Sometimes it just takes time. They are new, after all.



Competing over resources doesn't necessarily mean having a big enough hide to share, or a big enough basking spot to share...it means they want their own spot, their own basking area. To a solitary, simplistic animal like most reptiles are, someone else being in a prime spot means that they are competition for that spot, regardless of how big that spot is. A lot of times, problems can be solved by adding another hide or basking area, so that each animal can have its own if it wants without having to share.

Do you see what I'm trying to explain? Ideally, a 'perfect' cage allows the animal lots of choices - the choice to be hot, cold, secure and hot, secure and cold, secure and getting a drink, out and drinking, out and basking, etc, etc. With multiple animals in the cage, you have to provide an extra set of choices, so that each animal can choose to be any of the above choices, but also choose to be alone or in the company of the other snake.

The way the cage is set up now, there's only one hide to be cool in (or one log), one place to bask, and one warm hide...so if they want to be cool, or bask, or be warm, they would have to be doing it together because they have no other option. They have similar needs (same species!), they're similar sizes, and they live in the same space, so chances are they will cool down and warm up at nearly the same rate...so they'll bask and cool down (hide) at the same times. So, they may not be together all the time just because they like each other.



It may be that your snakes will become established, start eating, and you'll never have another problem and I will sound exceedingly silly for trying to explain this. But, if you do run into problems, instead of seperating them right away it may be a solution to give them more choices.



Am I making sense? Seperating is usually recommended because it's easier to tinker with things with only one snake to please - two snakes are just harder to get right sometimes.



Good luck and let us know how it goes!



~jenny
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"Polysyllabism in no way insures that what you're saying is actually worth being heard." - Blake (an e-friend of mine)



"I have never made but one prayer to god, a very short one: "O lord, make my enemies ridiculous." And he granted it." - Voltaire

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