Brian, you preach that the "experts" need to educate the novices (and I agree wholeheartedly); particularly for breeders who are selling these snakes to folks with very little experience. Practicing what we preach is paramount if we want responsible big snake owners out there. In my opinion, there is no room for deviation; expert or novice...PERIOD. You mentioned Dave Barker...I would have no problem telling ANYONE that if they feed their giant snakes outside of their enclosures, that is WRONG. And, I also believe that moving a giant snake soon after feeding is VERY stressful whether the snake has begun the digestive process or not....I know of several documented cases of burms/retics regurging their prey as a result of owners moving them back into their cages....to me, that is just stupidity at its best. The same goes with the many venomous snakes I keep....there are ABSOLUTES when keeping and handling them in a responsible manner and anyone who keeps hots responsibly will agree with me. A friend, who also keeps venomous, once told me, "there are two kinds of people who keep venomous; those that have already been bit by one, and those that will someday get bit by one"...I couldn't disagree more with that comment. Because I am meticulous in the PROCESS that I follow, I know that I will NEVER be bit (that isn't to be conscrued as being overconfident, but highly respectful for what these animals can do and as such, I take the appropriate precautions). I think I know what you are getting at but having raised and bred (and currently) keep some truly gigantic burms (18' , 260lb plus range), I can't imagine EVERY trying to feed these monsters (even docile ones) outside of their enclosure (or walk in and say "here's dinner". I think we (and that means folks who have many years of experience; including Joan who has far more than most of us here and has a right to speak her mind on this subject due to her experience) need to set the standard for responsible keeping of giant constrictors.

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