Rescued 2 abandoned BPs, what now?

[Joggers]

Yesterday I unexpectedly became the new owner of 2 full grown (or close to it) ball pythons. Animal control dropped them off at my work (a pet store) after finding them abandoned in an empty house. No one there really wanted them, so I brought them home.

They seem to be in good health. Neither one seems skinny and they're both pretty strong. Right now I have them in a big rubbermaid tub with their hide box and water dish. They came in a 55 gallon tank, but I can't get it out of my car on my own, so I'm waiting for someone to give me a hand with it. I'll have them in it by tonight hopefully. I can't put their heat lamp on the tub they're in right now, but I have them in a warm room.

They seem friendly enough, although one did bite me. I'm assuming it's just because she's hungry (who knows when they ate last). My pet rat was in the room as well, so I know they can probably smell her. Aside from that bite, they're both let me handle them a little. I'm pretty skittish with them though. I've never handled snakes this big.

How long should I wait to feed them? I'm was going to feed them in separate containers, to avoid any accidents or fights. Am I right to assume that the bite was just because she was hungry? They're stressed right now as well, being moved around so much. I know that BPs are supposed to be a rather friendly snake, and don't usually bite. Can I expect friendly snakes once they've had a couple weeks to adjust and a few meals?

[Joggers]

I uploaded a picture of them to my profile, not sure how to post it here. They look okay to me...

[AaronP]

You can offer the food pretty much immediately if you'd like. I would suggest a Live Small or Mediam Rat. Have you sexed them or had them sexed yet?

I would suggest keeping them in 32qt or 41qt sterilite containers (about $6-8 respectively at Target) with Newspaper as a substrate and a dog food bowl for water. Wouldn't hurt to put a little extra newspaper in there as well to give them something to hide under if they want.

You can either build/purchase a rheostat or purchase a thermostat and use a heat pad per container to keep them warm, a 55 Gallon tank won't hold heat for nothing and may also stress them out more.

[onna_shinigami]

I would suggest getting another tub they'll settle down quicker on their own. Balls are not known for liking company unless its of the opposite gender.
Pick up another hide and water bowl for the other tub while at it too. I'd leave them separate in the tubs for 3 weeks maybe a month to adjust to the new surroundings and decent meal in their belly.
Feeding wise, give them about a week to settle in then offer food, can try frozen/thawed first and you can leave it in the tubs with them over night. Make sure you have a snap on lid too, they will try to climb out through the top, my own 3 ft does this easily.
A small drill bit will punch a few holes through tubs easily just make sure you're doing them from the inside out, so the rough spots are on the outside of the tub. If you're worried about the room getting a bit too cool for the night you can used a human heating pad on low to give them a bit warmer spot and its less likely to burn the plastic tub or your floors. Do note that most of these shut off after about 6-8 hours.

I think I hit everything you asked. lol

[Coils]

Yes, please seperate them as soon as you can. This will make it a heck of a lot easier for them to calm down. They are probably stressing EACH OTHER out right now. Do you plan to keep them for a long time or were you going to plan on maybe giving them away? (just curious)

[Joggers]

Have you sexed them or had them sexed yet?

I haven't had them sexed yet. I've haven't even had them 24 hours. Where could I get them sexed? Can they stay together if they are male & female?

[Coils]

I haven't had them sexed yet. I've haven't even had them 24 hours. Where could I get them sexed? Can they stay together if they are male & female?

They COULD, but you might not want them breeding if they aren't big enough to do so. That's another issue all together right now. I say you still want to seperate them because it is stressful for either animal! If you want them to calm down and settle in...it's what would be best at this point.

As for food (since you got two answers) I recommend waiting a while also. They need to just rest a while alone and then maybe in a FEW days try offering a prey item to each. I recommend f/t myself. See if they readily take the food that way. Live can hurt the snakes otherwise...especially if they decide not to eat for you.

[Coils]

As for sexing a vet could do it for you if you plan to keep them or you could do it youself with a snake sexing probe purchased off the internet. It can be a risky thing to do on your own though. I'd say if you're very new to all this....don't attempt it.

[Joggers]

Do you plan to keep them for a long time or were you going to plan on maybe giving them away? (just curious)

Well, good question. I would like to keep them, or at least one of them. If I have to separate them, I'll probably just keep one. I don't want biters, however, so as long as that stops once they calm down and eat, I don't have a problem keeping one or maybe both.

And I think I'd rather go with onna_shinigami's suggestion on feeding frozen... I have pet rats, and it'd be difficult for me to feed them anything live. Every pet rat I've had has been a feeder. Any feeder rats I bring home would probably turn into pets, lol. Where is the best place to get frozen rats?

I know they can smell my rat, since they're both in the same room. Will that stress them out, since they're so hungry? I can move either the snakes or the rat to a different room if I need to.

[Joggers]

They COULD, but you might not want them breeding if they aren't big enough to do so.

What is big enough? They both seem pretty big to me. I took a rough measurement of the smaller one last night, he/she is just about 3 feet, perhaps a couple inches longer. I posted a pic of them in my profile. There's just over 2 in. between each stripe on the bed (to give you something to judge their size by). Just curious, I'm not trying to breed them.