few questions

[Royal Larner]

hi everyone, im new here, i used to own a royal a few years back, but had to get rid as i moved house and wasnt allowed snakes,
i now own my own house and last week decided to get another 1, or should i say 2.
so off i went to the local reptile shop which my dad has a lot of dealings with, (he breeds lizards).
when i got there, i had a good look around and they had recently got a big delivery of baby royals.
i had a choice of 15 boys and 18 girls.
i picked a boy and then spotted an amazing looking girl, so i took her as well.
now their home and settling in, its got me wondering, will they be ok together? their in the same viv at the moment and im hoping to leave them together, but is there any downfall to this? im going to attempt to feed them on saturday which will be a week after collecting them so they have time to settle and get used to their new house.
humidity is 50%
temp in hot end is 88 and cool end is 73.
any advice would be great.

[Vypyrz]

Hello, and to BP.net...

There is nothing saying that you can't keep them together, however, snakes are not social animals and generally do better in their own enclosures. Contrary to popular belief, snakes don't snuggle. They are competing for the best spots to thermoregulate. Some of the problems you can have are if one gets sick so will the other one = double the vet bills and treatment. If one regurgitates, you won't know which one it was. If one has diarhea, you won't know which one it was. The male will reach breeding size before the female and may try to breed with her and if she becomes gravid before she is a proper size, there are serious health issues that could result from that. If you keep them in their own enclosures you will have healthier and less stressed snakes...

You might want to bump your temps up a little to about 91-92 warm side and about 77-78 cool side...

[Royal Larner]

all of what you said is what i thought, BUT, after i bought them both and got them home and put them into the viv, they both went around checking the viv out for the first few hours but now i dont see them, and yesterday i opened their hide to see them and they were both snuggled up together, and when i say together, they were twisted around each other. they looked so cute together.

[stevepoppers]

So because they look cute together, you're going to risk their health?

[ballpythonluvr]

Your snakes are not snuggling. They are competing for the best spots to thermoregulate. Yes, there have been people that keep their bp's together, but they are very experienced. This is not something that is for a beginner to be doing.

[Zenllama]

So because they look cute together, you're going to risk their health?

Agreed, keeping them separate is really the most responsible thing to do. As a keeper, you are charged with making decisions that put your feelings aside and doing what is best for your snakes. Sometimes those decisions are hard and can be heartbreaking and others may be simple no-brainers. Ultimately, their health and well being should come before all else. For it is your duty.

[Royal Larner]

So 1 has to go then
which 1 do i keep? i know the female will grow bigger but what other things do i need to consider?

[stratus_020202]

How big is your enclosure? If it is big enough for both babies, just put a divider in the middle. and put the heat pad in the middle so both sides can use it.

Or, get a tub for the other. They are super cheap, and low mainetance. Other than you'll need a new heat pad and thermostat (unless the one you have has dual plugs).

[Kaorte]

It is my opinion that when they are laying all over each other, the one on top is actually taking the heat from the snake below.

It is also my opinion that you shouldn't house them together. They are not social animals and the only benefit of keeping them together would be to "cut costs" which is an awful reason as in the long run it can be more expensive then keeping them separate.

This doesn't necessarily mean you need to "get rid" of one. Tubs were already suggested. Tubs allow you to cheaply and efficiently house multiple animals. Also, they hold in humidity great so you never have to worry about it.

Please be sure and check out our caresheet for ball pythons on this site.

[stevepoppers]

You can keep them both. Just don't keep them in the same enclosure. Storage tubs from walmart are really cheap. Get some flexwatt, use the same thermostat, and keep them in the tubs on that. Very simple and easy.