Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I currently have two ball pythons, one of which is a mature male and is approx. 3.5 ft; the other one is a 1.5 years old male, and is about 2.5 ft. They currently live seperately, but I would like to move them into one cage. The cage they would be in is 3.5 x 1.5 ft, with proper heating and hide areas for both. I am wondering if it is acceptable to keep the two snakes together without risking one of them injuring the other. I feed them seperately on a biweekly basis, but I have heard that males do not live well together.

to never house two snakes together. While there are certainly advantages to housing seperately, I've never had a problem housing multiple balls together (although I've never housed two males together.) Before I would house two snakes together though, I would have both of them be established members of my collection before I would attempt this (feeding well and healthy in and out). I don't know if they would have any issues with each other (probably not), but maybe during breeding season. This could actually work to your advantage if you planned on breeding them though, since it is a method some breeders use to give them that competitive feeling. As for having seperate hides for them, I would bet they would both live in the same hide most of them time. If you do decide to do this, keep an eye on them initially to make sure they have no problems with each other. Good luck, Scott.
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Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

"In any civilized society, it is every citizen's responsibility to obey just laws.
But at the same time, it is every citizen's responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
—Martin Luther King Jr

Caging ball pythons together is one of those topics which gets raised every couple of weeks, so if you scan down the page(s) you’ll find a few discussions. Some of the comments are of the “What are you, an idiot?” or “You must NEVER do such a thing” variety. Others, however, will more helpfully run down the most common reasons given for why it is usually a better a idea to cage snakes separately.

In your particular case, the males would most likely engage in combat which could either injure one or both, or at the very least stress them both out. You can put them together and see what happens. But just because you don’t witness any aggressive behavior initially doesn’t mean it might not ensue later when you aren’t there to intervene. I think it is conceivable that two males raised together from a very young age might not display this behavior, but I’ve never tried it or heard of it being tried.

I do keep some long-term females together (with some spectacular results, if I do say so myself!), but it is not a practice I recommend to inexperienced keepers.

-Joan

>>In your particular case, the males would most likely engage in combat which could either injure one or both, or at the very least stress them both out.

Has anyone ever had an incident where two males put together did actually injure one another? (not just stress eachother out) I've read that they normally just try to intimidate the other and don't actually bite. Anyone had experiences to say this is wrong?
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Steve
2.0 Corn Snakes
2.0 Ball Pythons
0.1 Veiled Chameleon
1.1 Leopard Geckos
1.1 Rudis Chameleons
0.1 Giant Day Gecko
0.0.3 Red Ear Sliders
0.0.2 Sulcata Tortoises
1.0 Central American Banded Gecko

I think this refers to males during breeding times, males that haven't been housed with others for a long period of time, etc... And violence isn't the right term; subversive dominance is a better term... The main problem is a dominant male will stop a submissive one from EVER mating with a specific female, by merely pinning its head down.

Yes, the basic concept does involve intimidation and dominance, with ritualized movements where one male tries to top and throw another. I think it is fairly similar across many species, and it is a means for determining who gets mating rights without much if any injury resulting to the competing males. However, that is how it is supposed to work in the great outdoors.

In the confines of a typical cage, the animals may slam each other to the floor, against the walls, against hide containers and against water bowls. Biting has been observed in some species and some boids might utilize their spurs, as well. And because the “loser” can never exit the arena as he would in the wild, the more dominant animal must continue to try to best him over and over again. Different species may be more or less vigorous in this combat, as are individuals within species, but it most definitely can get violent and result in injury. The two times I have witnessed combat in ball pythons occurred when I unwittingly put two males together mistakenly thinking one was a female. If you enjoy attending dog fights, you might enjoy this. Otherwise, it is best to cage adult male pythons singly.

By the way, dominance can take other forms. I have seen pseudo-copulation between male snakes and courtship behavior directed by one female towards another. I certainly can’t say if the submissive individuals “liked” what was being done to them, but at least it wasn’t physically injurious (who knows what it did to their psyches!).

-Joan