Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This weekend I purchased a reduced pattern female ball at the All Ohio Reptile show for my girlfriend ... she figured my ball python needed a friend. The girl we bought was about 400g, while my boy was only around 150g, but I've never heard about balls having problems being housed together as long as they are fed seperately ... and the breeder at the show said it would be fine too, so we put them together in my 3'x3'x2' cage. No agression while we watched, but when we returned home from dinner and i lifted up the hide rock ... there was only the girl with a fat belly! I've never heard of balls being cannibalistic! The girl was supposably fed three days earlier too! Anybody have any clue? Thank god I didn't put her in with my albino!

Well... apparently... while not common, it is possible. Hopefully, he just escaped.

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Larry Walker

WebSite

That went great with my breakfast here... (oatmeal today)
lol
Thanks Larry.

Evan,
idealreptiles.com

Snakes don't need "friends"...They are solitaire animals...

Never house snakes together unless you are trying to breed...

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Cold Blooded Addiction

Many years ago I had a ball eat another ball and they were just about the exact same size!

I also had a king eat himself? i found him dead in a circle?? which for many years i never told anyone in fear of people thinking i was nuts, but a few months ago there was a discussion about it on the king board and i found out i was not the only one.

Also, even though i now house everything seperately now.. A few weeks ago i put 2 yearling corns together just for a few moments while i cleaned thier tubs and when i returned one had the other half way down! i was lucky though i pulled them apart and they are both ok now.

~ Mike

One guy I bought from said someone shipped him 2 balls in the same bag, when it arrived, it only had 1 plump snake. It happens, rarely, but it does happen.

-John

It can happen with just about anything, even ones not known to be cannibalistic, and for one reason or another. Just goes to further point out that other than for short introduction periods of breeding, they don't need to be kept together, yes even if your cage is big enough for two or however many you plan on putting together. Though many people out there may house things together all year round, and for their whole lives without incidents like this.

Havn't had a problem with it here other than with the cali kings during breeding, which we got out of the cali kings a year or just over a year ago now, even with keeping them fed on a good basis and amount, one female or another seemed to always get a tasty treat of a male, even if they were the same size!
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-Amelia
ES Tropicals

I know I shouldn't laugh,but I could only imagine the look when the box got opened.In a sick way,that was pretty funny-sorry.

Although it is not too common in Ball Pythons to begin with,
cannibalism seems to be more common in juvenile or young Ball Pythons. I have never heard of it with adults...but, I suppose it might be possible?
It's best to raise your juvenile snakes in individual cages.
And it is NOT a good idea to house mixed species in one cage.
Harlin Wall - WALL TO WALL REPTILES!

damn! i wonder has this happened before while trying to breed them? i would got bananas;-9

OH NO!!! MY PASTEL JUST ATE MY SPIDER!!!!! Gawd what a terrrible thought.

Quig
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Don't interupt me when I'm talkin' to myself

that is sooooo NOT right!! lol
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2.1 Albino BP
0.4 100% Het Albino
2.1 100% het Caramel Albino BP
1.0 100% Het Clown
1.0 50% het clown
2.12 Normal BP
0.0.2 Western Hognose
alot of cornsnakes
0.1.0 Dumeril Boa
3.6 Bearded Dragons
1.0.2 Sulcatta tortoise
3.3 Russian Tortoise
1.0 Cockatiel
0.1 Rottweiler
0.2 Boston Terriers
0.1 White Boxer
0.1 Paint Mare
bunch of geckos
0.1 Cat
0.1 Teenage daughter
1.0 Husband who puts up with all my critters.

But I've heard of it happening in boas. Some female boas can be pretty tempermental and almost territorial.

-John

Apparently, it appears that now Troy Smith is gone, it looks like your Wolverine female, got upset with all the trash talk and ate your Buckeye male. oh well, survival of the fittest. lol Go Blue! In all seriousness, I'm sorry to hear about a snake being eaten by another though. I have kept numerous ball pythons together of all sizes without this ever happening.

I thought you guys were joking , but with all the first hand experiences. I knew corns and kings had a tendency but had never heard of it in balls or boas.

Every day is a school day.
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Lead us not into temptation. We can find it on our own.

I would imagine that pheramones/hormones or whatever kick in when they are adults and that makes them want to make love not war but the thought did cross my mind when I put my 900 gram male with my 3000 gram female.

... the canniball, a rare recessive gene that forces the carrier to eat other bps. all mine are het for canniball.
joe

I always thought kingsnakes wee the only"cannibal"type.My brother use to run a petstore and one time while visiting him I happen to catch a glimpse of a ribbon swallowing another,I figured he thought it was a worm.Of course once we opened the tank he regurgitated the other snake,which happen to live-very odd.