About a decade ago I owned a healthy set of snakes including a ball python, blood python, common boa and a kingsnake. Once I started a family I liquidated my collection. Now years later I have a teenage son that wanted a ball python so I was exited to get him started.

We found a set of pythons (including heaters and cage) in the classified for far less than we could get at a pet store. They looked pretty healthy so we picked them up last week, after a week I have a few concerns and could use some advice.

First, the glass aquarium is a 30 or 40 gallon and I am thinking its too small for two snakes, and in fact I am pretty convinced two snakes in the same aquarium is probably a bad idea all together. Small snake is about a foot and half, the larger one 2 and a half. Cheap ideas for a second enclosure?

Second, the larger one has started showing aggressive tendencies. Its hard to get the smaller one out to handle with the larger one being so grouchy. We regularly handle both, but I don't want my son to be afraid and stop getting them out. Its fine once its up but will strike when its first picked up, I am thinking maybe a snake hook and gloves to get it out for a while?

Third, when we picked them up the larger one had opaque eyes, so we bumped up the humidity and bathed him. He shed about 4 days later. The smaller one we were told had just shed and never had opaque eyes but started shedding a couple of days after the larger one, and its been a pretty messy shed even though it has been in the same humid environment as the larger one. Will they ALWAYS get opaque eyes before shedding? Maybe the last owner wasn't paying attention and thought it had just shed....

Both have eaten and otherwise appear healthy.

Thanks for your expertise.