Keeping a ball python couple in the same cage?

[Chkadii]

From what I've personally seen (I'm in the US), the people who were keeping more than one BP together were typically under-educated in BPs. They expressed sentiments such as "they always cuddle together!" when it's likely the two were just competing over the "sweet spot" in the enclosure. Often times, the only arguments for keeping the snakes together were solely financially motivated, i.e. "why pay for two cages when I can keep them in one?" It leaves a bad taste in the mouths of passionate keepers to see animals being put at increased risk to save a few dollars. (That's not to say that anyone who cohabits snakes is negligent or cheap - just that we shouldn't be buying animals only to give them the bare minimum of care). A $15 snake has just as much of a right to live as a $1500 snake, and if we can't afford to care for an animal appropriately we should abstain until we do have the money for it.

So, can some types of snakes successfully cohabit the same enclosure? Yes. Is it often recommended? No. For the reasons in the article someone posted above (identifying the sick snake out of the pair, minimizing stress levels, etc.), cohabitation of BPs is best left to experienced keepers. If you want to attempt it, your husbandry must be on point and even a bit excessive to accommodate multiple animals so they don't have to compete as often. That's twice the hides/basking areas and/or a nice big gradient so they can both get what they need. You have to have an extra set-up on hand anyway, for quarantine purposes (if the snakes were purchased at different times/places) and to separate them if one seems sick or stressed, so there isn't all that much money to be saved in the long run - and if one is sick, that's double the vet bills since the other is already exposed. You have to know how to tell if the snakes are unwell, and not just assume things are okay because they're surviving.

In a sense, many average BP keepers (keeping one as a pet or being a hobbyist breeder) have their BPs in separate enclosures the majority of the time (aside from pairing to breed) because it's easier than jumping through all of the hoops required to keep them housed together. It can be done, but there are risks involved no matter how well you prepare, and really no benefits beyond studying their interactions. Even then, with such simple brains, BPs will not reveal little chess games - only things like "I'm stressed," or "I'm ready to reproduce."

If you want to try it, go for it. We never would have learned the majority of the information we have now if we all followed the same care sheet that was established 20 years ago. But PLEASE go into it with open eyes and give it the due diligence and planning those snakes deserve. They're not disposable pets of convenience; they are living, feeling creatures who need care and respect.