Another interesting thread - there's a few of them about this weekend.
I think this is actually a very important question. In cases of animals that are doing well in the wild, it probably doesn't matter that much - except for the welfare of the animal itself. Even if we could sustain a "weak" animal in captivity, isn't it better to have strong ones instead? Does a weak animal get sick more often or have painful or uncomfortable conditions that we have no inkling of? I haven't had enough experience in keeping reptiles to be able to answer these questions, but more experienced keepers and breeders probably have their own observations. Already someone has mentioned that weak animals seem to die younger.
It could be unethical of us to sustain "weak" animals, but as Gird has pointed out, what consists of weakness? I think this thread has established that poor feeding as a hatchie is not a conclusive sign, so exactly how do we tell what is a weak animal? Sometimes it's obvious, such as when a snake hatches with deformities, but I'd assume there are different degrees of weakness and some wouldn't be so obvious.
So if we accept that we are breeding weaker animals, what exactly are the signs of a weak animal? I think this is a good question to answer because I think it would be vital when considering a breeding program for a threatened species - especially if the aim is to release one day. I don't know the details of how a breeding program works, but I assume the goal would be to breed healthy animals and enough of them to preserve genetic diversity.
Another short point: not all animals meet their end in the wild because they are weak. Sometimes it's a case of foul luck.
There are a couple of things I'm curious about. In the last few days I've suddenly seen mention of the fragility of albinos, particularly Darwins. Blondie herself was a wild adult, I understand, so presumably she was strong enough to survive despite sticking out like a fire engine at a funeral. So why are her offspring weak, if being weak is the answer to the problems that have been observed? I'd like to hear some more opinions and observations about this.
The second thing I'm curious about is the potential Oenpelli python captive conservation project. It's a little bit off topic so I won't discuss it too much, but if anyone can point me in the direction of some reading material by PM, I'd be much obliged.
Renenet