Keeping more than 1 snake in the same tank...

Will be getting another BP soon and I was wondering if I would be able to keep them in the same tank.

One is about 4 years old and the other is about 3 months old.

One is a normal BP and the other is an albino Yellow Belly.

Here are the pics.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1551/...3fcfcc97aa.jpg20151212_203332 by closhusan, on Flickr

FYI. He's in a 36" long tank.

and

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1527/...5304453985.jpg"Candi" by closhusan, on Flickr

I do have another cage (his old one) and all the stuff with it but I was thinking about trying to save some space. I am just concerned that since there is such a size difference there may be a chance of the smaller one getting crushed.

Let me know.

Short answer? DON'T DO IT.

Longer answer? There are a list of cons an arm long. Pros? Nothing I can say in a civil manner that won't come across as insulting and/or get me an infraction notice. Yes, some experienced keepers will swear by it. Key word here - 'Experienced'. I personally would never advice someone to do so.

Some food for thought -

If one snake gets sick, the other one will be exposed. You may not even be able to tell which one is sick.
Snake's are solitary creatures. They do not want - or need - company from another snake. And they certainly are not 'cuddling'.
There will be a constant battle for dominance over the choice spots.
There will be constant stress for both snakes.
It wouldn't be safe to feed them in the enclosure, which means moving to feed which ALSO leads to an arm's length list of WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO DO THAT???
Cannibalism. It happens. And size difference does NOT make a difference. Snakes of the same size can even give it a go. Usually both snakes end up dead.
Same sex rape as a show of dominance. Which will leave the non-dominant male potentially unable to breed in the future due to damage.
Undersized breeding if the snakes are male/female. Which could lead to your female being egg bound, dying, etc.
You'll never know who regurged, should that occur.

But hey, don't take my word for it. Someone much more eloquent wrote up an article you can read here.

Edit:

Just an additional note. People can say they don't have problems co-habbing all they want. The reality of it is it's 'fine' right up until its not, and by the time its not it's to late and now you've got a much bigger problem on your hands. Besides - what humans perceive as 'fine' in our terms is not 'fine' in snake terms.

Remember, or imagine if you never had the experience, that time you were in college in the tiny dorm room, forced to share your space with a complete stranger. No matter how innocuous and agreeable your dorm-mate, there would still come times when you were sick to death of each other and needed to get out for a breather.

Now think about how you would feel if you never had that option of leaving, you were in the same space with the same person 24/7. Now remember that humans are social creatures who naturally seek out company, and that snakes are not.

If you're concerned about space, I would advise switching to a rack system if you absolutely feel you want/need more animals. The other option is don't get more snakes. You need to be able to provide optimal care for each of your animals to maintain their health and well being, not just what is convenient for you.

:popcorn:

Lizard licks that description reminded me of orange is the new black. Prison is bad. Prison has riots, tampon sandwiches, and toothbrush daggers. Don't give your snakes toothbrush daggers.

We provide enclosures and husbandry that matches the snakes' natural environment as closely as possible. We want them to feel secure and be healthy. Naturally, these snakes do not cohab unless for breeding. They don't have dens, they don't hang out with each other, and that's the way they have been doing it for centuries. No need to try and change that now. It just adds stress and can lead to health problems for them, and monetary problems for you.

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Originally Posted by Kokorobosoi

Lizard licks that description reminded me of orange is the new black. Prison is bad. Prison has riots, tampon sandwiches, and toothbrush daggers. Don't give your snakes toothbrush daggers.

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omg thanks I just laughed myself into a new coughing fit XD

viruses are fun, yo.

Plain and simple, don't do it. it's not in a BPs nature to live with another BP, they are solitary creatures in the wild. Housing them together will stress them out and who knows what can happen next.

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Originally Posted by SKO

Naturally, these snakes do not cohab unless for breeding.

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And even when we put them together for breeding one sometimes will kill the other, which happened to one of the bigger breeders over the weekend according to his Facebook post - the female killed the male.

Also, you must consider your quarantine practices and how is that going to get accomplished if you are cohabbing. Come on, you have to give the reptiles a chance! I would absolutely abort the idea of cohabbing at any time. Just get a tub from home depot and a heating device and thermostat/ rheostat from Reptile Basics and call it a decision that is final... no cohabitation here!

Quarantine! Geeze, I saw so much red, I skipped right over that one. :mad:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SmoothScales

Short answer? DON'T DO IT.

Longer answer? There are a list of cons an arm long. Pros? Nothing I can say in a civil manner that won't come across as insulting and/or get me an infraction notice. Yes, some experienced keepers will swear by it. Key word here - 'Experienced'. I personally would never advice someone to do so.

Some food for thought -

If one snake gets sick, the other one will be exposed. You may not even be able to tell which one is sick.
Snake's are solitary creatures. They do not want - or need - company from another snake. And they certainly are not 'cuddling'.
There will be a constant battle for dominance over the choice spots.
There will be constant stress for both snakes.
It wouldn't be safe to feed them in the enclosure, which means moving to feed which ALSO leads to an arm's length list of WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO DO THAT???
Cannibalism. It happens. And size difference does NOT make a difference. Snakes of the same size can even give it a go. Usually both snakes end up dead.
Same sex rape as a show of dominance. Which will leave the non-dominant male potentially unable to breed in the future due to damage.
Undersized breeding if the snakes are male/female. Which could lead to your female being egg bound, dying, etc.
You'll never know who regurged, should that occur.

But hey, don't take my word for it. Someone much more eloquent wrote up an article you can read here.

Edit:

Just an additional note. People can say they don't have problems co-habbing all they want. The reality of it is it's 'fine' right up until its not, and by the time its not it's to late and now you've got a much bigger problem on your hands. Besides - what humans perceive as 'fine' in our terms is not 'fine' in snake terms.

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Think you used enough dynamite there Butch? :)


http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...814dd308c7.jpg

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Originally Posted by Reinz

Think you used enough dynamite there Butch? :)

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Should I have held his hand and sugar coated it to protect their poor little feelings, or are we more concerned about the health and well being of the animals here?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SmoothScales

Should I have held his hand and sugar coated it to protect their poor little feelings, or are we more concerned about the health and well being of the animals here?

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I did put the smiley so you would know it was tongue in cheek.

I was getting ready to edit, add, that was the Perfect reply to to the OP's question, when your response to me popped up on my Tapatalk screen.

Great post!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Reinz

I did put the smiley so you would know it was tongue in cheek.

I was getting ready to edit, add, that was the Perfect reply to to the OP's question, when your response to me popped up on my Tapatalk screen.

Great post!

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Sorry! Didn't see the smiley. And feeling a bit uppity about more than just this. I was getting all fisticuffs about it. :P

I do understand your passion on the subject. :)

Thanks SmoothScales.

As you can tell, I was hesitant about it and was leaning towards the separate tanks just because of theirs size and gender differences.

It was only a thought since I have seen multiple snakes in the same tank, usually in the pet stores and even the specialty reptile stores, without a problem. Granted they are usually the same age/size/gender and type.

While I have a separate feeding tank for feeding him frozen rats, I have fed in his tank when I feed him live. So that would DEFINATELY be bad for the smaller snake since the rats I use seem to be about the same size or larger than her (don't have her yet, only judging by pictures).

Anyway, all good points raised and taken.

Will just keep them separate. Only need a heat pad, some bedding and I am ready to go....

Just as an added bit of info, stores usually get away with keeping more than one animal because they only are holding them a brief period of time until they sell.

Also, space in a store is at a premium and therefor they HAVE to put as much up on each shelf as possible. It's not ideal, but it's like how most ball python cages in a store don't have two hides, or sometimes even one hide.... because if it has a hide, it would be inside the hide which means a potential buyer can't see it to want to buy it.

So never judge proper set up from a store display, unfortunately. Stores often have to do things differently.

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Originally Posted by tipposan

Thanks SmoothScales.

As you can tell, I was hesitant about it and was leaning towards the separate tanks just because of theirs size and gender differences.

It was only a thought since I have seen multiple snakes in the same tank, usually in the pet stores and even the specialty reptile stores, without a problem. Granted they are usually the same age/size/gender and type.

While I have a separate feeding tank for feeding him frozen rats, I have fed in his tank when I feed him live. So that would DEFINATELY be bad for the smaller snake since the rats I use seem to be about the same size or larger than her (don't have her yet, only judging by pictures).

Anyway, all good points raised and taken.

Will just keep them separate. Only need a heat pad, some bedding and I am ready to go....

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Makes sure you're including a regulation device with that heat pad and it sounds like you're set! :gj:

Everyone has their own opinion on this matter and that's fine. However, in your case, the size difference between the 2 snakes makes this not a very good idea.

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Originally Posted by rockonjp76

Everyone has their own opinion on this matter and that's fine. However, in your case, the size difference between the 2 snakes makes this not a very good idea.

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Like SmoothScales said so eloquently in is post yesterday:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SmoothScales

The reality of it is it's 'fine' right up until its not, and by the time its not it's to late and now you've got a much bigger problem on your hands. Besides - what humans perceive as 'fine' in our terms is not 'fine' in snake terms.

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