Downers and Naysayers

[Hypancistrus]

When I first got into snakes, I had pre-ordered a hatchling from a breeder and joined a cornsnake forum to learn about caring for my new snake. I made the mistake of asking about snakes drinking and asked "do snakes actually drink water?" meaning, do they drink like a dog would, or do they soak it up, like a frog would (I had a pacman frog at the time). You would have thought I had reported my plans to feed my cornsnake carrots and collard greens. The members of that forum went ballistic"If you don't know that animals need water you shouldn't own any," etc. Luckily, the breeder I had purchased from came to the rescue and basically told people to go eff themselves... new people don't know all the logistics of snake keeping, but learning is important.

There are plenty of helpful people out there. One thing you have to realize though (that few people seem to) is that for most of our commonly kept captive species there are many ways to successfully house and care for them, with very few "set in stone" parameters that universally must be met. There are people who successfully cohab their reptiles, or keep them in tanks vs tubs, etc. The very best thing for everyone to do, IMHO, is to read as much as you can before purchase, set up the best enclosure you can, that you find adequate and suitable, and provide the best care you can. Don't look for universal agreement from the internet. It will only lead to frustration.