The way I see it, FR is the only person here that consistently attempts to engage in conversation when a question is asked.

Bully for him. Honestly, who really cares how consistent FR is in engaging in conversation? All that matters is the quality and thoughtfulness of the reply. In FR's case, well, that is highly debatable depending on the individuals you ask. All that really matters though is whether or not the OP gets anything out of what any of us have to say here regardless of how any of us feel about each other.

Why is he scaring other folks away from answering Qs?

You honestly think FR has that kind of power? Trust me, he doesn't. People aren't afraid of him nor his condescensing ignorance towards others. If we have something to relevant to say or add to a conversation, we will, we always do. Some have just been burned out by the constant bullying and badgering that FR likes to engage in, it's not that they are scared, they are just choosing the path of least resistance, so they choose to read instead of participate until they really have something relevant to say rather than just conjectural rambling.

"If one's words are not better than silence, one should keep silent.- Kwai Chang Caine

In this particular thread, for myself, I make no claims of being a vet nor having experienced what the OP is experiencing, so I really have next to nothing to offer. Sure, there's about a dozen relevant questions that I could ask in trying to help him, but at the end of the day, my advice would be purely conjectural. I think that the advice given by Mike Bodner is the most sound, go to the vet and get some tests done. That will help narrow down what exactly it is the OP is dealing with. In my mind, it's either one of two things, he's either getting/introducing diseased animals into his collection whether that's through newly added snakes or by food source (such as live frogs or lizards), or it's a purely environmental/husbandry issue that is causing this.

If you guys have a differing opinion, excellent! I love it when Troy, Gregg, DISCERN, RG, DMong and the rest actually come on here to help people.

And that's really the thing isn't it? We all have differences of opinions however big or small they are. But here's the truth of the matter, we actually agree on more things than we don't whether that is displayed on the forum or in private. I regularly communicate outside of this forum with the first 3 people you mentioned (myself of course excluded ) and husbandry is usually one of the main topics we like to discuss as we all like to share and learn from each other's experiences.

Sure, I enjoy studying and learning about genetics, whether it's in relation to the color morphs or even when attributed to actual physical characteristics, but it's not the only thing I am interested in with hognose as anybody who actually knows me and talks with me will attest to. It's just one of the many interesting facets of this hobby.

If someone here asks a question related to genetics, then of course, that's how my answer is going to be fashioned, an answer about genetics as much as I understand about the topic based on my studies. If someone asks about husbandry issues, then I can offer my own advice based on my own actual experiences that work for me even though others might do things totally different and have totally different experiences.

And that's the thing, many of us here do different things and have different experiences, and yet that doesn't mean any of us are actually doing anything wrong if our animals are thriving. All it means is that we are individuals that do things as best in our abilities so that we can try to accommodate the animals we've entertained keeping. I don't think most people get into a hobby such as this with the intention of failing, especially when dealing with expensive morphs, there's just too much at stake and at the end, who wants to waste the time, energy and money?

I'm aware of there being a fallout before FR even wandered over here, which dried this place up for a while...

That's right, that was long before FR was patronizing (see how that works both ways?) this particular sub-forum. The only difference between then and now is the lesser amount of active participants and of course who the current antagonist is.

Trust me, there's still a ton of activity going on regarding hognose on the net, it's just not here due to a combination of things some of which has to do with FR, but the majority of it has to do with the popularity of social media and the archaic and sometimes confusing and frustrating structure of the KS forum.

...if you've something to contribute, take the higher road and please answer these folks.

I'll reiterate, if people have something relevant to say, they will. Most of these types of problems can be so complex, that some of us are reluctant to give any advice in the chance that it might be more problematic giving ignorant advice than not giving any advice at all.

(You're kinda letting him win if you don't ) Ignore whoever is annoying you.

Again, there is no "winning" or "losing" here unless you let the condescending ignorant words of a single individual bother you, something that I've learned to ignore. And yours is actually the right advice, ignore whoever is bothering you regardless of what they say to try to bait you into another pissing match, it just isn't worth it and the only winner in that game is the baiter.

"Hungry goes the fisherman when the fish are all laughing at the worm on his hook!" - me

Is there an ignore function here on the forums or.....?

Wouldn't that be nice!
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Troy Rexroth
Rextiles

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