few questions

hi everyone, im new here, i used to own a royal a few years back, but had to get rid as i moved house and wasnt allowed snakes,
i now own my own house and last week decided to get another 1, or should i say 2.
so off i went to the local reptile shop which my dad has a lot of dealings with, (he breeds lizards).
when i got there, i had a good look around and they had recently got a big delivery of baby royals.
i had a choice of 15 boys and 18 girls.
i picked a boy and then spotted an amazing looking girl, so i took her as well.
now their home and settling in, its got me wondering, will they be ok together? their in the same viv at the moment and im hoping to leave them together, but is there any downfall to this? im going to attempt to feed them on saturday which will be a week after collecting them so they have time to settle and get used to their new house.
humidity is 50%
temp in hot end is 88 and cool end is 73.
any advice would be great.

Hello, and :welcome: to BP.net...

There is nothing saying that you can't keep them together, however, snakes are not social animals and generally do better in their own enclosures. Contrary to popular belief, snakes don't snuggle. They are competing for the best spots to thermoregulate. Some of the problems you can have are if one gets sick so will the other one = double the vet bills and treatment. If one regurgitates, you won't know which one it was. If one has diarhea, you won't know which one it was. The male will reach breeding size before the female and may try to breed with her and if she becomes gravid before she is a proper size, there are serious health issues that could result from that. If you keep them in their own enclosures you will have healthier and less stressed snakes...

You might want to bump your temps up a little to about 91-92 warm side and about 77-78 cool side...

all of what you said is what i thought, BUT, after i bought them both and got them home and put them into the viv, they both went around checking the viv out for the first few hours but now i dont see them, and yesterday i opened their hide to see them and they were both snuggled up together, and when i say together, they were twisted around each other. they looked so cute together.

So because they look cute together, you're going to risk their health?

Your snakes are not snuggling. They are competing for the best spots to thermoregulate. Yes, there have been people that keep their bp's together, but they are very experienced. This is not something that is for a beginner to be doing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stevepoppers

So because they look cute together, you're going to risk their health?

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Agreed, keeping them separate is really the most responsible thing to do. As a keeper, you are charged with making decisions that put your feelings aside and doing what is best for your snakes. Sometimes those decisions are hard and can be heartbreaking and others may be simple no-brainers. Ultimately, their health and well being should come before all else. For it is your duty.

So 1 has to go then :mad:
which 1 do i keep? i know the female will grow bigger but what other things do i need to consider?

How big is your enclosure? If it is big enough for both babies, just put a divider in the middle. and put the heat pad in the middle so both sides can use it.

Or, get a tub for the other. They are super cheap, and low mainetance. Other than you'll need a new heat pad and thermostat (unless the one you have has dual plugs).

It is my opinion that when they are laying all over each other, the one on top is actually taking the heat from the snake below.

It is also my opinion that you shouldn't house them together. They are not social animals and the only benefit of keeping them together would be to "cut costs" which is an awful reason as in the long run it can be more expensive then keeping them separate.

This doesn't necessarily mean you need to "get rid" of one. Tubs were already suggested. Tubs allow you to cheaply and efficiently house multiple animals. Also, they hold in humidity great so you never have to worry about it.

Please be sure and check out our caresheet for ball pythons on this site.

You can keep them both. Just don't keep them in the same enclosure. Storage tubs from walmart are really cheap. Get some flexwatt, use the same thermostat, and keep them in the tubs on that. Very simple and easy.

Another point is that when the male is sexually mature he will get stressed out constantly trying to breed with your female, he will most likely go off food for long periods of time while he trys to mate, and can lose alot of whieght as he will be constantly moving and buggin your female. Not a healthy situation, even most breeders will only place them together during the normal breeding season and then seperate them again, being together all the time can really stress them out. Just get two tubs like was already suggested and place them on top of eachother to save on space...

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Originally Posted by Ham

Another point is that when the male is sexually mature he will get stressed out constantly trying to breed with your female, he will most likely go off food for long periods of time while he trys to mate, and can lose alot of whieght as he will be constantly moving and buggin your female. Not a healthy situation, even most breeders will only place them together during the normal breeding season and then seperate them again, being together all the time can really stress them out. Just get two tubs like was already suggested and place them on top of eachother to save on space...

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And HAM strikes again! Yet Another great point! Spot on:gj:

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Originally Posted by Royal Larner

So 1 has to go then :mad:
which 1 do i keep? i know the female will grow bigger but what other things do i need to consider?

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NO!!!!!! for the love of SOD!!!!! you don't have to get rid of one. It just would be best to keep them in separate enclosures.

In fact I highly reccomend you keep them both, one ball python is never enough...

but i only have 1 tank, and i dont want to keep my snake living its life stuck inside a tub. thats not fair.

The tubs are better for them. They prefer small spaces and it's easier to take care of for you.

If you're glued to the tank, you can get some sort of nonporous divider for the middle, but the UTH under the middle and have two tanks in one.

It's going to live it's life inside it's hide anyway.

Ya man, tubs are great, they are the preferred method for people in the know. The snakes dont like seeing out their tank anyway, people moving around on the outside just scares them, the tubs keep better humidity and it feels nice and secure for them, the tubs you want are semiclear anyway, trust me the snakes will be plenty happy in a tub if not happier...

A divider would work as well, but I am sure the snakes will outgrow whatever tank you have now pretty quickly...

Also during the breeding season I dont know if they would notice eachother over the divider or not, just something to think about.

But other than aesthetic reasons, tubs are much better than glass tanks for the snake.

when you say tubs, what sort of size tubs would i need?
and would i just leave the 2 tubs in the tank? or would the tank be useless?

I'd go ahead and get 34 qt sterilite or rubbermaid tubs. They will probably not outgrow them but your female might. If they won't feed for in those then go smaller. And no, the tubs don't go in the tank... Just put them on a shelf or in a rack system.


You could always get something else to put in the tank!

IMHO, if you can afford to only house one then that's all you should have. BTW tubs are the way to go.

Another use for your tank is a quarantine tank. Or just a place to put your snakes when your cleaning you other enclosures. Or just get another reptile. Lol.

Small update
I have been out and bought 2 tubs, big enough to hold the snake and their water bowl and an extra bit of moving space, and what i have done is put them both next to each other in the tank, with the heat mat underneath the tank, so that a third of the tub is on the heat mat.
i then put a thin layer of aspen down inside the tubs and put their water bowl in.
this has been like this since about 10am and they seem happier already.
im hitting 90 in the hot and 83 in the warm side. does this all sound ok?
i also pierced small holes all around the tub for air circulation.
can i leave them in the tank like this? or do i need to take them out of the tank?

I think it will be fine, although your humidity might be higher because they are in tubs and in a tank (less air circulation). If possible, could you remove the heat mat from the tank and just put it on a hard surface, then set the tubs on that?

i can do, but thought it'll be better in the tank, i have left the doors of the tank open, so there will be the same ammount of humidity as outside the tank though.

Sounds like that should be just fine. Good luck with them any with any luck at all they will be great additions to your family for many years to come.

Best wishes and Godspeed friend.:gj:

Ahem! Pictures? Lol. Good luck with them. Sounds like they are in a great home :) Oh yeah, can they see each other? I had to buy some posterboard so my hatchlings couldn't see into each others cage. I had one that was trying to chase a mouse in the others cage. She couldn't find out how to get through the plastic. Lol. Once I put the sheet up, she figured out she had her own mouse and was much happier. :)