There is a learning curve, I think

[m1lkhoney]

My local library has several ball python books on reserve for me and I have three on my shelf. Some of them are aimed at beginners, some aimed at advanced breeders. I read them all, but i have to make a decision between right husbandry and incorrect husbandry with only three months of experience. When I found this forum, I was so excited to learn from so many people who knew so much, and could help me tell right from wrong, and that a vet I trusted gave me terrible advice.

That's the thing. You don't have a list (at first) of which opinion is correct when you haven't had a lot of experience. Sometimes I and others ask questions that seem annoying or silly but I ask because I trust this forum to point me in the right direction.

Ball pythons are amazing animals, but they can also be complex, frustrating, shy and finicky. They are a rather daunting pet to care for properly, and I imagine the majority of BP owners don't get solid advice from, say, this website. I've read a couple of posts from people who kept ball pythons for years and had no idea that their husbandry wasn't ideal. You all helped them change.

I hesitate to post even this in case it gets a negative response, but we all share a love of ball pythons. Some of us are veterans and some of us just bought a snake yesterday. Regardless, there's a person on the other side of the screen, perhaps the other side of the world, who truly do mean well. Who truly do want to learn.

I love ball pythons and I research husbandry and genetics obsessively. But a couple of times I've cried while reading responses to some posts and while I realize that's a bit dramatic (hard to help it), would it hurt to be more kind sometimes? Of course I'm not singling anyone out; we could all probably stand to be more kind. And this forum itself says "the friendliest place on the Internet"

Most people don't understand why we love snakes. It's a relatively small community. Why hurt your own kind?

i am scared to post this and I am scared it will be deleted but i like this ball python community so much that it is startling when a comment can make one tear up.

To be fair, so do dog food commercials, so.

[juggalosnakes]

i agree 100 percent. Ive seen people that dont know nothing about snakes start a post and technically get flamed or shot down. I really liked reading everying one memeber wrote until i saw theyre response to this newbie. It was hard for me to stay out of it. The memeber was correct about the information they put in theyre reply but it seemed to be put in a rude way imo. Anyways love and kindness ftw

[m1lkhoney]

I think the private message feature might be good to work out misunderstandings, too. Sometimes communication styles don't mesh immediately.

[PitOnTheProwl]

I am not one to blow rainbows and fluf.
Many people dont like to be told straight up truth.
For me its about the animals first.

[m1lkhoney]

Of course it's about the animals first; we all joined a forum to discuss animals. But that information is filtered through the keepers of said animals.

Also, Pit, I haven't really noticed your input being undiplomatic anyway.

This is post is starting to make me uncomfortable; feel free to delete or not. I think I personally have come across negatively in my posts and for that i apologize.

[STjepkes]

I generally feel where you're coming from here. There most definitely is a learning curve when you're basically self-teaching through information already put out there rather than dealing with a single, trustworthy mentor figure to answer your questions. There is plenty of contradictory information out there regarding just about anything, and it can be difficult to sift through mis-information.

As far as the people... you can catch anybody when they're not their best, or sometimes people want to help, but they feel burnt out on the same questions over the years. But there's a lot of different personalities out there. Not everyone has a really friendly demeanor, but that doesn't mean that they don't have valuable information or input to share with you. And not everyone is cut out to be the patient mentor for the noobies for years on end. But sometimes whoever is on and willing to respond is just what ya get.

If everyone was a little nicer I think that'd be lovely, too. But, people have their reasons.

[cchardwick]

I think the thing that has helped me the most is to have a couple dozen snakes instead of just one or two. I think people can get misled from what their snake acts like, seems like most of my snakes are very different. I have some ball pythons that are real friendly, some real mean, some that eat anything and some that only eat live. If I only had one mean one that would only eat live it would skew my perception of the breed.

[voodoolamb]

The straight forward and terse answers don't bother me. Normally they are always in response to something that is bad for, or outright dangerous to the snakes. Well being of the animal trumps a person's feelings every time.

Personally, I don't find ball pythons difficult to care for, ive only been a ball python owner for 4 months myself. A quick Google search on the species and you can learn they are a nocturnal, terrestrial species from West sub-saharan Africa that spend the majority of their time aestivating in termite mounds or small animal burrows. Keep that in mind with a goal of recreating their natural habitat and wading through captive care recommendations becomes very straight forward and ends you up with a appropriate set up.

A see a lot of common sense stuff go out the window with pet reptiles and people trying to treat them like domestic or social animals. A lot of "loving your snake to death". Handling too close to meals, while acclimating to a new environment, while the snake is sick or otherwise already stressed. I see a lot of posts that start with "I know I shouldn't have done X but I did it anyways". I see a lot of posts where people don't have thermostats with their UTHs, but on most UTH packaging they have warnings and state they should be used with thermostats. It's frustrating. I can understand why some people come off as being "mean".

Also, to state the obvious, this is an online forum. Tone and intent do not come across well through text. Some are going to read what I wrote and think "omg this Voodoo person is such a female dog" others are going to think "Oh wow, this Voodoo person is pretty even keel and insightful". If you find yourself dealing with negative emotions that affect you deeply from reading responses on an online forum, then maybe this type of venue isn't right for you. Sometimes breaks away from the keyboard helps, sometimes you just have to find a community you click with better.

Personally, I find this place well moderated, helpful and overall pretty friendly

[blk02ssmonte]

Personally, I find this place well moderated, helpful and overall pretty friendly [/QUOTE]


I agree. Most info we get and give here is basically constructive criticism.

[PitOnTheProwl]

This is post is starting to make me uncomfortable; feel free to delete or not. I think I personally have come across negatively in my posts and for that i apologize.

Everyone that posts is responsible for and held accountable for what they post, we don't ever just delete posts.
I also don't see anything negative about it, just conversation.