Urgent, Please Help

[derwood.cronshaw]

I just bought another ball python today. I already have one which is smaller that I have had for about 2 1/2 years now. The guy at the reptile shop said its fine that they are together in the same habitat. They are both boys too. Is it normal for the smaller one to be a little afraid and territorial? The bigger one is getting use to the new home now, but the little one is a bit sketchy. I am not afraid of the big one fighting, I am afraid of the littler one to fight. What should I do? Any advice?

[ncbloods]

What should I do? Any advice?

You should separate them.

Keeping them together is a bad idea regardless. If you're worried about them fighting it's even worse.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

What pet stores would tell you just to sell an animal

One thing they should have tell you about is proper quarantine procedure to start with (housing snakes in different enclosure, different room so you do not put your established snake at risks)

Anyway here is a solution for you, separate them and provide each of your snake with their on individual enclosure.

[Argentra]

Every day they manage to ruin someone ELSE's pet keeping experience with incorrect advice! Curse the pet stores and their habit of hiring ignorant salespeople!

Yes, separate them ASAP into their own enclosures! Snakes in the wild, IF they do spend time together, have the ability to go their own ways. Snakes in captivity do not and should be kept one to a cage for safety, health, and sanity... of the snake and the owner.

[cinderbird]

heres the reply from the other thread you started

there are responces to another person in the post as well though, so if you arent sure if something applies to you, it probably dosent.

I keep two males together and I am seeing no problems at all. They both are great eaters and have perfrect sheds. When i first put them together they were a little jumpy and got used to eachother pretty soon. I think it even helped a little in the way they act when i handle them. They seem much more relaxed and less jumpy now. It seems like they got used to being around something that moves and handeling isn't a worry at all anymore

i don't understand why people ask for advice then refuse to take it.

it is NOT good for the animals to be housed together. there are a multitude of reasons for this, including but not limited to the following;

1. you didnt quarantine your new addition and if its carrying something, chances are your older animal has it too anything from parasites, worms, sickness and disease, (even if there arent any symptoms yet)

2. did you get these animals sexed from a reliable source? or are you trusting the pet store.. this means you could have two opposite genders and you have the chance that they could now breed early causing the female (if one is a female) problems and possibly killing her

3. cannabilism is known to occur in a few documented cases involving BPs

4. if one of your animals is sick, you probably wont know which one because you cant tell their feces/urates/regurges apart

5. if one gets sick, they both get sick and now you have to spend 2x the amount of money in vet care.

6. Actions we see as "cuddling" are actually one snake dominating the other. they both may be eating fine now but how long is that going to last? the smaller one is especially at risk for stress which could lower immune levels.

housing two animals in one enclosure when they arent social isnt something novice keepers should do. each animal should have their own space to thrive. if cost is the problem then maybe you need to take one back or rehome him until you can provide a sutible environment for any animal that comes into your home.

if you're trying to make them more handlable, you should change some of your husbandry stuffs. they sound like theyre very insecure in their environments. cover the sides of their enclosure(S!) with dark paper and let them relax for a little.

with you telling the difference in size between the two of them i cant imagine how the little guy is feeling secure.

[derwood.cronshaw]

Wow guys. Thanks so much. All that makes total sense and really helped me out a lot. They are in their own cages now and seem to be calm and starting to adapt to new homes.
I freaked out when I thought about eating, stress, and things like that, so I ran to Petco to get a new aquarium and lid, and on the way back home I realized that I had an old heavy glass aquarium (a 30g tall for fish) that I had a while ago and then bought a wider one about a year ago. So, a long story short, I had everything I needed for a second habitat right here!! Thanks everyone for your words!!

[edie]

Wow guys. Thanks so much. All that makes total sense and really helped me out a lot. They are in their own cages now and seem to be calm and starting to adapt to new homes.
I freaked out when I thought about eating, stress, and things like that, so I ran to Petco to get a new aquarium and lid, and on the way back home I realized that I had an old heavy glass aquarium (a 30g tall for fish) that I had a while ago and then bought a wider one about a year ago. So, a long story short, I had everything I needed for a second habitat right here!! Thanks everyone for your words!!

I'm so glad you took everyones advice! Good luck with the snakes!