

If a mutated gene causes deformities then it's a mutation, read a book or two

 

[Lachie3112]

A deformed animal should be able to produce normal offspring then, if it does not have a mutation.
There's no harm in trying to breed it should it live that long.
Remember, reptile changes/mutations through breeding take a LONG time to show up compared to mammals. Dogs such as German Shepherds have hip dysplasia due to systematic inbreeding over decades, breeding one gecko that has a deformity (at this stage something as trivial as a smaller than average tail and two missing toes) is not going to ruin the entire species.
Saying you shouldn't breed it is like saying to someone missing a finger you can't ever have kids because you might create problems in the future.

If it were to breed, and as a worse case scenario it produced deformed offspring, it's not like it's going to ruin a species. You could simply terminate the offspring and never breed it again, and no one would ever know or care.

 

[Cold-B-Hearts]

A deformed animal is not a "mutation"

stop please, It could very well be a mutation or a deformity. A deformity would be lack of growth in the egg resulting in a animal with genetics nothing out of the ordinary. Although it looks like a deformity it could very well be a mutation.. are scaleless ball pythons, cornsnakes, death adders all deformed or do they have a mutation?

basically what im trying to say is something that looks like a deformity could (or couldn't) be a mutation; although without breeding it will remain unknown.
Personally i wish Dr-Zoidberg the best of luck with this project regardless on what he decides to do.

 

[Dr-Zoidberg]

It's my understanding that evolution begins with a single mutated gene, if that "mutated" animal fairs well and breeds there will be more and more of that variant showing up, in the end, changing the species/sub-species indefinately, Whether it happens in the environment or in captivity it's still a natural phenomenon.

 

[Bearded_Penguin]

stop please, It could very well be a mutation or a deformity. A deformity would be lack of growth in the egg resulting in a animal with genetics nothing out of the ordinary. Although it looks like a deformity it could very well be a mutation.. are scaleless ball pythons, cornsnakes, death adders all deformed or do they have a mutation?

basically what im trying to say is something that looks like a deformity could (or couldn't) be a mutation; although without breeding it will remain unknown.
Personally i wish Dr-Zoidberg the best of luck with this project regardless on what he decides to do.

Or Bearded_Penguin perhaps
Thanks though.

- - - Updated - - -

Baaa, re typing approximation of long post that I somehow accidentally killed.

- - - Updated - - -

Darn this thread moves fast!

I cant imagine why breeding a deformed animal is being considered. It may have other problems than just a physical appearance. Id seriously hope that if it were bred none of the offspring were sold.

You need to imagine harder. Seriously though, I have a strong interest in both genetics and in the embryonic development cycle. It's quite possible there is something interesting going on here, something that's poorly documented, if at all. It's the symmetry of the deformity that caught my interest, as most random deformities are far from symmetrical. This suggests that some mechanism in the development cycle took charge and left off (or reabsorbed) some non critical parts to get the job done, so to speak. Then again, it could be genetic. I'd like to know which it is, how do you suggest I go about finding out without breeding?

Please dont start this discussion. It starts with a mong gecko, leads into jags, and ends with me getting another infraction for swearing at people.
Best to just smile and nod.

A smile and a nod back to you, indeed much easier

Fair enough if it had a crippling deformity that made life unpleasant , but seriously? It's missing a couple of toes and a tail! Wouldn't depriving it of the right to pro-create be morraly wrong? After all isn't that what we're here for.

At this point it's doing well, is active, and has no problems digging a cave to hide in and is generally doing what geckos do.

I hope that is a joke. Unless this animal has been checked over by a vet how would you know if there wasnt more serious internal issues? Not everyone/thing should breed. Especially when its defective.

If there are serious internal problems it won't reach breeding age. Every human carries some defective genes, including you. Does the application of your logic extend to yourself?

If it has a serious problem, it's going to die pretty soon. If it doesn't die soon, then it doesn't have a serious problem.

When I used to live an area with wild green tree frogs, I once encountered a green tree frog with a deformed leg. It had the third section of it's rear leg missing and the foot on that leg (not sure if it was due to injury or birth defect). Over the years I lived there, I watched it thrive. Sure, it couldn't jump perfectly, and had a little difficulty climbing, but it managed to grow to a decent size, and I believe it even bred successfully.

It seems like a pretty cool little gecko, and it just seems during development life decided that in order for it to survive it would put more energy into vital organs, rather than a couple of toes and a nicer tail. I don't see a problem with the owner breeding it in future if it survives, as long as there's nothing missing or abnormal in its genes, I don't see why it couldn't produce healthy offspring.

It's the 'life decided' thing that has me intrigued, a process worth further study.

Frogs (OT) - They found in the end that the mutations were caused by a parasite.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com....formed-parasites-animals-environment-mutants/
http://outfog.com/2012/04/26/what-zombie-snails-and-teenage-mutant-frogs-tell-us-about-ecosystems/

Its not judgmental at all. Its logical.
And a deformed animal is nothing to be jealous over so i dont really understand that statement. Mind informing me how im always negative?
Theres a few people who have had exceptionaly nice geckos that are healthy show up in there collection that I have commented on but that has only ever been stating how nice the animal is. Defection isnt anything to be jealous over. And the intentional breeding of it is stupid.
A few easy comparisons are defects in dogs due to stupid breedings.

And to elaborate a bit further, i had one egg go longer and eventually hatched deformed, somewhat resembling a bulldog in stance. It was given every chance in life and later passed, if it had of survived to adulthood it would never have been mated.

You're suggesting that the quest for knowledge 'is stupid', and that's illogical.
For an easier comparison, take the 40% of the human population that has a defect in the MTHFR gene and the issues that causes. Unfortunately this gene just keeps getting passed along due to stupid breeding.

A deformed animal is not a "mutation"

It doesn't have to be, but it can be. There is a way to find out though, it's called breeding.

If a mutated gene causes deformities then it's a mutation, read a book or two

A deformed animal should be able to produce normal offspring then, if it does not have a mutation.
There's no harm in trying to breed it should it live that long.
Remember, reptile changes/mutations through breeding take a LONG time to show up compared to mammals. Dogs such as German Shepherds have hip dysplasia due to systematic inbreeding over decades, breeding one gecko that has a deformity (at this stage something as trivial as a smaller than average tail and two missing toes) is not going to ruin the entire species.
Saying you shouldn't breed it is like saying to someone missing a finger you can't ever have kids because you might create problems in the future.

If it were to breed, and as a worse case scenario it produced deformed offspring, it's not like it's going to ruin a species. You could simply terminate the offspring and never breed it again, and no one would ever know or care.

If it breeds and the offspring are normal looking, they will certainly be healty, though can't rule out genetics without a further breeding cycle to check for recessive mutation.

It's my understanding that evolution begins with a single mutated gene, if that "mutated" animal fairs well and breeds there will be more and more of that variant showing up, in the end, changing the species/sub-species indefinately, Whether it happens in the environment or in captivity it's still a natural phenomenon.

Yep, the diversity of life as we know it, came about via mutation. No mutation = No life.

stop please, It could very well be a mutation or a deformity. A deformity would be lack of growth in the egg resulting in a animal with genetics nothing out of the ordinary. Although it looks like a deformity it could very well be a mutation.. are scaleless ball pythons, cornsnakes, death adders all deformed or do they have a mutation?

basically what im trying to say is something that looks like a deformity could (or couldn't) be a mutation; although without breeding it will remain unknown.
Personally i wish Dr-Zoidberg the best of luck with this project regardless on what he decides to do.

 

[Dr-Zoidberg]

Thanks for re-writing that post, it dissapered half way through reading it, good luck with your project as I'm also interested in evolution and genetics, keep us posted I apologise if I got a bit off topic , although it seems you've taken it all in stride.

 

[Bearded_Penguin]

Thanks for re-writing that post, it dissapered half way through reading it, good luck with your project as I'm also interested in evolution and genetics, keep us posted I apologise if I got a bit off topic , although it seems you've taken it all in stride.

No probs, my first encounter with the automated ('---Updated---') last post editing mechanism. I saw my long message in the edit box and though 'baa what, not what I want' and promptly deleted it to type a new post.
Then I said, ummm, Bugger!

The retype is pretty much the same.

I'll keep this post updated periodically with progress. I think it was all pretty much on topic, if not, at least closely related so no probs there.

 

[CrazyNut]

Haha that's so damn cool! and cute lol very interesting! Thx for sharing bud.