Quote Originally Posted by Spaniard View Post
This is almost exactly what I was going to say.

I've seen it happen many times where someone is asking a question in a thread; they receive 6 responses telling them not to do something and then 1 response from someone telling them its ok. In most cases being new to the site doesn't help the inquiring person know who is experienced and who is not.

This is where the person who is asking a question has some decisions to make, and I think the route they choose is one of two.

Route 1 = People who really care about their animals and are willing often to do whatever it takes to make sure they're properly set up. Buying new equipment, trying new ideas etc.

Route 2 = People who like their snake but view it more as an object and are not going to go above and beyond to make sure everything is perfect.

I think "absolutes" are needed for route 2 people. Otherwise there would be no getting through to them, they would just latch on to the one person who says what they want to hear and only the snake suffers after that.

After enough experience and time in the hobby you realize that there are many ways to take care of these animals and you start to experiment on your own.
I agree. The kinds of people who really love their animals will get into the hobby to the point that they will want to see and learn more all the time. The Route 2 people need to be discouraged from mistreating their animal. I don't have a huge problem with the Route 2 people, but they still need to care for the animals, whether they love them like I do or not. Usually it's all you can do to make them stick to the basics and actually freaking feed their pets!!! Absolutes are pretty necessary for those people.


And housing 2 snakes together is to me an absolute, especially now.
I have two rescues currently sharing a tub (glass is ok, but plastic is cheaper!) because I just finished making them a separate enclosure. I adopted them as a pair that had lived together for 17 years unexpectedly and finally finished the second one. They are going to be separated today, and this isn't ever something I'm going to recommend anyone to do or do again. It was dumb of me not to have a setup for each and next time I will be prepared. They were my first rescues and since they had lived together so long, I was unsure if being separated might even cause more stress. It will certainly make my life easier having them separated! I am hoping & assuming that it won't be a negative change. I won't rip anyone's face off for housing two together, but I certainly don't recommend it & will continue to recommend AGAINST it having experienced it briefly.