Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it possible to house two small boas in the same tank?

I have a yearling boa, and a decent sized tank (36x18 maybe)

Right now i have a male, but is it possible to house two males together or would they kill each other? Or would it be better to house a male and female (if they are young)

thanks!
SarahJane

Housing them together is something that ultimately will be up to you. You need to research all the risks involved and then decide if it's worth it to you to take the risk. The species you wish to house together is important. Such as if you was to keep two Getula Sp.(kingsnakes) Together you can pretty much bank on it that eventually one will end up consuming the other. Boa's on the other hand are much less likely to attempt feeding on one another especially if close to the same size and fed well. You also must seperate them when you feed them or they may both start feeding at opposite ends of the same rodent and not stop till they reach the end of the others tail. Another risk is that if one ends up sick for some reason the other most likely will be as well. Another problem is monitoring fecal movements, you won't know who's is who's or even if one is at all.

As for if they will just viciously attack one another and wanna kill one another. Very, very unlikely.

Sweet, thank you for the info! And how often are they supposed to have fecal movements? so far my boa (i have only had this one for a few weeks) but he has eaten three times but had two very small movements. it seems that what goes in in no way equals what comes out, but i suppose they absorb most of those nutrients..

Exactly... Small snakes can grow fast and to be able to grow they do have to absorb alot of the nutrients. Some people will tell you that they should have one movement per feeding but I personally have never had a snake that regular. From my experience it's more like one movement per two feedings. I start getting concerned if it goes three feedings then I will soak them to try to fascilitate a movement. Also this isn't gospel for every species. A small snake that feeds on insects, larvas or worms will digest much quicker and with them I've noticed they generally have on average one movement per feeding.

On a personal note. I personally don't use the wood chip beddings. I like using newspaper for several reasons and one is that it's very easy to monitor fecal movements.

Regarding the question of BMs in the lower posts - boas are different in that regard to colubrids. Boas do not pass fecal matter for quite some time, then pass a large amount. Smaller, more active snakes typically pass fecal matter more often.

As for housing together, it is more of an issue with cleaning the cage, feeding, etc. If you feed them in a separate container, that will help prevent one boa from trying to grab the other boa's meal. If one boa makes a mess, you'll likely have to disturb both boas to clean the cage. These issues are more the reason to consider housing them separately. But yes, you can keep them together.

Screen top cages are poor because they let all the humidity out. So if using a screen top tank, cover the top, or most of it. Honestly, a plastic sweater box may be a better choice for humidity-sensitive snakes like boas.
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Mark