I need opinions - 2 snakes 1 cage

[Skiploder]

As a keeper, it is our responsibility to take care of our animals to the best of our ability.
Why take ANY risk of spreading illness and/or mites? Why take ANY risk of cannibalism or other injury/death?
Putting any of your snakes together outside of breeding purposes and knowing there is a risk is irresponsible. No matter how minor the risk seems. It's still there. Things happen. Better safe than sorry in my opinion.

And for the record, when snakes "cuddle", they're competing for the best spot in the enclosure.



And I'll leave you with these joyous photos.... *graphic warning*


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Boa ate a Ball



Same boa regurged the Ball



Boa ate another Boa

Yeah, those pics are well travelled. Someone photographs a one in a million occurrence and it has now become the rule, not the exception that it is.

But those pics don't change the fact that with the proper keeper and the proper husbandry skills, it can be pulled off and pulled off successfully.

My earlier post in this thread was an attempt at sarcastic humor, pointing out the silliness in the oft repeated reasons for keeping snakes separate. I guess my attempts at humor and sarcasm failed...............

The problem is that people make blanket statements that you cannot do it ever with any snake, and as Wes stated, that is pure and utter crap. There are many species, such as spilotes and pseustes that are often kept in pairs - and many rhamphiophis and others are kept in 1.2 trios, thamnophis are kept in groups, etc. I could go on, but the point remains: you can keep more than one snake in one cage.

There are high cannibalism risks in some species (like lampropeltis and clelia) and there are feeding accidents that have resulted in cannibalism in others. In the second example, those risks could have been averted by proper husbandry (read: supervised feedings).

As for spreading mites and illness - most pathogens do not respect the mighty wall of the tupperware tub and mites will gladly travel across a room to infest another snake - so that reason there is not the most valid. Really, how many snake illnesses do you know that just "crop" up? The majority of "random" bacterial infections are not random at all - but the result of faulty husbandry. Viral infections can be eliminated with proper quarantine. Again, the old internet hokum that snakes magically get sick like 3 year old kids is just not true.

The main reason why people should keep two snakes in two separate enclosures is that most people have no clue how to pull it off successfully. That's it. Most of the other concerns are just the rehashing of internet suppositions.

I guess the gold standard answer should be: Yes, you can keep two snakes in one cage, but it not only depends on the species, but on the skill and experience level of the keeper.