Question: At what point do you feel comfortable posting info about your animals?

Think that on today's web it is important to:

1. Look closely at the level of experience of the person giving the advice

2. Don't assume something is 100% proven just because one person said it. Look for additional evidence / information, ask "experts" that you trust to corroborate

3. Ask yourself if the advise makes common sense and does it conflict with how the animal operates in the wild

Justin

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Originally Posted by mcavana

to breath without opening their mouth?

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Thats what I was gonna say.

I read the reason they use there tounge is because they dont inhale very much air when breathing, like a mammal for example, so they dont get as much of an air sample. So they stick their tounges out to capture more scent molecules in their enviroment.

Their breathing system is very primitive in comparison to ours since they dont use as much energy as a warm blooded animal would and dont need as much oxygen. Thats why a bad RI can drown them whereas we could just blow our nose or cough stuff up.

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Originally Posted by mcavana

to breath without opening their mouth?

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Ha! I was just showing my 7-year-old son that green pitviper on that other post (that's a really cool snake, mom! according to him) and I checked on this thread and saw this question so I turned around and asked my 7-year-old what he thinks about the nostril... He rolls his eyes and says, "So he can breathe, Mom!". Okay, okay, so I have to admit that didn't occur to me (see my signature below - not an expert which is the point of this thread)... anyway, my 7-year-old proceeded to tell me sea snakes have "closed nostrils" so water can't get in... it only opens when they go out of the water. And I ask him, where'd you learn all this? Thinking this is just another one of those "my best friend Charlie said" thing. So then he goes to his room, picks up his "Uncover COBRA" book flipped to the page about the Cobra's nostrils and showed me the exact paragraph that mentioned the nostrils with a picture of the cobra's nostrils next to the sea snake...

This is the same son who asked our ball python vet if he has ever treated a flowerpot snake... the vet asked, "you mean, the blind snake?" And he responded, "yes, the Braminy Blind Snake, but not the Bahamian Blind Snake because I think that is different"... I just look at him like, huh??? And the vet actually thought that statement made sense.

Okay, I have a cool son. :D
Now, if only he can answer his math questions as well as snake questions...

Great post! I think you read my mind since I was thinking about this yesterday. Honestly, I would only post videos about dog/cat care at this point because I have over 15 years' experience keeping them, as well as working at several vet offices. As far as my reptiles, I don't think at this point my knowledge is so broad that I could feel confident telling (better yet, showing) others how to do things properly. These are living, breathing creatures that I could inadvertently end up harming by providing the wrong information.

That being said, I listen/watch the keepers with a good reputation. It's easy to pick up who on this forum knows what they are talking about & who just has a sad ego problem. I cannot take the advice of keepers that I do not respect and admire-and that has to be earned.

I by no means call my self an expert, I have only been in this hobby for two years. When I first started out, with one ball python in a tank, a member of this site found that we lived in the same city. He invited me to his house to see his collection, and I was hooked. We became friends and he took me under his wing, and taught me alot. He's helped me through rat breeding, rack building, and quite frankly, changed my life. My collection has expanded to 30+ snakes in just two short years, who knows what the next decade will hold for me. I now know what I want to do for the rest of my life. I recently started making youtube videos showing off my collection and sharing some of my knowledge, and I've gotten a lot of positive results.

This site has been a huge part of me growing as a person, and a reptile keeper, and hopefully it will be a help to many more who come after me. But I think right now, with my experience and knowledge gained, most of it from this very site, I feel comfortable posting info about my animals to help others get from where I've been to where I am now.

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Originally Posted by Mike Cavanaugh

to breath without opening their mouth?

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So did this prove to be the right answer then?! Do I win a prize??? :8:

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Originally Posted by wilomn

Interesting answer.

THIS preschooler sort of thought it was for breathing.

See there, I let my guard down and learned something today.

I had no clue that a snakes tongue could become lost. I always thought they were firmly attached, as are ours.

I'm going to go pull some tongues right now and see what happens.

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Ha ha. Earlier this year or last...anyway a while back, on another forum someone had a snake that did loose it's tongue.

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Originally Posted by snakelady

Ha ha. Earlier this year or last...anyway a while back, on another forum someone had a snake that did loose it's tongue.

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Jen Harrison if I remember right.

Bump for the people who missed this...

Been noticing it alot again...

Hmmmm

I personally don't give advice unless I know for sure that it will or has worked. With people like Wes around, I don't want to give out stupid information and then get ripped a new one. I may have gotten a little ego when I first started keeping snakes, but since I've calmed down. This site gives out ALOT of information, I think coming here and reading alot makes you think you know just about everything, lol.

As for who I trust to listen to, I seek out opinions and explore all options before I make a decision. If it were something life threatening to my BPs, I would most likely trust a bigger sized breeder, or a trusted member on this forum.