Quote Originally Posted by Inknsteel View Post
*Slips on the kid gloves*

Ok, first, if the snake was rescued from poor conditions, not even considering the tail, you need to make a vet appointment to have the snake checked out. Given the description of the tail, you REALLY need to get it checked out by a vet, not just "a friend who had owned almost every species of snake possible." Without actually being able to see the tail, I would wager a guess that it's possible it is or could soon be infected. Bottom line is that you NEED to have that snake seen by a herp vet. While you're there having that looked at, you can ask the vet to sex the snake for you, and even show you how to do it for yourself also.

Secondly, you definitely need to be practicing a strict quarantine when introducing a new animal into your collection, especially so being that you know the snake was in a bad way when you got it. Quarantine does not just mean putting the snake in its own enclosure. You need to put the snake in a separate room, as far away from your current collection as possible. Always handle the new snake AFTER handling your current collection. Do not allow them to have any contact for the first 60-90 days MINIMUM. There's a lot more to it, which you can find by searching back posts on quarantine.

After a clean bill of health from the vet and a good quarantine period, it is safe to bring the new addition into your collection. Reading your original post however, it sounds like you intend to house the snakes in the same enclosure. BAD idea, for MANY reasons that have been hashed out several times on this forum. Do a search for previous threads and you will find a multitude of reasons that this is bad practice. One snake, one enclosure. The exception being breeding season, when males are introduced to a female STRICTLY for breeding, then moved back to his own enclosure.

Having said that, find a herp vet and make an appointment. While you're waiting for your appointment, spend some time reading and researching on this forum, and educate yourself on how best to care for these wonderful animals.

PS - Welcome to the site...
Excellent post-- kid gloves suit you