Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have just puchased an albino het snow female and a dh sunglow male that are one and a half and two years old. i plan on breeding them when she is ready. the man that sold them to me had them in the same encloser. I have heard different things on whether or not this is ok... i built a multi-level terrarium for them... but if it was ok to keep them together i could use the extra level for something else... thanks for any feedback.

I've had boas since 1974 and have often housed boas together, even breed them as colonies. The only problems are at feeding times. Feed seperate and mist them down before returning them to their cage. Some times up and coming males will combat. 2 and 3 yr olds new to the breed game. The important thing is to know your boas well. Try to understand what's important to them. If they are happy snakes you will be rewarded in seeing them comfortbly cuddled together

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Jason Gonzalez

Feeding response. You have got to know your boas. Had the they just been feed and still smelled of food or were they they that hungry that they triggered off a movement. That's not the norm. How many times have you seen a whole tank full of babies at a show.

it's not the norm, but it's possible, and why chance it with the snakes you love??
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Caden Chapman
slithering.serpents@gmail.com
http://slitheringserpents.com

To each his own. I'm finding most people seek opinions only to validate their own. They generally ignore good advice when given.
Lessons are always better learned the hard way. By that, I mean by first hand experience. Seems to sink in and be retained to a greater degree, that way.
I do not recommend keeping 2 snakes in the same container for the most part.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

I agree. Both as to why they ask and to keeping them seperate. I'm just saying it is and can be done.

Yes. We've all done it.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

thanks, it's just that they ARE very cuddley and I thought, in this new environment, it might be stressful for them to be seperated if they had been together for quit a while. good to know about misting them down after feeding for the smell....
i'm still undecided, though. i actually listen to good advice.... i just need more of it

I think you might be overesitmating their intelligence. Their brains are very simple and don't have the ablity for emotion.

They are not being "cuddly". Their being near each other means nothing.

In the wild, boas will only come near each other if they are breeding. They are solitary animals and do not need or want the companionship of other boas.

So, they will not be "lonely" if you separate them. In fact, if one might have been stressed at the proximity of the other, they will do better if separated. They may have been "cuddly" because both wanted the same basking/heat spot, and so were just trying to thermoregulate.

I see this question a lot - and the risks of keeping snakes together, where feeding response accidents can happen at any time (even if it doesn't happen, the risk IS there, no matter how long snakes have resided with each other). They're not smart. They're not chummy. So, I am scared of having one snake mistakenly attack the other.

Besides that, if one snake is sick, or gets sick, the other will also as well (if it is a transmittable disease or parasite). You also won't be able to keep track of which one pooped/released urates when. This can be important if one develops a problem (constipation or diarrhea due to various problems).

But yes, you can keep them together. Lots of people have done so. But you accept the risk and associated husbandry difficulties then. It's up to you.
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Lauren Madar - OphidiaGems.com | CageMakers
1.1 Ball Python, 1.0 Hog Island Boa, 1.1 Hypo BCI, 1.1 Surinam BCC, 1.1 Saharan Sand Boa

Cuddling may just be the dominant one on top if the submissive one, or the dominant one hogging the optimum spot, as previously mentioned.
One snake WILL be dominant and one snake WILL be submissive when placed together. Trust me.
The submissive one WILL be stressed to some degree. Trust me.
All things being equal, performance is directly related to the relative degree of stress in any given snake. Trust me.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

thanks... this is the advice i was looking for. looking at it this way, the negatives outweigh the positives.... i think i'll separate them.

This isn't quite about boas, but...

I do know that sometimes ball pythons that have been housed together for the vast majority of their life can BECOME stressed and go off feed when separated. This knowledge played a part in my decision to keep an adult pair of rescues in the same cage after they came to me, and I haven't noticed any ill effects. They're the only pair I house together, as I in general believe that snakes are better kept separate, but I also believe that there are exceptions to the rule. Also, I believe it also used to be much more common that keepers would house snakes together, with few tragedies.
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-Jaime Palma
Mad-City Constrictors

Boas are solitary creatures, and when you see them laying all over each other sometimes they are competing for the same temperature spot, not cuddling. It can stress them out more to be together. I have housed boas together. I have seen two females shove each other over a humidity bin. There can be fights. You can't tell who did what. It's impossible to keep records straight. And you chance cannibalism. Do you need more reasons?
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Caden Chapman
slithering.serpents@gmail.com
http://slitheringserpents.com

I think I pretty much agree to some extent with everyone's opinion... I keep all my snakes separate myself, just to accurately keep an eye on health issues and avoid possible cannibalism (Not common, but entirely possible!). Even though each snake has it's own enclosure in my collection, I do put my males in with females for the duration of the breeding 'season' and have very briefly kept litters housed together until their new enclosures are prepared. Of course you may want to look at your options this way: Not only for the snakes well-being and because you may care for it, but you've spent a great deal of money on them and to some people this is more than enough reason to house them separately if you worry about possible risks and losses.
As for the Snakes that have been housed with other snakes their entire lives, it may be mildly stressful for them to be suddenly alone (Did something eat my cagemate?), as it would be to add a snake with one who has not ever been with another (Hey, who's this bully?), and I would recommend something to give them comfort either way. A nice hide perhaps? Also, some snakes like smaller enclosures and hides because of feeling insecure in large spaces, while some are curious and outgoing and enjoy the wider spaces when not resting. As someone else said, they are very individual in their likes and needs, even if they don't have a lot of smarts or emotions! Keep in mind though, it is true that even with a lot of space and extra hides and basking areas... a dominant snake can and will choose wherever it wants to go whenever it wants to, regardless of whether the other snake was there first, forcing the submissive one to relocate at times. I think I went over the same basic things everyone else did... kind of mashed it up for ya' to make it hard to understand!
Back to the beginning again ;p I only house mine this way for the reason that there is less risk. I even worry that my hungry, 'smashing face into glass doors when I walk by' females will eat my males! LOL! They are just very aggressive feeders and any motion seems to set them off, I always hope my males don't make any suggestive movements, other than the ones that make babies! ;p
I'm so paranoid I even have this 'cycle' that I go through when I clean/feed. When I feed, I take the pairs out and put them in my holding rack separately, where they are fed. Then as they are eating I clean the cages completely out and spray a bit of mite-killer (as a preventative measure, I do it every month). After the cages are aired out and set-up and the snakes have eaten, I mist each snake down with water to remove traces of 'food' smell before reintroducing them to their cages, as another person does who posted above. Think of it as a wake-up call! After misting, all thought of food seems to disintegrate for mine! LOL! In other cases, if the enclosure is clean, I will feed single animals in their cages, I never used to because of the hand-food association, but now I can hook them out anyway when not feeding and time is always an issue. Once they know they are not being fed, they are great to handle for me. I think I've said everything that comes to mind, certainly a lot at any rate! ;p
Lots to think about for you! Good luck!
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Steph S.
Boas...
1.1 Albino boas (Loki & Hope)
1.4 07 Het. albino boas (Petty & Lady,Sierra,Madeline,Lola)
0.1 Reverse stripe poss. het albino (Cookie)
0.1 Salmon/hypo (Scarlet)
0.1 Anery poss. het snow (Missy)
1.0 Anery (Reno)
0.1 DH Sunglow (Bonnie)
1.0 Het. Anery (Guy)
0.3 Normals (Ophelia, Sasha, & Lulu)
1.1 Surinames (Solomon & Surreal)
1.2 Hogg Isles (Mr.Orange & Peaches, Apricot)
0.0.1 Central American (Sassy)
0.1 Emerald Tree boa (Jade)
1.0 ATB (Satan... seriously!)
Pythons...
2.1 GTPs (B., Monty & Jewel)
0.0.3 BPs (MJ, Precious, Houdini)
1.1 Carpet Pythons (Jackson & Charlotte)
0.1 Blood python (Akaia)
Misc.
1.1 Mandarin Ratsnakes (Jack & Jill)
1.0 Boxer/Pitt Mutt (Tyson)