Quote Originally Posted by SpartaDog View Post
Of course you buy from a reputable dealer and quarantine, but still, things happen. Yes, boas and ball pythons are both pretty relaxed snakes that aren't likely to show aggression toward each other, but that's not really what I'm concerned about. Yes, boas and pythons have nearly identical husbandry requirements, but from what I'd read, you hadn't settled on a red-tailed boa (basically, that comment was aimed at housing different species together in general, not specifically at balls and RTBs). And finally, I understand that it CAN work and has been done. What I don't understand is why you would bother risking it. They would never live together in the wild, so I don't see any reason for them to in captivity.

The reason people are "tunnel-visioned" (which to me is a horrible choice of wording, I would go with "cautious") is that there have been negative consequences for people that did this in the past. Those people in turn told of their mistakes so that we could learn from it.

If I came off too aggressively in the first post, I apologize, it was not my intention. However, I'm sick and tired of people doing things like this either out of convenience, or because it CAN work (rather than it DOES work). Again, there's no guarantee their health will be compromised, but there's always that chance.

I don't think a keeper's living/wall space should ever be put above the animals' welfare.
yeah i suppose if there is any form of risk then its not worth it. And yeah they do live on different continents and probably wouldnt even live around other snakes in their own species let alone the RTB. I was a bit snappy and was "tunnel-visioned" cuz i felt i needed to defend myself so I also apologize.
thanks for the input