Adding another BP to my tank?

[justinsane82]

I have a 8 month old BP and I was looking at trying to add another one with him. At this stage of his life, is that possible or would he end up just killing it?

[sho220]

Definitely not a good idea. Do a search and you'll find many reasons...i.e. fight for dominance, spread of disease, difficulty in determing which snake may have a health issue...etc...

[rabernet]

Since you are relatively new to ball pythons, I would strongly discourage it. You don't have the experience yet to determine subtle signs of stress, etc.

Not to mention, you're going to need a separate set-up anyway to quarantine any new addition in a separate room for about 60 days.

[singingtothewheat]

The quickest and easiest answer to most questions in husbandry is what would happen in the wild. In the wild, Ball Pythons are not communal and do not engage in herd behavior. They get together for copulation and that's about it. They are solitary animals and don't appreciate the company. Other problems can also occur.
1. One snake dominates the other for heat / food / water and can be aggressive.
2. Stress can lead to increased risks for anorexia, infections and bad temperment.
3. Infections can be spread.

It's just a bad idea. Not good for the animal at all.

[blackcrystal22]

There are many risks that could easily be avoided by keeping them separate. Also, since you don't know the sexes, early breeding could become a bad thing for you and the female.
Males can also fight over dominance.
Cannibalism has happened rarely.
Infections such as RI's will spread much easier as well as parasitic problems, and fecal samples will be unable to determine which came from which snake.
Dominance and stress issues could put them off-feeding.

So really, there isn't a good reason to keep them together.

[iCandiBallPythons]

Buy or build a rack.

[abuja]

Many experienced keepers do keep two or more snakes in the same cage, but for a newbie there are just too many possible risks.

[cinderbird]

To quote another post on the exact same topic (PS: search feature is your friend). Take this post with a grain of salt, but please understand why it is better for your animals to each have a home, than to have to share one. (This post was also made for someone who was already housing animals together, it IS a canned reply).

NO, you should not.

it is NOT good for the animals to be housed together. There are a multitude of reasons for this, including but not limited to the following;

1. You didnt quarantine your new addition and if its carrying something, chances are your older animal has it too anything from parasites, worms, sickness and disease, (even if there arent any symptoms yet)

2. Did you get these animals sexed from a reliable source? Or are you trusting the pet store.. This means you could have two opposite genders and you have the chance that they could now breed early causing the female (if one is a female) problems and possibly killing her

3. Cannibalism is known to occur in a few documented cases involving BPs

4. If one of your animals is sick, you probably wont know which one because you cant tell their feces/urates/regurges apart

5. If one gets sick, they both get sick and now you have to spend 2x the amount of money in vet care.

6. Actions we see as "cuddling" are actually one snake competing with the other. They both may be eating fine now but how long is that going to last? The smaller one is especially at risk for stress which could lower immune levels. They will constantly be competing for the best hide spots and best heating spots, etc.

housing two animals in one enclosure when they arent social isnt something novice keepers should do. Each animal should have their own space to thrive. If cost is the problem then maybe you need to take one back or rehome him until you can provide a sutible environment for any animal that comes into your home.

[BPelizabeth]

I have to agree with rabernet.....(usually do). For one with any new snake introduction you need to go through a quarantine process. Even though a snake might look healthy there are a number of things it could have that you would not even know and those things could transfer to your other snake. That can happen just being in the same room or even as little as feeding with the same tongs.

In all the research that I have read.....2 snakes in one enclosure can be done....however htis is usually with very exerienced herp keepers. It is recommended that unless you have a lot of experience that you do not do it.

I personally would not do it. These snakes are typically very shy and private. They like their space and sometimes you hear of them fighting for the basking spot or the hide spot...etc.

Hope that this helps you. By the way check out the quarrantine thread on here...it is an amazing step by step process that will really help you out. I know that it really helped me!!