Giving Bad/Incorrect Advice

[mohawk]

Lately I have noticed a lot of bad/incorrect advice being given.
Also, a lot of people that have recently got their first snake, and have had it less than a
couple of months, giving (not always correct) husbandry advice like they are an expert.
There are a number of very experienced snake keepers/breeders on this forum
that have a wealth of knowledge to share, but it is hard for a new snake owner to pick through
all the crap advice, and find the useful good advice. Just because you have owned a Ball Python
for two weeks, and have read a couple of care sheets, does not give you qualifications to diagnose a possibly
ill snake. And Yes, everyone has an "OPINION", but an opinion is not always a useful piece of information.

Below is a post written by another forum member, that gives some good guidelines to follow before you throw
out "OPINIONS" as facts.

Here are some general rules to abide by when answering questions:

If you've read about something that works - resist the urge to post.

If you've been practicing something for a short period of time and are ASSuming it works - resist the urge to post.

If you've been practicing something for a long period of time, have had long term success with it - share it with the group.

If you practiced something for a long period of time and it worked, but no longer practice it - discuss it as a viable option.

Refrain from discussing anything you aren't 100% familiar or experienced with.

Then a lot of bad information and confusion will cease to exist.

People who never have done something, people who parrot bad advice and people who seek to convert people to only one way of doing things just need to shut up.

In most cases, there are many effective ways to meet the husbandry requirements of most captive reptiles. If you are intent in making sure everyone does things your way and your way only...then you better make sure you've got thick skin.

Remember - many of the things people advise against doing can be done...they just may take more skill and experience. That does not mean you can't do it.

When you aren't talking to someone face to face, it's very hard to determine tone, humor, etc. This makes forums prime breeding ground for a lot of bruised egos and hurt feelings. Any emotional or interpersonal baggage tends to come out fairly quickly.

People often perceive insult where there is none, mainly because of insecurity.

Likewise people often get deeply hurt because they bring their low self esteem to the forum.

The best advice I can give you is to refrain from talking when you don't have something to say.

Refrain from talking unless you are sure about what you're talking about...and leave your emotional baggage at home.

..and refrain from ASSuming your snake likes anything other than being properly kept and cared for.