Do females ever EAT males?

We had a pair of pythons in the same enclosure for breeding. Now the yellow belly is gone. We do not believe there is any way he escaped? Is it possible the female ate him? Oh, I hope not!

possible but more likely he escape in my opinion. Post a few pics of your setup so we may be able to help you some more...

There have been documented cases of cannibalism in ball pythons, however I understand it to be VERY rare. We're talking about malnourished snakes permanently being housed together. I haven't ever heard of a breeding female eating the male, and I've seen some pairings with HUGE size differences between the two.

I think it's much more likely that your male escaped and you'll find him hanging out on the heat of another shelf or something. Check close to the rack and check in places you'd think too small for a ball python... Heck, check in HIS tub. Maybe he just got homesick... ;-)

I would place my bet on him escaping. It is possible but is usually due to a feeding accident.


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Cannibalism does happen, but more often then not it kills both snakes, and it's usually VERY noticeable. I'm voting for escapee as well, and once you find him, put him in his own enclosure.

http://squamishserpents.ca/care-info...-one-enclosure

While there is a possibility, my vote is with escape. That is much more likely.

I'm not sure how to post pics on here. They were in a large aquarium with a tight fitting metal screen lid and the tight clips to hold it in place. I'll see if my daughter can help m post a pic when she gets home from work. He's definitely not around any of the other tanks or heat lamps....where or where is our yellow belly? :(

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Originally Posted by LGray23

Cannibalism does happen, but more often then not it kills both snakes, and it's usually VERY noticeable. I'm voting for escapee as well, and once you find him, put him in his own enclosure.

http://squamishserpents.ca/care-info...-one-enclosure

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Those photos are disgusting!!! :O

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Originally Posted by Serpentine

Those photos are disgusting!!! :O

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And usually posted for shock value, however unnecessary it might be... I don't believe there was any reason to post the comment made or the link to the thread.The OP stated that the snakes are together for breeding, but apparently someone missed that part...

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Originally Posted by lilprncss214

I'm not sure how to post pics on here. They were in a large aquarium with a tight fitting metal screen lid and the tight clips to hold it in place. I'll see if my daughter can help m post a pic when she gets home from work. He's definitely not around any of the other tanks or heat lamps....where or where is our yellow belly? :(

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You have to first upload the pics to a photo hosting site such as Photobucket. Once you upload, copy and paste the IMG code into a post here.