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Cohabbing Ball Pythons

Posted By:

EbonayiasGirl

Ok, so here's a question. Can ball pythons, or any other snake for that matter be housed together? I'm looking for an experienced answer. The reason why I ask is because we've kept 3 smaller (varrying in size) ball pythons in a 40 gallon wide glass tank with a large corner dish. We took the hide out for precautionary measures on other issues. Anyways, the reason why I ask is becasue all three of them have a hole or a spot where the scales are missing, very small, but noticable on their heads. Is this because they're housed together? I'm still learning to ropes on havin snakes and any other reptile for that matter so I'm sure things aren't as good as they could be (hence why I'm asking you guys!). So if you could help me with some pointers or give me some helpful answers I would appreciate it. Thanks so much. Also if you do not have anything helpful to say I would appreciate if you kept your comments to yourself. I'm looking to learn, not be put down for being uneducated.


Points:	100
Topics:	Caging , Skin , General Health
Tags:	Ball, Cohabitation, General, Housing, Python, Regius
Administrative:	Show/Hide

Member Comment

4/9/2010 1:24:09 AM

Nitram

they could have been rubbing on eachother, fighting to get to the heat source. i dont house animals together as it stresses them out, snakes being solitary animals. if worse comes to i'd recommend just getting a few tubs and seperate them, but everyone has their own methods. good luck, either way.

Author Comment

4/9/2010 1:26:19 AM

EbonayiasGirl

Thank you, yeah I've been debating on doing that. I figured as much that it may be a rub mark. None the less I'll keep an eye on it. Separating might be the best thing. All I know though is they lay away from the heat soruce in a big "ball, ball" lol.

Member Comment

4/9/2010 1:32:39 AM

Nitram

the bundled up bps is the fighting i was talking about. either fighting for bottom position for better heat source or above if you have something like a lamp of che. seperating them is the best thing i can suggest.

Author Comment

4/9/2010 1:33:09 AM

EbonayiasGirl

sounds good :) thanks

Assisted Answer

4/9/2010 1:33:14 AM

Sylvias

It's better to just not and avoid all the potential problems that could come with it... If one gets sick and has nasty looking excrement you have no idea which one it is and it can easily spread it's illness to the others. Without hides they could potentially get stressed out... They aren't known to be cannibalistic but that doesn't mean they wont.... I know these pictures have been spammed across reptile sites everywhere but they are a very good source for just such occasions.... Very graphic so I will post as links... http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a46/Sylviasravenwolfe/Cannibalism1.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a46/Sylviasravenwolfe/Cannibalism2.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a46/Sylviasravenwolfe/Cannibalism3.jpg the way I see it is just...why risk it.... unless your breeding there is no reason to keep snakes together.

Member Comment

4/9/2010 2:38:29 AM

abi21491

Definitely separate :) Snakes and most reptiles should be housed separately as a rule to reduce stress, and avoid possible cannibalism as Sylvias said. They do much better housed alone. The only time they should be kept together is for breeding purposes.

Accepted Answer

4/9/2010 8:53:02 AM

JohnJohn

I really believe that the goal of good husbandry should be to provide the animals with an environment that is closest to what they would experience in their natural setting. Most snakes are solitary animals and spend most of their time alone. They are not social creatures like dogs that benefit from having a pack. So I think it's best to keep them separately.

Keep in mind too that snakes don't need a huge amount of space. An appropriately sized sterlite tub with a secure lid would be fine for each and doesn't cost much and doesn't take up a lot of space.

Member Comment

4/9/2010 9:25:49 AM

crazysnakelady

One of my amazons has that problem sometimes but she is housed alone and I believe it's from cruising around on her drift wood, but I house my snakes seperately except for breeding, for reasons everyone else has covered :-)

Author Comment

4/9/2010 10:22:38 AM

EbonayiasGirl

Thank you for all the rsponses guys. Yeah I agree with all of you on separating them. I think it started out temporary and as we've moved around they've kind of stayed in there together. I always hate seeing snakes and other reptiles living in tubs. Looks and seems so unnatural. I love being able to dress up their enclosures so researching their habitats and playing with it is fine for me. What sized tanks would suit a 18-20 in, 26-30in and a 32-37in ball then? Would it be fine to keep the largest ball in the 40 gal or should I drop him down to about a 30 gal. sized enclosure?

Member Comment

4/9/2010 10:35:06 AM

Sylvias

I use the rule of 1sqft of floor space for every foot of snake... so if the snake is 2ft long it need 2square feet of space... so a 2ftX1ft cage would be fine.. at least... there is nothing wrong with having a huge enclosure as long as there are plenty of hides, basking spots etc. And then for arboreal species you need to adjust the measurements to include vertical space as well....

Assisted Answer

4/9/2010 12:07:30 PM

Floof

Good call on separating them! The spots on their heads sounds to me like nose rubbing.. I had that issue once with my KSB... He wasn't happy with being housed on paper towel, so he spent all his spare time trying to find a little hole in his tub to escape out of. (Luckily, he's stopped that and the spot has started to heal now that he's on something more burrow-friendly!) His "nose rub" spot was right about between his eyes, on the top of his head. This could easily be an indicator of stress, whether from cohabbing or no hides... Or something else entirely, really, though the former two are the most likely culprits. Anyway, ball pythons actually do very well in tubs. They are comfortable in the small space, and tubs hold humidity much better. Just in my experience, both of my ball pythons have started having complete sheds and, in the female's case, feeding regularly (as opposed to refusing regularly). If I remember right, the logic behind this is, in the wild, they live primarily in termite mounds... Small, dark, warm, and humid. If you do tubs, 28 qts would work for the smaller one (or two), and 41 qt for the larger one (or two). Both of mine do well in 41 qt tubs, and they come in at around 3 and 4 feet. To each their own, though, and they can be kept in aquariums without issue... Probably stay on the smaller side (i.e. doing that downgrade for the largest). I won't say anything past that on the subject, though, since my only (brief) experience was unsuccessful (to say the least).

Member Comment

4/9/2010 12:08:40 PM

Floof

Crap. Sorry for the giant wall of text. Evidently, my mac doesn't understand what the "enter" button is... Heh. =P

Member Comment

4/10/2010 11:19:35 PM

shellboa

the rough spots could be from rub or shedding issues but I agrre they should be seperated. easier to feed and keep track of any issues

Member Comment

4/11/2010 1:55:21 AM

Nitram

from my experience, my snakes housed in tubs (3 of which were previously housed in terraniums) seem a lot more comfortable in the tubs than they did in the larger enclosures, especially the bps. in my opinion those large elaborate enclosures with waterfalls and caves and stuff like that do more harm than good, to the subadults and younger im refering to. just depends also on the type of tub you get. my tubs are 3.75'x1.5'x1' and are transparent, could house snakes up to 5-5.5' long. you could also decorate tubs and make them look nice like i got my cresty in a tall tub and got all them plants and vines n junk soon im going to add the moss right now i got him on paper towel... anyway tubs have their cool sides and their cons. really it all comes down to individual choices. good luck!

Member Comment

4/12/2010 12:07:47 PM

illini4x4

I would also suggest tubs. My ball pythons seem alot more comfortable since I got them into tubs. They hold the heat and humidity alot better and you cant see into the tubs as easy so I think it makes the snakes feel a little more secure which may help with the rubbing. Hope everything works out for you!

Member Comment

4/13/2010 11:04:23 PM

LeoNik

I have 1.1 ball pythons that have been living together for a long time with out any problems but I still wouldnt try it with any other of my snakes. From what iv seen BPs are one of the few snakes you can house together. I had 2 rainbows together for a short while and one killed the other one! If you have more than 1 of the same sex kept together there may be some problems. Make sure if you do keep them together they have room and hides and that their heat and humidity are kept up! Maybe try getting a bigger tank for them. Hope this was helpful!

Member Comment

4/19/2010 10:26:22 PM

Gaffey789

Don't house snakes together unless you are trying to breed them. It isn't nessecary and can cause stress and fighting. Such as fighting for the basking spot or the hide spot. As far as i know though, you can house babies. But even then, it isn't the greatest idea. But the scales missing may just be from rubbing against each other.

Member Comment

1/24/2011 6:50:30 AM

abi21491

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