two bp's in one cage

[juddb]

just wondering what would be possible problems with two bp's in one cage i have two now one is in a sterilite tub.

[jdmls88]

stress, not eating any number of bad things. Unless they are mating. Just doesnt sound like a good idea.

[Spaniard]

There are just some things you don't due do if you truly care for your snakes. One of those things is co-housing. There are plenty of threads already on this topic, check out the search button, its our herpers google

[snakedude56]

There are sooooooo many reasons not to house multiple snakes together that I completely threw out the thought of ever doing it when I joined this forum. Cannibalism, stress, one snake dominating the other(this looks like they are cuddling but in all reality they are in a sense fighting), sickness(if one snake gets sick and you need to get a fecal sample how could you tell the poo apart?), competition for food. Just to name a few. The best way to do things is to get every snake their own enclosure. This makes things soooooo much easier on us keepers.

[Amy1217]

yeah. just dont do it. i was going to, but i was talked out of it by the people here on the site. Its like a family, if one kid gets the flu, the rest of the family is going to have it, and you dont know where it started. Any signs of sickness at all, you dont know which it came from, and if one gets a RI, or Mites, its more than likely that the other will have/get it too. I was always all for keeping them together, because it is natural, and im all about that, but for the health reasons, its not a good idea...at all.

[Amy1217]

oh, and if you want to have two snakes, just go to Target and get a cheap tub, get an under the tank heater, 2 hides, and you are in business. I already get huge bags of substrate so i have for a while, its not that much more to put some in for another snake. I use an old dog water bowl for the snake's water bowl.
Its really not that expensive, and if you think about the vet bills, medicines, upkeep, etc. of a sick snake, no less 2 sick snakes, it it totally worth it.
good luck!

[frankykeno]

Remember Amy it's not really "natural" to keep them together. Out in the wild it's not like these snakes actively seek each other out other than for breeding. Even when they do interact though design or accidental meeting, they would of course have the option to move immediately away from the other snake, an option they of course cannot have in an enclosed captive environment.

Mike and I have watched our own collection when we have a couple of them out for handling. We've put them down on the floor and watched to see what happens. 100% of the time, without fail, they either completely ignore each other or actively move away from the other snake. Occasionally one snake will freeze until the other snake is out of it's range....I can only read that as a stress reaction since it's not in an aggressive position...just freezing then moving away when it feels safe to do so. For me with my limited understanding of snakes and certainly this has no scientific basis, but I can only take from this that BP's have little interest in each other or any need to socialize other than their natural drive to reproduce. Knowing this why would I force them into contact by housing them communally.

[Rapture]

Almost every one of my snakes used to have a "roommate" before I joined this forum. The only reason I did it was to save space and becase I didn't realize the complications it could cause for the snakes.

Now, they all have their own tanks or tubs, and (hopefully!) today I will be replacing a lot of the big tanks with a single rack where everyone will still get a separate house, but it will take up about 1/4 of the space.

[Jahbeard]

I kept my girls together from the day they hatched until about 4 weeks ago. They ate fine (I always fed them in the "Rodent House of Death", as my kids call it), have had no health problems, and they are two of the most even tempered, easy to handle snakes in the world. Of course, today I took delivery of four males, so now everyone has their own home. I would never consider putting any of the others together (other than at that "special time"), but the girls never knew anything else, and seem none the worse for the wear.