redtail living

[borneoblood2002]

hi I have two rtb and I never sexxed them, but I suspect that one is f one is m
I am not really tring to breed them however i read that some one that did not know anything about breed but put there 2 boa's together and it happened
so i drop the temp a couple degrees for a bout month and then stuck them together 2days after my little one (male i think) is starting to shed.my ? is
can 2 rtb live a stress free life in there together or is it best to seperate them? if so think I should leave them in there till after he sheds or even wait a little longer and see if thay court? my cage is really big about 5x3.5x5.
please let me know..

[bpkid]

if you are not sure about their sex,dont put them together.males are very territorial and could kill another.hope this helps

[Stormyva]

It is best for the snakes if you house them in separate cages. The only time that they should be housed together is for breeding. That should only be when you are sure of the snake's sex and they are of proper breeding age, size, and weight.

[trinitywolf]

I have in all my years never heard of two boas killing one another over territorialism, unless there was a female to compete over. Even then, I don't think VERY territorial is how I would describe boas. I suppose it's possible, but death usually occurs from the spread of disease or neglect when one animal shows signs of stress, brought on by being housed together.

Housing two snakes of the same species and sex can be done, but why? Many times these animals compete for optimum spots and the dominant animal can stress the sub-dominant. Stress leads to a lowering of the immunity system of the sub-dominate snake, which opens the cage and both snakes up to infection and sickness. It is my opinion that solitary animals should not be housed together unless you are breeding them.

I hate to come off as nasty, but if you cannot ascertain the sex of your pair yourself, then you should not be "trying" to breed them. Maybe a little research and time spent talking to other breeders would be in order before trying to propagate a species you know little about? I would hate to see you loose your female (if you indeed have one) b/c of complications brought on by pregnancy.

[bpkid]

not territorial but they do fight.males should not be placed with one another.dominance, thats what it is called.sry

[sjt1985]

best bet is to seperate them.

we should make the FAQ a bit more "convienent" as same questions are repeated seemingly on a daily basis. No offense meant of course, but would save everyone alot of time.

[borneoblood2002]

ha thx for all advice it is well taken and i think that wolf is right i never had them sexxed cause never wanted to breed so why put a rod in them and cause stress so i never bothered however i do alot of reading and junging by physical apperance i say my big one is female and the night i put them together i swear small one was courting,
then it stopped and his eyes got cloudy.. I think i am going to wait and take him out after he sheds (i will keep close eye on them) thx every one

[JuliusSqueezer]

Boas don't fight...unless you feed them together in which case what sex they are is not a factor. Sex or Territory is not something they will ever scuffle over....just food.

[trinitywolf]

I don't even really think they scuffle over food, do you Brett? Seems to me like one dying from feeding together is just incidental to the two of them trying to eat the same piece of food...yeah?

[JuliusSqueezer]

I have seen them bite and constrict after feeding even after feeding out of the cage because one still apparently smelled like rat. It's happened here twice. Once with some babies I had living together and resulted in a prolapsed cloaca needing repair. Another time I had a pair housed together to breed. They weren't breeding yet so I seperated them to feed them. When I put them back a few hours later, my 4 1/2 foor male tried to constrict an 8+ foot female. I got them apart with no injuries and she didn't even seem really bothered by the ordeal but he came out acting rather rabid LOL. I had copperheads housed together for awhile too but after having one of my favorite coppers bit on the head by a cagemate after returning to the cage after being fed...no more. For about a week, he looked like his head was going to explode, but he got better thanks to a little baytril, silvadine cream and lidocaine. Feeding response fights are the ONLY fights I have ever wittnessed among any species of snake not known to eat other snakes...and even the kings and milks or whatever that do eat snakes...that's kinda the same thing right?