new to the forums!

HELLOO!!!

im new to the forums but i've had my 2 pythons for about 18months now


check em out here!

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/diavuno/...60762396183434

~Vince

*looks into crystal ball*

I see a bunch of people asking why two snakes are in the same cage.

Welcome to the site, you will find a lot of good info here, please be open to advice...there's keepers on here that really know their stuff!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by elevatethis

*looks into crystal ball*

I see a bunch of people asking why two snakes are in the same cage.

Welcome to the site, you will find a lot of good info here, please be open to advice...there's keepers on here that really know their stuff!

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Either this has happened a few times before or we are both psycic

*fulfills the prophecy* So...why do you have two snakes in the same enclosure?

:bolt:

i got them that way... they've never had any trouble so i figured it was okay..

both are tested females if that help +_O


i do feed em separate though

Hmmm, they don't look very big for being 18 month old females...are they eating every week for you?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by starshooter10

i got them that way... they've never had any trouble so i figured it was okay..

both are tested females if that help +_O


i do feed em separate though

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I know you're probably going to be overwhelmed by the torrent of information that may come flooding at you, but I'll sum up what many people here are going to tell you.

Ball Pythons are not social animals, living together will stress them out (BPs show stress in different ways than humans do, so it might not be readily apparant to you). Eventually, one will tend to "dominate" the other, causing problems with feeding (ie: the "non-dominant" one might be too stressed to eat). There is also the risk of cannibalism, easy spread of illness, etc.

It really is best to have two seperate enclosures--one for each animal. In each enclosure there should be a proper heat gradiant (80-84 on the cool side, 90-94 on the warm side), humidity between 50-60%, two identical hides, one on each end of the tank and a water bowl.

And, of course--welcome to BP.net ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by starshooter10

i got them that way... they've never had any trouble so i figured it was okay..

both are tested females if that help +_O


i do feed em separate though

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Just as a pretense, don't take any of this as a personal attack, just trying to help...

When ball pythons are kept communally, what happens is that they compete for space, heat, time at the water bowl, etc etc...one almost ALWAYS becomes dominant over the other...male or female, doesn't matter...and that causes stress.

Over a long period of time, stress leads to feeding problems, sickness, and all kinds of bad stuff. Also, if one gets sick with either RI or anything else, you can bet the other, healthy one will get it too.

Long-term stress also causes them to do other bad things - cannibalism is one of them. There are threads out there documenting this, it has happened before, and it CAN happen to you.

There are just so many more advantages to housing them seperately than keeping them together. They might be ok now, tomorrow, or in 3 months, but - is it really worth the risk?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by starshooter10

i got them that way... they've never had any trouble so i figured it was okay..

both are tested females if that help +_O


i do feed em separate though

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wise man on mountain say: put one snake one enclosure. or this happen
Look at post 17
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...0&page=2&pp=10

i've had them for 18 months but they are at least 3 years +_O


the one with the spots on her neck is a GREAT eater the other hasn't eat'in in some time

maybe 3 months +_O

i though that she didn't want to eat live (like spot) so i bought frozen again and she still hasn't fed (i've tried to feed her 3x time on frozens)

the spotted one east any rat

i started to feed the live because my new land lord dosn't want rats in the freezer

=-P

~VAP

Quote:

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Originally Posted by starshooter10

i've had them for 18 months but they are at least 3 years +_O


the one with the spots on her neck is a GREAT eater the other hasn't eat'in in some time

maybe 3 months +_O

i though that she didn't want to eat live (like spot) so i bought frozen again and she still hasn't fed (i've tried to feed her 3x time on frozens)

the spotted one east any rat

i started to feed the live because my new land lord dosn't want rats in the freezer

=-P

~VAP

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So you are saying that one eats regularly all the time, and the other is a problem feeder.

Please realize that this is an indicator that something is wrong. You really need to seperate them.

:eek: Ed, that's just ..... wow. CRAZY. & it makes a VERY valid point!

Oh, and Hello and welcome!!! :sunny:

i guess i'll buy a new rubbermaid bin on my way home .....

(keeping my feeding one separte....)


arg.....

they seems so happy together =-0
(in a sarcastic way)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by starshooter10

i've had them for 18 months but they are at least 3 years +_O

~VAP

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Wow, I would venture to guess that they have had feeding problems in the past. I don't have enough experience to know if they could ever get up to a normal size at this point, but I do think the best thing you could possibly do for them is take the advice being offered here and get them seperated ASAP! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by starshooter10

i guess i'll buy a new rubbermaid bin on my way home .....

(keeping my feeding one separte....)

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Glad to hear it! Let us know if you have any questions setting up the tub.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by starshooter10

arg.....

they seems so happy together =-0
(in a sarcastic way)

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I know what you are saying...the coiling up together...it looks like cuddling...but in reality...its one ball taking the other's space and being dominant.

What are you going to use to heat the tub?

er... did think of that yet..

how big of a tank does a adult need?

i have some smaller setup (glass type) from some previous pets since past (garder snake, anole, rose hair)

now that i think about it i have good tanks from 5gal to maybe 25/30

and i can just put a tri head power splitter on my timer

(my snakes have a timer for the light)

Lighting isn't that important for ball pythons. As a matter of fact, they really prefer darker, more private enclosures.

Tub sizes for adults range from 32-41qt enclosures. Those underbed rolling storage totes are perfect for adult females.

You can use heat pads or flexwatt heat tape for the tubs, just make sure you use a good thermostat for them.

I would recommend going with a tub, but if you separated them today and put the other in a glass tank similar to the other setup you currently have, thats definitely a good start.

My advice on the glass tanks is to avoid using bright lights for heat. A red/black nocturnal bulb is all you need and can be run 24/7...no need for the timer...and they don't like losing their heat at night.

Get ready to be bombarded with info...take your time to digest it all.

i think all my tanks have the sticky under tank heaters and they currently have a 50w red/border purple bulb in there...

the under tank heaters are 24/7