Once a statement gets into scholarly literature, it's likely to be simply repeated in every new statement about the species. If the original statement was incomplete or incorrect, the literature can end up repeating a mistake for decades. I do start with scholarly references, but include trying my own solutions to husbandry problems. I suspect we all do.
An aquaintance of mine has kept a Thornscrub Hooknosed Snake (Gyalopion quadrangularis) for some time, and started the snake off on crushed crickets, offered by the technique of cupping--putting the snake and its food in a clean deli cup for a while, sometimes overnight. The Hooknose accepted crushed crickets that way, then live crickets, and soon took live crickets when they were put into its cage. Mmmmm....cricket juice.....
