I hate doing addendums... but I should have qualified that... the only benefit is to the keeper, not to the snake.
Benefits:
- a sense of the snake having a *friend*
- saving space
- saving money
Downfalls:
- stress
- domination
- spread of diseases (RIs can occur spontaneously)
- unplanned gravidity (is that a word?)
- inability to tell which animal regurged... had fecal troubles, etc.