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Member Comment
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10/6/2008 5:44:47 PM
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REPTILEN1NJA
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yea k is right housing them together is fine but when you feed them def separate them they can fight for food and some mite not eat with other pythons present
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Member Comment
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10/6/2008 5:52:23 PM
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Jeffriey
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I was going to say I agree with everything Kaiyudsai said but I also wanted to add juggling them around to feed may create a problem. The tricky thing with Ball Pythons is their feeding responses too. You will know your snakes better and whether or not they will still eat when you move them to another cage or bin for feeding time. I had a pair in one cage and couldn't get the male to eat until he was in his own enclosure for awhile and feeling secure. They are now kept separated.
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Assisted Answer
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10/6/2008 6:16:48 PM
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Sonja K. Reptiles
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If they are similar in size, it may possibly work. However, snakes are solitary animals in the wild, and they are also opportunistic feeders. It is a risk that if you decide to take, you will be the one that deals with the consequences that may come. They may do fine for a year or more, and then one day... Gulp! one eats another. Also, if there are snakes of different sexes and breeding age, they may fight, and what would you do if the female became gravid?? Some things to think about...
Itf you still decide to, it is essential to seperate at feeding time! Also, BPs can be finicky eaters on their own - adding roommates may result in even more inconsistent feedings.
Are you wanting to house them together to save on the cost of another cage, etc.? If so, IMO, it may be better to only have the number of snakes that you can adequately provide caging for.
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Member Comment
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10/6/2008 7:15:38 PM
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tradesokan
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You definitely wanna have the same size BPs. I never heard of BPs eating each other. But you do wanna get the same size snakes so they won't bully each other around when they all see they are equal in size and length. Think about it Two big Balls and one little Ball. (LOL DIDNT MEANT TO MAKE IT SOUND OTHERWISE) It just won't work. I also agree with everyone else about feeding them seperately. You don't want the balls to go into a brawl to get the food first. Also you wanna make sure you got big enough tank. I've seen 6 BPs all "cuddle" together in one corner of a 60 gallon long tank. Me personally I think thats fine. But use common sense. If you think the tank is too small to hold three then don't do it.
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Member Comment
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10/6/2008 8:10:46 PM
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FyreFocks
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I also thinks its ok to house balls together. However my opinions differ on the size issue. My larger male is at least double the size of his cage mate and they both do just fine. It might help that i feed them more often than i should and i feed them a lot. But that, i think, is beside the point. And ive also kept different species together in a similar manner. ---Kids, dont try this at home--- When i first adopted my BCI and i didnt have housing set up, i kept her in with the balls. Kaiyudsai, dont hate me for it. But they all interacted fine. It was like a good episode of threes company (as if such a thing was ever made). And the BCI is definitely smaller than the balls are. I do have to back everyone up on their feeding advise though. Listen to those people. They wouldnt lie to you.....
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Accepted Answer
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10/6/2008 8:14:08 PM
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Katie M
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I'm of the mindset that 1 snake, 1 cage unless breeding. I feed in my enclosures, so moving snakes isn't an option I want to deal with. The stress of having other snakes around can affect the snakes for several years, as in the case of my boa, Izzy. He was housed with another male and another female for several years. He was most likely the "alpha" male, and therefore became very malnourished (as he refused to eat), copulated to excess (but never produced babies), and was just in general in bad health. Also, snakes don't "cuddle" in the "cute" way we want to see them. I find it cute to see my male and female snake all balled up in one big snake ball, but at the same time, you'll notice that the snakes are both competing for the best basking spot, or the warmest spot... It's more of a competition than a "cuddle"
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Member Comment
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10/6/2008 10:21:19 PM
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Riain
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I'd read this, and pay attention to the pictures if your curious about housing any snakes together.
http://www.rcreptiles.com/forum/about1343.html
I've seen pictures of that happening with boas and pythons, pythons and pythons, and boas and boas.
and heard firsthand how my friend lost a pair of BCI.
I feed outside the tank, and still won't house any snakes together.
Like Katie said, snakes don't cuddle.
Forcing them to all occupy the same space like that is just wrong in my opinion.
So, Simple answer, Is it safe to house 3 ball pythons in the same cage......No.
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Member Comment
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10/6/2008 10:39:30 PM
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Jeffriey
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GAH a "Due to the graphic nature of this link viewer discretion is advised" would have been nice!!! Guess I'll finish my dinner later....LOL
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Member Comment
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10/7/2008 1:10:37 AM
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Riain
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sorry, I tend to forget that kind of thing can bother people.
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Member Comment
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10/7/2008 1:43:06 AM
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Jeffriey
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Dont sweat it I was just messing around. Normally things like this doesn't bother me either. I just happened to be biting into a piece of chicken and reading the link at the same time. That was pretty interesting though about the cannibalism and what one snake can do to the other even of similar size. I only pictured this happening with two snakes possibly taking hold of the same prey and one ending up swallowing the other.
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Member Comment
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10/7/2008 1:50:01 AM
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Katie M
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I actually found the pictures quite interesting, but than again, 6+ years in the veterinary field, and anatomy tutor in college, and a science geek, I like interesting pictures that tend to gross out others :) I had some intestinal biopsies taken last Monday, and I asked the Dr. for pictures - thinking I may frame them...
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Member Comment
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10/7/2008 2:03:30 PM
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dalvers63
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I personally feel that snakes should never be housed together, unless it is breeding season and you're working on breeding them.
Snakes, by their nature, are solitary creatures. Unless you can provide a suitabley large habitat that contains enough space for all the snakes to thermoregulate without coming into contact with another, you're asking for stress related problems. If you checked the link above, you're also taking the chance that one will attack and try to eat the others. What some people think of as "cuddling" is the snake's way of trying to dominate and secure the best hiding spots for themselves. You also run the real risk of all of your animals getting sick if one comes down with something (RI, parasites, etc).
To me, the cons outweigh the pros in this situation and out of my 30+ snakes all but one pair are housed individually (the pair being together are a breeding pair and are only together during breeding season).
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Member Comment
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10/7/2008 10:33:08 PM
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TomPiperni
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Yes, you can keep them housed together.
They should all be close to the same size.
Smaller ones may be intimidated and stop eating.
Like others said, you can't feed them together, it can be dangerous and one of them can get hurt or killed.
Try it out, if it doesn't work well and some stop eating, then take them out.
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Member Comment
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10/7/2008 10:33:26 PM
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TomPiperni
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...also, it should be a pretty big enclosure.
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Member Comment
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10/7/2008 11:52:10 PM
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Riain
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I suppose this really comes down to, What do we all mean by Ok?
If Ok means, safe, happy, secure and right, then I really don't see how it's okay to risk two animals life who You have taken responsibility for's health, safety, and wellfare, just to save a few bucks.
Take a close look at the snakes at that link, they were very close in size.
If by ok, do you mean, is should be okay, hopefully.
then I suppose it could be thought of as Ok,
Really depends on your definition of Ok.
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Member Comment
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10/8/2008 12:23:49 AM
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Jeffriey
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Lets go back to the beginning. Is there any particular reason why you would want to put them together?
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Member Comment
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10/8/2008 11:12:03 AM
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Joseph Jenkins
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I agree with FyreF. We have housed BP of many different sizes at the pet shop i help out at, and we have never had a problem.
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Member Comment
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10/8/2008 11:35:52 AM
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FyreFocks
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Im not saying that what im doing is correct, but it works for me. I have a 75gal set up which is plenty of room for the 2 of the balls in there. The bigger male is a full grown adult and the smaller male is about 2.5 feet long. It may also help that when i got the pair, they were already used to being together.
When i worked in a pet store i only housed the newly hatched together because most of them werent eating anyway and they were siblings. When i bought adults, they were always housed separately. Truthfully though, this was due to space and due to the possibility that you never know what kind of "friends" your new snake might be carrying along with it in to the pet store.
If you have to house together, then do it. But if you can afford to house them separately, then maybe you should. It will make tracking them easier, especially if they are babies or juveniles. Youll know who is eating or regurgitating, who has the runs, and who is constapated. This is very important with younger snakes.
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Member Comment
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10/8/2008 12:13:18 PM
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Sonja K. Reptiles
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Just to reiterate... and sorry, I'm feeling a bit philosophical today...LOL : )
Whether it's this or any other situation in life, for that matter, it's good that you want to find out what the possible results of a choice could be. Ask yourself why do I want to do this, etc. Kind of like weighing the positive vs. negative...
Hopefully, you can then make an informed decision. Maybe it will come down to what works for you - but makes sure it's not to someone/something else's detriment.. And, remember, you are the one that needs to be prepared to deal with the consequences of that action/choice.
It's a basic principle of life.
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Member Comment
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10/8/2008 12:52:31 PM
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Ophiuchus
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I vote not to house snakes together for any reason (except while breeding, of course) for reasons already discussed. The risk of stress, cannibalism, and/or disease/parasite transmission is simpy not worth it.
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Member Comment
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10/8/2008 9:23:28 PM
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MegF
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I don't think it's a good idea to house any species of snake together and ball pythons have their feeding issues already. No sense in stressing out an animal further by housing it with others. Any new animals should be quarantined for a minimum of 3 months anyway. If you can't afford the caging or have the room, you shouldn't have them in my book. Every animal deserves to have a less stressful existence. It is proven that stress helps bring on disease. One gets sick...they all get sick. Not a good way in my opinion. My animals are too valuable to me to risk an R.I. killing all of them in the cage, or to have stress result in failure to thrive.
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Member Comment
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10/8/2008 10:27:48 PM
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Skelegirl
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I have to agree with the nay-sayers here. Yes, plenty of people have housed BPs together without incident. However, there are also many documented instances of injury and/or cannibalism. Why take the chance? These snakes are solitary creatures, and will compete for space. Do you know the sex of all 3 BPs (and are you SURE??)? Males can fight if housed together...especially during breeding season. I know that there are cautionary tales about what not to do for every type of pet out there (believe me, I have a pit bull...I've heard so many rediculous "what if's" you'd pee your pants laughing if I told you), but this situation offers a very easy fix...just give them seperate enclosures. Do you really want to risk it, when it is completely and easily in your power to prevent it?
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Member Comment
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10/8/2008 10:38:03 PM
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Riain
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I think Meg Put it perfectly!
As for keeping the babies together at petstores, petstores exist to make a profit, don't kid yourself into thinking that they always do whats best for the animals.
And as far as never having a problem yet, Thats just like playing with a loaded gun...
Sure it might never go off, but what if it does?
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Member Comment
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10/13/2008 2:42:23 PM
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bmwballs
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hi everyone
we wouldn t recomend housing any snakes together, other than for breeding purposes.
ball pythons may go off feeding because of stress and dominance issues if housed together
there have been some excellent points already disscussed for not housing them together
thanks
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Member Comment
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10/16/2008 4:11:28 PM
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juddb
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Im also a firm believer in the 1 snake 1 cage rule. Also like Meg said, you should quarantine new animals away from your collection for 3+ months to be safe.
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Member Comment
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10/27/2008 9:43:25 PM
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Joseph Jenkins
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The chances of cannibalism among ball pythons is VERY small, it can and does happen, but not often at all
You should be fine with three in a cage as long as its large enough and they are well fed. The ball pythons really don't seem to mind sharing a cage with others.
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Member Comment
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10/27/2008 9:47:17 PM
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Joseph Jenkins
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Also, always feed in a seperate container(arboreals ussually being an exception), 1 at a time, unless there is no other way, then pull all out except for one and feed it.
This is to be sure that they don't cannibalize, but also that they don't catch bedding when constricting and swallowing.
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Member Comment
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10/28/2008 8:40:38 AM
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Riain
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"The chances of cannibalism among ball pythons is VERY small, it can and does happen, but not often"
But it still happens...
not worth the risk in my book, if you can't house them seperately you should'nt own them in the first place..
"The ball pythons really don't seem to mind sharing a cage with others"
Just curious, what are you basing this off of?
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Member Comment
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10/6/2009 3:25:28 AM
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bwaffa
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This question has had no activity for 14 days and will be closed by an administrator unless the original poster takes action.
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Member Comment
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5/26/2014 3:23:39 PM
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Amanda77
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It could stress them out being in a cage together for a long time.. if you're going to keep them all together at least make sure the cage is big enough with plenty of room..
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