BP housed together? cage size for 2BP together?

[vetstudent82]

Hi!
I'm new here and I have a couple of questions:
I'd like to get a couple of BP, so I was wondering if they will be ok if housed together.
I'm planning on building a cage for them before I buy them, and I was thinking of making some sort of removable divider so thaty I can separate them in case of illness or during feeding (is it true that they won't feed if housed together?)
Also, I was wondering what the size of the cage should be: I heard sth like the perimeter should be twice the snake's lenght, is it true? (so shouod mine be 2 times the combined lenght of the snakes?) Should I have more than one basking spot?

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	Ball Python The Ball Python (Python regius), also known as the Royal Python, is a ground dwelling snake native to the savannahs and rain forests in western Africa, predominatly the countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

[skadiwolf]

i personally wouldn't recommend housing two snakes together. for one, they'd either both have to be female, or one male and one female. two males would probably fight. in anycase, even in that situation, they might not get along and you'd have to separate them anyway.

snakes aren't social animals so there are no benefits to housing them together except that you only need one tank. however, they prefer to be alone, have more space, no competition, etc. housing two snakes (or goddess forbid, more) can cause each of them stress...this is often why they won't eat. you have to feed separately, and illness can easily spread quickly between two snakes together. a divider will not help this, but separate tanks and proper hygiene certainly would.

i would recommend a 40gallon breeder for an adult ball python as a minimum. more floor space, rather than height, is better for these snakes as they are largely terrestrial.

make sure to also get a temp/humidity gauge. i'd recommend the Acurite one with a separate probe in the Walmart hardware section. even comes with a battery and is digital for a mere $14. that's a great deal. hook the gauge up on one side near the bottom of the tank, and then stretch the probe across the back to lie at the other corner of the tank. that way, you can easily and quickly get accurate readings for both your warm and cool side.

do you know how to set up a tank properly? are you aware of everything you'll need, especially since it's now winter? any further questions, please feel free to ask. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]


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[JuliusSqueezer]

You have to weigh out the pros and cons. Most people here will advize against housing snakes together...many of the people giving the advice however house snakes together anyway....so go figure. If you wish to keep records on who poops or sheds when and where...and want to be sure and know who it was that puked a rat up into the waterbowl....then keep them seperate. If you don't want to risk passing illnesses back and forth...anyway, you get the picture.

Will they stop eating because they are housed together? not unless one is stressed because of competing for hides, baskingspots or use of the water. DO NOT feed them together....take them out and feed them in a feed tote.


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[shady1]

I TOTALLY disagree... I bought my two BPs as hatchlings, The second one was purchased about 2 weeks after the first, after about 90 days, seeing that there was nothing wrong with either, i housed them together in a 20 gallon breeder about 6 months down the road moved both into a 40 gallon breeder, and I'll tell you what, those snakes don't seperate from each other, even when i take them out of the cage they follow one another very closely [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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[JuliusSqueezer]

skadi....ball pythons don't fight....male or female....any combination....They don't even seem to acknowledge that each other is even there....they crawl over each other....lay on top of one another...Check out any poorly staffed petstore. While their ball pythons are starved, covered with mites, ticks and bad shed and are burned and dehydrated in most cases.....they aren't fighting even when they put 20 or so in a 20 gallon tank.

vetstudent.......minimum cage size for most boids is 1 sq foot of floor space per foot of snake. sp 2x4 feet cage is good for 8 feet of snake...if thats one 8 foot snake...fine...if its 2 4oot snakes....that's fine too. Or...4 2foot snakes...anyway...that is a minimum...bigger is better. Higher doesn't count....they need floor space not head room
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	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[shady1]

good point julius [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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[vetstudent82]

I was thinking of housing them together to eventually let them breed, then put the divider back. I though maybe it'd be easier on them instead of moving them back and forth.

Heat question: I though about using flexwatt wire for the basking spot, but I'm planning on building the cage out of wood.. would that work? I heard it'd would be best if put inside cuz of the thickness of the wood, but woudn't it burn the snake? Should I put sth on top?

I will start the "construction" around Christmas time!
Thanks for the advise everyone

The newbie (but not for long)
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[JuliusSqueezer]

if the cage bottom is wood...it wont heat through enough...put it inside.....and then lay down a layer of shower surround material...or linolium or something along that line and seal it good so water doesnt get to it....and use a theromostat or rheostat to keep it from getting too hot.
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[vetstudent82]

Do you think astroturf would work? <-- I read it is commonly used for substrate
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[shady1]

I use cage carpet in my glass tanks, it sells for like 20 bucks for a piece big enough for a 20 gallon, but go to your local Hobby store and get a big sheet of felt, its the same thing basically, plus it only cost like 49 cents a yard
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