I thought this would be a great discussion for an 'advanced' forum.

I am not a believer in absolutes when reptile care is concerned. Each situation is different, each keeper is different, and each reptile is different. How can there be absolutes with so many differences?

To me, many fixed ideas concerning reptile care originate from how information is given to beginning keepers.

The same recommendations are made to beginning keepers in order to keep things simple. The last thing you want to do is confuse a beginner with advanced concepts right off the bat. So we say things in absolutes....

1. Do not house snakes together unless they are breeding
2. Do not house different species together
3. Tubs are best for snakes
4. Do not breed young animals
5. Fast growth is good
6. Feed snakes weekly
7. Feeding f/t has less risk than feeding live
8. CBB is better than CH

Just to name a few...

...and I could go on and on about these comments that are sometimes spoken(typed) as if they are strict rules to follow.

While those statements were initially give as just general guidelines to beginning keepers.......they somehow became engrained as fact and instead of being repeated as a guideline....The statements are repeated as fact or absolute by some people.

Do not house snakes together unless they are breeding. Very general statement. So many variables.....what size is the enclosure, what type of environment is going to be provided, what is the age, sex, size, and health of the snakes, what kind of experience does the keeper have, how many basking areas, how will the snakes be fed, what will they be fed, etc.

Everything is in the details.....nothing is absolute, so why speak as if the statement is written in stone? It goes beyond just snakes....it happens with tons of other reptiles.

Do not keep bearded dragons on sand. Very general statement. So many variables....what is the grain size of the sand, is it manufactured or natural, what are the shape of the grains, is it 100% sand or is it a sandy loam, is the bearded well hydrated, moisture content of the soil, etc.

Everything is in the details.

The number of fixed ideas concerning reptiles seems to be growing constantly. My opinion is this lack of exploration (i.e. developing new ideas instead of using the guidelines already there) has to do with a blind focus on morphs and breeding....and lack of any attention to natural history and natural environments.

How many keepers have seen a picture of a bumblebee ball python, but have never seen a picture of a ball python's native environment?

How many keepers preach about keeping animals seperate, but have never seen reptiles of different species sitting right next to each other in the wild?

How many people say to keep beardies off sand, but have never read books describing bearded dragon burrows in the red sandy loam of Australia?

How many people say to keep an enclosure at two set temperatures and one constant humidity, but have never seen a basking snake on a dry, hot day retreat under a rotten log to feel the cool, dampness beneath once the temperatures get too warm?

There is so much to learn about reptiles. No absolutes.

I just wanted to have a little rant to tell everyone....

Do not limit yourself. Do not settle for something that works well, find something that works better. Make it a point to learn something everyday....and try to avoid speaking absolutes when discussing reptiles.