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.

Does the female have any signs of, well, having swallowed another snake?

I would bet money that he escaped. How much smaller was the male than she?

I agree that the cannibalism link is uncalled for as this sounds like a breeding-purposes only housing arrangement.

Do you have any type of decorations, rocks or hides in the tank? A lot of these will be hollow and have a small hole in them somewhere that the snake can cram itself into. There have been a few cases of that happening on here and I've had it happen myself.

Good luck in finding him!

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Originally Posted by Inknsteel

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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My fault, and the only part of the thread that I missed. It's okay to use my name ;)

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Originally Posted by Ashleigh91

Do you have any type of decorations, rocks or hides in the tank? A lot of these will be hollow and have a small hole in them somewhere that the snake can cram itself into. There have been a few cases of that happening on here and I've had it happen myself.

Good luck in finding him!

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That's a great question. I have my breeders in a rack so I didn't even consider tank decor....

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Originally Posted by LGray23

My fault, and the only part of the thread that I missed. It's okay to use my name ;)

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Lol. Not trying to call you out Leah. I was posting that from my phone and once I hit reply I couldn't see or remember who posted the link...

The link leah posted has pics of what a snake looks like if it ate another snake. I dont really think it was "innapropriate" lol

I thought the link was kinda neat. Sometimes people don't know, and an easy link like that saves a long drawn out rehashing of the info.

Hope you find your male, and not in your gal's tummy.

Definitely possible, but I think in most cases a mature male would be an ENORMOUS meal for almost any female and you would definitely know if she ate him.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

The link leah posted has pics of what a snake looks like if it ate another snake. I dont really think it was "innapropriate" lol

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I didn't think it was inappropriate, I just wasn't expecting that lol But it definitely shows you what to look for if you suspect one snake at the other!

I hope this doesn't sound like a dumb question, but, if the female was curled up, did you look under her?

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you can also upload photos to facebook and use that url...

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

I hope this doesn't sound like a dumb question, but, if the female was curled up, did you look under her?

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Doesn't seem like a dumb question to me - that's a very effective way to say NO!

To the OP - How long have they been housed together? When was her last feeding? Has she gained 600-1200g in, say, the last 24 hours? Weighing her would immediately answer your cannibalism concern.

He is not under her, or hiding in the log in the enclosure. We've searched the room...We turned the heat lamp back on in his tank and left the lid ajar. Hoping he gets homesick and finds his way back. She was not starved...our snakes are all fed regularly and cleaned, and handled regularly. Thank you for the reassurances that she did not eat him. I don't think in my heart that she did either, but it's hard to believe he found a way out. Oh, and they do not live in the same tank....my daughter put him in there to breed.

I have looked in a tank and have had a hard time finding my bp before. I have seen bp's and boa's bury themselves in thier substraight. Chances are that he he close by. Look in any close by boxes. Good luck im sure he will turn up. If she did try to eat him I dont think she would have lived.

Can you post a picture of the female, and one of the tank, please? I've seriously "lost" snakes, only to find them hidden in the bedding several hours later.

I've also had an escapee disappear into my closet for two weeks. I know he was in there, because I did the talcum powder trick. And there was nothing for two weeks, and then there was a exit track from the guest room closet, with no entrance track. And Mr. Nibbles was just hanging out in the living room, knocking the potted plants off the window sill while he tried to get outside.

Do not underestimate their ability to escape.

Earlier this season I had the same scare. I was completely convinced my female ate my male. She looked really swollen and was moving stiffly, I was so upset. I told my husband if she did eat my vanilla male I'd strangle her with my own hands.

Two days go by, and no sign of my beloved male, and the female is unusually quiet and sluggish, I just knew she ate him. Then out of the blue, I'm sitting on the chair near the rack just sad and angry, and I glance at the breeder rack, and low and behold. There, wedged behind the female's tub, on the edge of her heat tape, is my male! Curled up in a little ball, and none the worse for wear. I finally managed to extricate him and put him back in his home. Later that night as I was getting ready for bed, I notice a horrible smell in the vicinity of the rack. Guess why the female was swollen and crabby ? It took me fifteen minutes to get her tub clean!

Don't give up hope, and think SMALL when you search. He'll turn up I'll bet.

Gale

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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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Thanks for posting my link! :)

And yeah while my article was mostly written to educate people of the dangers of cohabbing, the photos show very clearly what it looks like when one snake eats another, so it was still helpful!

OP, I hope you find your snake! We've been lucky so far with finding escapees pretty quickly, but sometimes they can take awhile to find. Look wherever you can, and if he doesn't turn up, set an alarm for the middle of the night, leave a flashlight beside your bed, and wander your place in the dark, looking for the snake.

I am so happy to report that he returned to his tank on his own yesterday! All of the tanks will now have 4 clips instead of just two. I knew in my heart that she did not eat him, but he was nowhere to be found. Fooled us...lol...he just didn't want to be found. It also makes me feel like our snakes like their homes or he wouldn't have come back. We love all our animals and the thought of any on of them getting hurt or killed is just horrible.

Glad to hear he has returned safely. Good idea on the clips. You now see how sneaky these snakes can be... :gj: