We do learn more and more over the years. And with the explosion of the internet, people are learning more and faster than ever.
I will say that there is not a specific "ONE RIGHT WAY" to keep ball pythons, or most any species. Different people have different methods that work for them.
With regard to snakes living together, you mentioned the caveats yourself. There are RISKS associated with doing so...some serious like potential illness or one killing the other...some less serious, such as them simply stressing each other out. People DO choose to accept these risks. Does that make it right? Those of us who choose not to accept those risks don't think so. And we'll be quick to tell you why.
The way I see it...so long as we do our best to make you AWARE of the risks and pitfalls of the snakes living together, the rest is up to you to decide.
I would NEVER use a pet store as a yardstick for measuring how to properly care for any animal. Even the really good pet stores have to take shortcuts that most of us would not dream of. And very few pet stores are anywhere close to "really good." Do they get away with it? Sure...so far as you know. Doesn't make it right.
Zoos are an entirely different matter. First off...not all of them take proper care of their animals either. I've worked in a zoo that was horrible. It's not pretty. The good zoos that I've seen DON'T house animals together that should be housed individually. When they DO house animals together, they can do so successfully because they have professional keepers with years and decades of experience who know how to make sure the animals are thriving, and are willing to make changes if the animals are not thriving.
You can only use your own experience and your own judgement. We can only offer advice based on ours.
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