[B][B]Hello Everyone,

I am the owner of two ball pythons, One of them i have had for 1 1/2 years and the other for about 4 months. Origionally I kept the little guy in a seperate 20 gallon tank, but my husband decided it would be a good idea to put him in with the big snake. I know it is winter and the bigger snake (Niko) did not want to eat before we put the little one in, we tried to get him to eat a baby rat 3x's but he didnt budge. So we have left them both alone for the last week and a half. It seems now Niko is about to shed and hasnt eaten in 3 1/2 weeks, the little one ate last week (still eats baby mice)
I got the second snake from a girl that at first thought was a boa and completely negleted it, and kept a red heat lamp directly above it 24-7. I know it isnt the best idea to keep two snakes together, expecially since there is a difference in size. As far as fighting over the space, it seems that even though i have two caves for them they still sleep with eachother, Niko doesnt try crushing the little one or taking up the entire heat pad, under the tank, he lets the little one pretty much take up all the space in the cave. Everytime the little on comes out to climb, the big one is right their and they are always slithering all over eachother and seem to be fine. Niko had a buddy a long time ago when we first got him, we bought another ball. But the other one escaped and, I later found him in the closet dead. Yes, i have taken big measures to assure that does not happen again. We currently have them both living in a 170 gallon tank, and I love that they have a huge space to slither around to there hearts content, and i do not belive in keeping a reptile in a plastic container with no vines, vegitation or anything at all, is cruel and they should live in there cage the way they would in grasslands, with alot of space and freedom. Do you all think that Niko is stressed out because of the little one? I have taken Niko to the vet, he was checked out and everyhting seems just fine, The fact is he always even in the winter time had a great appetite. The little one has had an issue fully shedding, but theres just a little bit of unshed skin near his head. Nothing really huge and they seem to deficate just fine also. I give them warm baths at least once a week, I make sure there is humididty. I might just be freaking out, because this is the first time he hasnt eatin in this amount of time. Since he got igger we cut down his feeding to once every two weeks.If anyone has any suggestions, I would liike to hear from you.
Thanks