Good "companions" for a burm?

[orphan]

You could build some nice rock shelving and branches for more of a viewing animal.

Burmese pythons get larger than 8ft, I know that much.. A carpet python would be a much more permanent animal to put in that enclosure. (Plus, I think they're prettier if you get a jaguar).

I'm well aware that they get larger than 8ft but he would have a lot of space in the bottom of the cage (square footage wise). Like I said, if he is noticeably constrained in his environment after all this is said and done, I'm not afraid to build a bigger enclosure.

[dr del]

Hi,

I like the fact that (in you thread on the enclosure ) you have already started planning where to put his next cage when he gets larger.

I have no experience to offer on anything that could share an enclosure sadly. How would you check frog species for toxicity to other reptiles out of curiosity?

But I do have an alternative occupant for your consideration once the burm has upgraded - the red tailed green rat snake.

Their temprament might not always be the best out there but they are large, active, arboreal and absolutely flippin gorgeous.

Here are some pic links I found via google images;

pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

Wes,

When you mentioned the scent of food possibly causing problems with keeping groups of burms how do you make sure the snake being returned no longer smells of the prey it just ate?

Is it as simple as a spray and rub down?

Just wondering how you do things of that nature with a large constrictor that might be waiting for more rabbits or whatever.


dr del

[fishmommy]

in my crystal ball, I see frogs covered in poop. I see frogs with skin sores from getting drenched in pee. I see humidity wars and temperature wars. I see a burm much too big for its cage. I see frogs escaping during the burm-wrestling segment of cage cleaning day. I see smooshed frogs when the burm goes exploring.

this troubles me.


I really recommend one snake, one cage. That cage would be PERFECT for a carpet. A diurnal semiarboreal would be great at meetiing your need for 'interest' like a large rat snake.

[Denial]

A good companion for a burm would be another burm during breeding season! Best of luck with the frogs though

[wilomn]

Wes,

When you mentioned the scent of food possibly causing problems with keeping groups of burms how do you make sure the snake being returned no longer smells of the prey it just ate?

Is it as simple as a spray and rub down?

Just wondering how you do things of that nature with a large constrictor that might be waiting for more rabbits or whatever.


dr del

With the little guys a good wash is usually good enough. With the big guys I've had it was rare but occasionally the scent of prey would be strong enough to elicit a feeding response when the snake was returned to the cage. The big guys are smart enough to know they can't eat their cagemates and generally stop trying after a short time. Trying to seperate them can be fun but once they get the flavor of their room mate through to the brain they let go. I've seen this in boas and python adults.

[elevatethis]

Going off my limited experience caring for snakes over 12' in length, the only thing worse than wrestling one large, strong, hungry burm out of its cage for cleaning/feeding would be wrestling one large, strong, hungry burm out of a naturalistic enclosure set up with frogs, their insect prey, and other material commonly used to successfully keep frogs.

I'll be blunt, and no offense, but this is a horrible idea.

Fishmommy also mentioned the sanitary issue. Have you ever seen a, 8'+ burmese python drop a load? You'd be completely breaking down the enclosure every other week. That includes washing or replacing the moss and soils you use for to keep the frogs happy.

If you are down for all of that, go ahead. I think 99% of people out there would abandon the setup after a few rounds of maintenance.

I would recommend that you continue to raise the snake, and see exactly what goes into it once he starts to get some size on him. I think you'll understand at that point.

[wolfy-hound]

Why not stick with really cool plants, maybe vines? Then you could have awesome live plants in the cage, without worrying about escaping/dead/toxic frogs.

Personally, I think the carpet python would look great and would use the arboreal section(and you'd still be able to put loads of plants in). You could build in spots to hold the plant pots so you could remove them for cleaning/watering/repotting.

Last I heard, plants wouldn't be eaten or terrorized, won't escape, and won't attack the snake. Unless Wilomn wants to object that there might not be plants in Asia or that the plants might be scented with prey items and be eaten. You may end up with a vegetarian snake, which PETA would jump ALL over!

[orphan]

Going off my limited experience caring for snakes over 12' in length, the only thing worse than wrestling one large, strong, hungry burm out of its cage for cleaning/feeding would be wrestling one large, strong, hungry burm out of a naturalistic enclosure set up with frogs, their insect prey, and other material commonly used to successfully keep frogs.

I'll be blunt, and no offense, but this is a horrible idea.

Fishmommy also mentioned the sanitary issue. Have you ever seen a, 8'+ burmese python drop a load? You'd be completely breaking down the enclosure every other week. That includes washing or replacing the moss and soils you use for to keep the frogs happy.

If you are down for all of that, go ahead. I think 99% of people out there would abandon the setup after a few rounds of maintenance.

I would recommend that you continue to raise the snake, and see exactly what goes into it once he starts to get some size on him. I think you'll understand at that point.

I'm going to have to agree with you there. Plus, I thought of something else. Tree frogs make noise. I'm not a big fan of noise in the house especially in the twilight hours.

[orphan]

Why not stick with really cool plants, maybe vines? Then you could have awesome live plants in the cage, without worrying about escaping/dead/toxic frogs.

Personally, I think the carpet python would look great and would use the arboreal section(and you'd still be able to put loads of plants in). You could build in spots to hold the plant pots so you could remove them for cleaning/watering/repotting.

Last I heard, plants wouldn't be eaten or terrorized, won't escape, and won't attack the snake. Unless Wilomn wants to object that there might not be plants in Asia or that the plants might be scented with prey items and be eaten. You may end up with a vegetarian snake, which PETA would jump ALL over!

[PythonChick]

Keeping in mind that I know VERY little about burms, I have a suggestion to put in for your consideration. I don't know how much a burm is going to climb and use the vertical space of the cage. (Correct me if I am wrong here) If that is the case, why not install a single sheet of plexigless across the top 1-2 feet of the cage? Said plexiglass could act as a divider, allowing you to put frogs or geckos or something that doesn't require addition heat into the vertical space, without the sanitary/safety issues which everyone else has already brought up. If would essentially be like having two enclosures in that space, and you could remove the plexiglass later when the burm outgrows the enclosure and you get something else.

It may be a horrible idea, other people will have to comment. Just something to consider before throwing some poor little froggies in with a burm.