Boas and Pythons

[barbie.dragon]

Hello everyone.
I got my first ball python almost a week ago but I've always been partial to kenyan sand boas. I can't help how cute they are. And same with red tailed boas.... And I wanted a normal ball python.

Anyways, I was on craigslist and there was a guy selling his red tailed boa, a normal ball python and some cages. I thought cool, let's shoot this guy an email, but when I scrolled down I saw that the ball python and the red tailed boa were housed in the same tank? And that got me thinking about IBD and how it can spread ect. That brings me to my point, I keep my ball python in my bedroom. If I get a boa I would definitely keep it in the living room but IBD sounds pretty scary. I think I"m being paranoid but it's ok if I keep ball pythons and boas in the same house/room right? (separate enclosures of course. AFTER quarantine.)

I've seen some people say "OH it's perfectly fine! I keep them in the same rack"
and some people say: "I keep them in separate buildings, I change my clothes and shower before going to my python room."

[ewaldrep]

I think the best you can do is plan on keeping them quarantined for a few months when you get them and make sure to take a good look at them before you pick them up. Plan on having separate enclosures, that is a bad idea anyway for a BP and RTB in the same one. When I picked up my BP and RTB I took them to the vet for a check up and asked him about IBD. He told me that it is very difficult to keep a completely sterile environment. I am pretty new on the forum so I'm sure you will get better advice! Welcome to the forum.

[The Serpent Merchant]

You can keep them in the same room but they should never be housed together... (you shouldn't even house 2 ball pythons together)

Proper quarantine of at least 3 months should be a baseline. I personally would keep new additions from less than ideal conditions in quarantine longer (If I even got them)

[Daybreaker]

I believe IBD isn't as common as some people think. Honestly I keep my boas and other pythons in the same room (after proper QT) and I believe that it's a possible risk that any owner takes that owns both boas and pythons in close proximity of each other. My advice is to search for an interesting IBD thread that Skiploder wrote (I couldn't find it but maybe someone else can) as it's very eye opening and informative and buy only from reliable/reputable sources. I would never buy a boa off of CL for this reason (as well as other possible health issues) as I will not risk my current collection or my boyfriend's. On a side note I've read that (some) boas can carry IBD for years without showing any symptoms so even the ~3-6 month standard QT period might not be enough to safe guard your established collection. Hence why I say it's a risk that any boa and ball/python owner takes IMO.

[barbie.dragon]

You can keep them in the same room but they should never be housed together... (you shouldn't even house 2 ball pythons together)

Proper quarantine of at least 3 months should be a baseline. I personally would keep new additions from less than ideal conditions in quarantine longer (If I even got them)

Yeah when I saw the ad it kind of freaked me out since I knew from this forum not to house 2 ball pythons let alone a bp and a red tail. When I saw the snakes housed together I decided I would just buy from a breeder if I was getting another snake.

[barbie.dragon]

I believe IBD isn't as common as some people think. Honestly I keep my boas and other pythons in the same room (after proper QT) and I believe that it's a possible risk that any owner takes that owns both boas and pythons in close proximity of each other. My advice is to search for an interesting IBD thread that Skiploder wrote (I couldn't find it but maybe someone else can) as it's very eye opening and informative and buy only from reliable/reputable sources. I would never buy a boa off of CL for this reason (as well as other possible health issues) as I will not risk my current collection or my boyfriend's. On a side note I've read that (some) boas can carry IBD for years without showing any symptoms so even the ~3-6 month standard QT period might not be enough to safe guard your established collection. Hence why I say it's a risk that any boa and ball/python owner takes IMO.

I will find that ibd thread. Thanks