Introducing BPs to each other?

Here's a stupid newbie question for ya... I have a 6-month old BP named Bongo who I am having sexed soon. Bongo has a cage that I am fairly sure could comfortably house two adults (2ft x 4.5ft) and I was considering getting a partner/future mate. If I get another BP, can I just toss them in the cage and not worry about confrontation? I'm fairly sure the answer is no, but I want to make sure. Does the cage size sound sufficient for two full grown adults? I am going to post pics once my camera is charged.

That cage could comfortably house two adults...about the other stuff, ill let one of the experts answer that one.

Confrontation is not the main issue when housing snakes together is concerned....there are many reasons why I feel snakes are best housed seperately unless you are breeding them:

1-Its easier to keep track of who is going to the bathroom and monitor these BMs as needed.
2-Communicable health problems (mites, internal parasites, etc) are much easier to contain and treat if the snakes are kept seperately.
3-Feeding is much easier.....you don't have to worry about both snakes going after the same prey item and hurting/killing one another.

Better safe than sorry is my motto.

Awesome, thanks for the info guys. I'll just wait until the snake is large enough to mate. Since the snake is entirely too active right now to get a good picture, here is the cage:
http://www.nmedia.net/~aaron/ballpyt...DSC00800sm.jpg

Nice tank

Out of curiosity, is there any ventilation in that cage? Also, a small suggestion....you should have at least 2 hides for your BP. That way he doesn't have to choose between being warm or cool and being secure.

Yeah, its a custom made cage that I got from some family friends. There's ventilation on the width sides, you just can't see. Thanks for the tip about the hides, I'll toss a box on the other side... he spends most of his time hiding under the fake plants so maby he is too warm in the hut.

PS Nice chickenhead banner there, David ;)

LOL, thanks Aaron.

I think that's a really nice setup. It looks like a treasure chest! :lol: Have you established temps and humidity in it? If I may ask, what are they?

David basically took the words right out of my mouth about housing them together. It's a no-no in my book, others may have different opinions on this.

Jennifer

Also watch ur heat lamp... looks liek its inside the tank this could create some serious health risks... cause if the snake can reach it theres a good change they will and they'll burn themselves on it.

Other than that its a georgous tank :)

I have a small undertank heater and a 60w infrared spot light on the warm end. I lost my humidity gauge, but I know it was too low this winter until I put the pool under the light. Temps are ~95 on the hot end and ~75 cold, depending on the room temp, I leave the window a little too open at night sometimes. I wish I could get a better heating system to keep it more consistant.

A better view...
http://www.nmedia.net/~aaron/ballpyt...DSC00811sm.jpg

Camera shy!
http://www.nmedia.net/~aaron/ballpyt...DSC00812sm.jpg

Hmm...the cool side temps are about 10 degrees too low, and is 95 the basking spot or the overall whole half side of the tank? I would suggest (if I may :D) Getting a UTH for the cool side and turn it on low so it stays about 78-82 over there on the cool side. You have to watch the cooler temps unless you are breeding him (which, you aren't), as it could cause respiratory problems. :shock: And, 95 is a bit warm, I would say if the spot directly under the heat lamp is 95, and the rest is say, 88- 90, then that's perfect. You can always put a humid hide in there to keep humidity up to about 65% or so. ;)

Jennifer

I dunno Jen....I think 85 on the cool side may be a bit too warm. I think 78-82 is perfect for cool side temps.

Yeah, I was just speed reading over my post and was about to edit it.. you sneaky guy, lol. Thanks for the point out. ;)

Jennifer

No problem, lol. :)

I do think if you decide to get another ball python, you should first introduce them to eachother a few times before housing together. I thought I could house the 2 I own together, and I was wrong. The smaller one gets stressed out, almost pissed off.

Quarantine is VERY important not just if you are housing together (which I don't agree with period, lol) but also if the animals are even in the same room....you can never be too careful. I always quarantine any new arrivals for at least 3 months before they come into the same area as my other animals.

That is, without a doubt, an awsome cage.

man i love that thing, i need to come up with something like that. Make the home a little more interesting

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DavidBeard

Confrontation is not the main issue when housing snakes together is concerned....there are many reasons why I feel snakes are best housed seperately unless you are breeding them:

1-Its easier to keep track of who is going to the bathroom and monitor these BMs as needed.
2-Communicable health problems (mites, internal parasites, etc) are much easier to contain and treat if the snakes are kept seperately.
3-Feeding is much easier.....you don't have to worry about both snakes going after the same prey item and hurting/killing one another.

Better safe than sorry is my motto.

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I must agree with David on his first two points. As for the third, you won't have a problem if you feed them seperately and in box outside the cage. I my self don't see anything wrong with housing snakes together, as long as they've been quarantined you also wanna make sure that they get along. You must also understand the risks of IBD(inclusion body disease) wich is like AIDS but to snakes, IBD can remain hidden for a while even after quarantine and all of sudden show up. If your willing to take risks then by all means go for it, as I mentioned before I've housed different snakes together without any problems.

Also, wood is not the best material to use for housing snakes. It looks nice but with all the humidity and the snakes waste, your going to run into problems. I don't care how much or often you clean it, it's gonna start to stink, the wood is gonna start to expand due to humidity creating cracks which lead to other numerous problems.

See, the thing about IBD is that nobody knows how it is tranferred or what causes it.....very little is known about the disease at all, other than it is deadly. A friend of mine had an IBD situation in his collection and he ended up loosing 2 BPs and a het for albino BCI. BPs seem especially susceptible to IBD. But all of his other snakes are fine, so if one snake has IBD, it doesn't necessarily mean all of them have it.

darn snakes, spreadin' snakey aids.

I think Danny made excellent points.
Here is some more information on IBD if interested:
http://www.vetmed.ufl.edu/sacs/wildlife/IBDINFO.html
Thanks
Rusty