Introducing 2yr BP to a 5yr old BPs enclosure?

[bhallfau]

Should there be ANY problem with me introducing a 2yr old BP I just got to another BP that I have had for 5yrs. I know BPs can live in same enclosure but was just curious if they were different ages and never been enclosed with another snake they would be ok with each other. Kind of a stupid question...but just want to make sure!!

[DemmBalls]

They should not be housed together unless breeding (BP's are solitaire animals). Not to mention you are skipping the quarentine process. Without a quarentine period...you run the risk of introducing parasites and diseases to you established snake. I would say it's not a good idea.

[Kaorte]

It would be in the animals best interest to keep them separated.

It is fairly common for them to get stressed when housed together which can cause one or both to go off feed.

There is no rule that says you can't keep them together, but I wouldn't do it unless you are a very experienced BP keeper.

[singingtothewheat]

Bad idea, for many reasons
1. increased stress
2. injury
3. disease spread
4. poor feeding

Ball pythons do not hang out together in the wild. They get together for copulation only. Otherwise, they are solitary creatures.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Keep them seperated for at least 3 months.. I hope the MOD that has the pic will see this and post the pic of a BP that ate another BP in its enclosure and the end result was they both died.

Males will fight. Even a female which has never seen another snake in her life may bite the newcomer. My female bit her first boyfriend when introduced during breeding season. I kept seeing these little bite marks on him. She did it quite a few times before they locked up and she figured out what his purpose was.

Also keep them apart for health reasons. What if one gets an RI? The other will mopst like get one too if housed together and drinking from the same bowl ETC..

What if the new one has IBD? Not as common but a reality none the less.

It really is best to keep them apart. In the wild they are solitary animals. They get no "enjoyment" out of having another animal in their den with them. It is not better for them. On the contrary.

[blackcrystal22]

Just because they can be kept together, doesn't mean they should be.

[m00kfu]

I hope the MOD that has the pic will see this and post the pic of a BP that ate another BP in its enclosure and the end result was they both died.

Sorry for going a little off topic here, but every time someone brings that picture up it bugs me. Being that reptiles are not a part of the ball python's diet, the chances of that happening are VERY minuscule. Most won't even look twice at a rat if it isn't warm enough. As far as I'm concerned using that picture as a reason to not house balls together is no better than using that picture of a burmese python with the alligator bursting out of it's side as a reason that burms are destroying the everglades because they eat alligators (side note: I'd love it if someone could show me a burmese python that could take down a full grown alligator without being killed in the process!). Or the picture of the ball python that got chewed up by a rat that was left in for a WAY too long period of time as a reason to not feed live. There are plenty of valid reasons to not house your pythons together, no need for the shock and awe angle using pictures and sensationalism.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Sorry for going a little off topic here, but every time someone brings that picture up it bugs me. Being that reptiles are not a part of the ball python's diet, the chances of that happening are VERY minuscule. Most won't even look twice at a rat if it isn't warm enough. As far as I'm concerned using that picture as a reason to not house balls together is no better than using that picture of a burmese python with the alligator bursting out of it's side as a reason that burms are destroying the everglades because they eat alligators (side note: I'd love it if someone could show me a burmese python that could take down a full grown alligator without being killed in the process!). Or the picture of the ball python that got chewed up by a rat that was left in for a WAY too long period of time as a reason to not feed live. There are plenty of valid reasons to not house your pythons together, no need for the shock and awe angle using pictures and sensationalism.

I saw an add on craigslist the other day where someone is "rehoming" their 2 BP's. In his add he flat out said he wanted to see them go to a home where they will continue to be housed together in the huge glass tank he had them in because they liked it that way. He also stated he didnt want to see them go to a home where they would be kept in tubs because this isnt right.. IN whomes opinion??

This is someone I would love to show that picture to. Or a picture of the little rodent burrow a BP is being pulled out of in africa because this is its permanant home..The fact that it is possible however unlikely, is reason enough. People are niaeve and if their friend says this is how it is, well, thats how it is. That craigslist person seems to think it is cruel to keep a BP in something that very closely resembles its natural habitat..

If everyone on here gives a different reason to not house BPs together then the OP will see the bigger picture.

Sorry to offend you No wait. Im not.

[cerastesruber]

(BP's are solitaire animals).

Yea, ball pythons like card games!

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Yea, ball pythons like card games!

LOL!!! omg Solitary.... You knew what I meant geeze..solitaire