Keeping two ball pythons together

[tk421mf]

I have a male ball python that is a little under a year old. There is a chance for me to help someone out by taking their ball python off their hands. It is a female, around two feet long. Would i be able to keep the two in one tank without a problem? If so what kind of precautionary measures should I take?

[sookieball]

yes and no.... its never a good idea to house them together.

but if its that important to take her.

do so and get her her own tank/set up ASAP

[dr del]

Hi,

It's really a bad idea to be honest.

For a start it is recommended to quarantine new animals in another room for 30-90 days to make sure there are no hidden problems or diseases.

There are many threads on this that cover most of the points against - I would have a look at some of them to get an idea of what might go wrong.


dr del

[sookieball]

Hi,

It's really a bad idea to be honest.

For a start it is recommended to quarantine new animals in another room for 30-90 days to make sure there are no hidden problems or diseases.

There are many threads on this that cover most of the points against - I would have a look at some of them to get an idea of what might go wrong.


dr del

i'd listen to the doc.

[wolfy-hound]

If you do a search on here you'll find a ton of threads detailing the mydrid reasons to not house two snakes together.

For a quickie of the major reasons..
1. Quarentine should ALWAYS happen with any nw animal.
2. Pythons do not co-habitate, they live alone by preferance. 2 snakes will compete for hide, warmth etc, it's not "cuddling" it's a fight over dominance.
3. Disease or illness. You now have to treat/diagnose both animals, doubling the meds, fees, etc.
4. The snakes may indeed fight, one can kill and consume the other, without warning.

There is no good reason to house them together. Go get a rubbermaid bin and set it up for little money. The most costly thing to purchase would be the thermostat, and if you set up both snakes in identical cages(both bins, or both tanks?) you might use the same thermostat.

Good luck.