It's a long post, but you may find it useful if you didn't read it last year.
I hope this helps some of you all... 
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Posted by: Darin Chappell at Wed Oct 19 14:15:01 2005
I was contemplating writing a post about this very subject over the last couple of days, but having written similar ones so often over the last several years on this site and others, I just didn't find the proper motivation to do so. Since the motivation has now been supplied, let me offer a few other thoughts to the newer corn enthusiasts among us:
I. There is only ONE hard and fast rule about cornsnakes, and that is that there are NO hard and fast rules about cornsnakes!
I have seen more things being done in "corn-dom" that SHOULD NOT be able to happen...and yet, they happen ALL the time! So, for every "Thou shalt not..." you hear about corns, I can probably show three or four successful keepers doing just that, which was forbidden. Some of my favorite "Rules" are:
You must never handle your cornsnake for 24hrs (or 48, 72, or whatever...) after it has eaten!
You must ONLY use aspen as bedding material!
You must ONLY feed mice to your corns!
You can NEVER breed a female corn that is less than 250g (or 36" long, or three years old, or whatever)!
The list could go on and on...
I am not saying that these "rules" do not provide good guidelines to follow. In fact, for the novice keeper, these probably ought to be seen more as "rules" until they are sophisticated enough in their understanding of corn husbandry to begin to experiment a little outside of the box.
Where I have my problems with the "rules" has to do as much as with those who are spouting them as with the "rules" themselves. More on that in a minute!
II. RESEARCH IS YOUR FRIEND!!!!!!!!!
It has been said by more than one person here that there is conflicting information being given in answer to several questions on the board. Part of that is because of the reality of the first part of this post, and part of it is because of what I am getting to in a bit. However, conflicting information is ONLY a problem if you RELY upon it!!!
It is the job of every keeper of animals to be as informed and educated on the husbandry of those animals as is humanly possible. That includes...but is certainly not limited to...asking questions on this site! Read a book, go to a keeper's home to see first hand what is being done, GOOGLE up some information sheets...do almost ANYTHING to find out how to take care of an animal (preferably BEFORE, but certainly AFTER its purchase), since it will be in YOUR care!
If you rely ONLY on this site's forum, you WILL be unprepared for your animal's needs. That is because this forum is not set up to be the single source of cornsnake information, and even though lots of good things can be found here, those valuable posts are not pinned to the top of the forum for your use. Even if they were, you'd still need help from SOME source to learn how to customize what you read to your own situation.
Research, research, research!
III. The definition of a cornsnake "expert" is: Someone, who has been posting on this forum for more than two weeks longer than YOU have!
Too many people here think that just because someone answers a question being asked, that this means the person offering the answer has any clue at all as to what he/she is talking about, when that is certainly NOT a guaranteed truth!
Here's the basic cycle of posters, folks:
Newbie: New owner, usually (but not always!) someone who has no idea about corns, but thought they'd be "cool" and bought one without any research whatsoever. These guys ask anything and everything CONSTANTLY!
Newbie-plus-two-weeks: These guys are the ones who were asking the questions two weeks ago, but are now endowed with the "rules" they had quoted to them (by previous "newbie-plus-two-weeks" people!). These folks LOVE to answer all of the newbies questions with the "FACTS" they have absorbed through their extensive education on this site.
Newbie-plus-one-year: These people are starting to learn how the system works, and have actually began to think outside of the box. They have gotten past the "newbie-plus-two-weeks" period and are now tired of answering the same questions over and over. They are actually now thankful for the "newbie-plus-two-weeks" people, because they answer most of the questions on this site so the "newbie-plus-one-year" people don't have to!
Newbie-plus-two-years: These are the folks who are breeding for the first time, and have an entirely new set of questions to ask. The difference is that now they ask questions of substance, and they know to whom the questions ought to be directed. Lots of genetics questions involving how it all works, rather then just "what do I get if I cross..." type questions, from these folks.
Newbie-plus-several-years: These are the folks who post the least and have the most to say. They are the ones that usually stay out of the fray unless 1) There is something blatantly wrong being passed off as a "rule" by an "expert" of two weeks, or 2) There is a question asked that really needs a specific answer from someone who has "been there" and "done that." These people tend to fade on and off of this site (and others), because they get a belly-full of all the back and forth that goes on between people in this business/hobby/passion, and may appear to be a "newbie" when they come back after a long absence. One of the most fun things on these sites is to see a "newbie-plus-two-weeks" person trying to correct the writings of a recently returned "newbie-plus-several-years" person!
Newbie-plus-several-decades: These are the only real experts among us. They hardly ever post, unless they are addressed by name. While they are truly busy trying to make money for their families, they usually take the time to answer questions from people here on this site, because they truly care about the animals and those who keep them. While enough good cannot be said about these folks...they are not infallible, and whatever they say does not become the new sets of "rules" to start the process all over again...though that is exactly how some folks here take them. Sad, really...
OK. Notice that everyone listed is a "newbie" of some sort?!? That's because there is ALWAYS something to learn, ALWAYS somewhere to go to for help, ALWAYS some way to become better at keeping these animals we all love! NO ONE has it all down pat, folks...least of all those who have only been keeping these animals for a very brief period of time, and so it is up to YOU to figure out what YOU need to do in YOUR situation with YOUR cornsnakes!
There's lots of people here to help, but that's all it is. YOU still have to wade through all of the posts, all of the books, and all of the "experts" to determine what is best for YOU.
Then...
Come back and tell us what you did, and we'll try not to make more "rules" out of the experience!
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Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742
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Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742
:O 
