Temperament Change

[GoingPostal]

Really hard to say without being there to see the body language. Could be going into shed himself. Snakes are solitary creatures, curling up together is usually one dominating the other, not cuddling and since you don't know their sex could lead to issues. Two males may fight, opposite sex might end up with unwanted eggs, or impaction especially if they were underfed. Either way cohabbing is risky and higher stress living can lead to RI's, which would be spread from one to the other. BP's are fairly inactive when happy so if they are roaming around a lot during the day it could be a sign of stress. Mine sticks his head out a lot and sometimes wanders late at night or near feeding day but other than that is in a hide.

[LLLReptile]

As mentioned before, ball pythons are pretty solitary, and while it might seem like they are protecting each other, curling up together or hiding together is usually more a competition for resources than cuddling or protecting.

The strike sounds like a defensive gesture, maybe a reaction to stress. If there is only one warm hide and one cool hide, the two snakes don't really have an option for seeking out warmer or cooler hides except to hide together. If they're close to the same size, it would make sense that they'd seek out heat or cold at around the same time (gaining/losing heat at the same rate), making it seem like they're always hanging out.

If they're still eating, and you don't want to separate them, they'd probably be okay, but it's usually best to house snakes individually.

-Jen