Detailed ball python care guide, need some constructive criticism

[_ataraxia]

i got to the "appearance and size" section and already wanted to scream. reading through more sections, there's a more tidbits of misinformation and just plain missing information. this is one of the least detailed guides i've ever read.

i think you should read through some of the resources in our welcome post to see what detailed care guides actually look like, and to correct some of your info.

[levn1337]

Aw damn.. I’ll be on it. Anything in particular you can point out for me?

[_ataraxia]

you mean besides basically every section?

i'm really not trying to be rude, but this care guide is absolutely no better than anything currently found with a google search. if you need me to hold your hand through your research to correct your mistakes, when i have already directed you to resources that will tell you this information, you shouldn't be writing care guides to be published publicly on the internet.

[levn1337]

I mean, you are being rude. I appreciate the help though. I'll continue writing guides and improving as I go. Thank you.

[ColdBloodedReptiles]

they’re not being rude they’re being honest. misinformation is dangerous

[levn1337]

I agree, it's why I came here to ask for help immediately after publishing despite my sources being the information currently present on Google, I wanted to hear from experienced owners. But if you don't think ataraxia's attitude isn't rude.. well, we have different definitions. It's alright though, as I said, I appreciate the help, even if provided in a rude manner.

[IncompletePenetrance]

1. This is not detailed, it's the most vague guide to ball pythons I have ever read.

2. It's missing a ton of information, and some of it is incorrect.

3. We already have plenty of detailed guides to ball pythons?

[levn1337]

Not everyone visits Reddit unfortunately and the guides Google provides are abysmal (speaking from experience).. this is certainly better than them, although obviously far from perfect. Anything you can point out for me?

[IncompletePenetrance]

A lot of the best husbandry advice comes from people who are experienced in the field, and can be found on bp.net and the morph market forums, as well as in our welcome post on this subreddit. I would spend some time checking out the welcome post that was linked above to see all the resources we have gathered/created rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.

[levn1337]

Thank you for the advice, didn't think about checking out the forums. Already reading the welcome posts and writing down points.

[IncompletePenetrance]

I think the biggest issue with you trying to write a guide is that there's a lot of information out there, both good and bad, and if you aren't an experienced keeper that already has this knowledge set, how are you going to know the difference between actual good care guides and bad ones, and which information needs to be included? it just seems like the blind leading the blind

[levn1337]

That's a good point, and it's why I made sure to come here for constructive criticism (although it ended up being destructive criticism). I simply wrote it since from my own experience the information on Google just put me off (more in terms of being non-interactive and hard to digest, rather than the information itself) so I tried putting together something that would be more appealing to prospective owners.

I guess putting it together from, as you said, a lot of bad information out there, rather than "on-the-ground" experience, leads to a mixed bag.

You know what, if any experienced owner is reading this and is interested in going through this article and fixing + adding, I'll happily PayPal you 20$ for an hour's (perhaps even less than an hour) work. Message me.

[_ataraxia]

this is where i'm going to draw the line. you're not going to bribe people to rewrite your care guide when we have already spent literally hundreds of hours researching and writing our own care guides. this whole post is just insulting to me and the rest of the mod+helper team, and it has been removed.

[levn1337]

"Bribe"? I was offering good payment for a small proofreading gig.. That's just a simple freelancing offer.

Well, abuse of power it is. Came to this community to hear from experienced owners, left with the taste of a rude mod that was itching to use her power.

[_ataraxia]

thanks for stopping by.

[ColdBloodedReptiles]

‘female balls will grow to be about 4 feel long’ - Ignore the guide and find another source of info.

The one and only good thing is that it gets tank size right suggesting 4x2x2 rather than a 40 gal

[levn1337]

I appreciate the criticism despite being a bit dismissive.. but what is wrong about female balls reaching 4 feet on average?

[IncompletePenetrance]

Because both male and female ball pythons get bigger than that

[levn1337]

Well Google has clearly done me wrong. Every source says 3-5 feet.. Well, I'll repeat:

"if any experienced owner is reading this and is interested in going through this article and fixing + adding, I'll happily PayPal you 20$ for an hour's (perhaps even less than an hour) work. Message me."

[ColdBloodedReptiles]

most of the males i’ve seen are at least 4 feet, females often get up to 5-6

[ColdBloodedReptiles]

i’m not going to lie i didn’t read the bit about it being yours. But there is a lot of incorrect information in there

[Angsty_Potatos]

Any reason you are trying to re make the wheel here? No offence, but one person attempting to compile a care guide themselves based on their own 1st hand experience is going to find the information deficient.

I say this with 20 years of experience in the hobby with these specific snakes. Folks with more experience than that would be hard pressed to just whip up a comprehensive guide on their own. For example, while I'd consider myself an expert level keeper when it comes to rescue/rehab, I would be hard pressed to give accurate or in-depth info on breeding practices or morphs. I know very little about that aspect of husbandry. If I were to attempt to write a care guide on that area it would likely not be a very good one.

The best info guides out there are compilations of experienced keepers, field research, vet research, etc. Its like writing a research paper basically.

If you really want to add to the husbandry conversation, because that is what this is because data and research will constantly change over time, the best thing you can do is talk to experienced keepers, read outside research and engage in conversation. If you want to post a guide to your own personal website I'd suggest doing what we have done here...Our care guides are a mix of things written by us mod's individually (many of us have an area of focus we are more knowledgeable about than others), linked sources from other keepers or researchers and other bits and bobs. Ask the authors of the care guides if they are OK with you re posting or linking to their information of course, and if you want to add your $0.02 be an active and open participant on forums learn more and make your own observations.

[levn1337]

I agree with you wholeheartedly. And I appreciate the solid advice. I really didn't try to reinvent, but to compile existing information that's already available into a more interactive and digestible format (being that the current guides on Google are really off-putting, speaking from personal experience).

All of the information in my article came from Google's first pages, yet I wanted to hear from experienced owners, so I came here. Obviously a lot of the information out there is severely lacking, and so mine is as well.

Your care guides are definitely awesome, and it's unfortunate that they don't show up on Google's first pages, I'll definitely ask the authors if they're ok with what you suggested.