Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 7 ft male albino burmese python and a 2.5 ft female burmese python. I just had a cage built that is 4x7x6
4 ft wide, 7 ft long, and 6 ft high. Can I put them both in the same cage? (together, sharing the same space)
thanks
Ra
TheSunGod

I would highly discourage keeping multiple burms together. If you house multiple burms together then you will have to seperate them to feed which means that you will have to handle them after they are done eating to put them back into there cage. Handling them after they eat can create stress and could lead to regurgitating of the meal. Also I have experienced some pretty good fights with my three burms when I used to house them together. After they all had fed and were returned to the cage One of the larger females either could smell the prey item through the skin or more likely on the skin of the other female and quickly lashed out. Let me tell you reaching into a cage to disengage two eight foot snakes is not fun. I now and will always in the future always house the snakes seperately except for breeding purposes. Hope this helps, Todd

I've kept 2 snakes in a cage for some time now careful to seperate them when feeding. However just yesterday I lost my 9ft. female labrynth to an oversight on my part. After placing the female in a seperate feeding cage over night I placed her back in the main enclosure w/ my 10 1/2 ft. reg. male. She had to smell like rats as he ate her a few hrs. later. He didn't grab her initially so I thaught nothing of it. however last night when I returned home no labrynth. Needless to say any slight oversight can be a problem. I usually wash them off before any reuniting but I was in a hurry to see a friend of mine's striped rock python. I will house multiple snakes together, as I have a pr. of female boa together, just keep to the rules you make one mistake as w/ anything can be costly. I'm sad b/c she was given to me & she lost her life b/c I skipped my normal routine.

That is so sad. I'm really sorry to hear that. I have to say you certainly have experienced something here that is very rare. All through the 80's and before that, half of the 70's I housed numerous burmese together and never experienced anything even remotely similar to this. Truly unfortunate. You have my sympathies. Try to not blame yourself too much though,.. this just doesn't happen very often. In fact, this is the first firsthand account I have heard of in 28 years.

>>I've kept 2 snakes in a cage for some time now careful to seperate them when feeding. However just yesterday I lost my 9ft. female labrynth to an oversight on my part. After placing the female in a seperate feeding cage over night I placed her back in the main enclosure w/ my 10 1/2 ft. reg. male. She had to smell like rats as he ate her a few hrs. later. He didn't grab her initially so I thaught nothing of it. however last night when I returned home no labrynth. Needless to say any slight oversight can be a problem. I usually wash them off before any reuniting but I was in a hurry to see a friend of mine's striped rock python. I will house multiple snakes together, as I have a pr. of female boa together, just keep to the rules you make one mistake as w/ anything can be costly. I'm sad b/c she was given to me & she lost her life b/c I skipped my normal routine.
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Human "progress" equates to nature's demise.

At the risk of sounding harsh, we all know to avoid keeping them together outside of breeding season so its not an oversight. Im surprised the lab was eaten but Im not surprised it was killed.
I just don't get why you (people in general) can't give each of your burms its own house? Is the risk _really_ worth it?
To those of you considering housing burms together 24/7/365, pay attention to this and dont do it.

(banging head on the wall at such an elementary mistake)

I have two Burms in one cage -- an 11 foot male and a 14 foot female. I have never had any real problems, but I readily admit that this is not the ideal arrangement by any means. I do separate them when feeding, and I have had some scary moments. They tend to sense when they are about to be fed, even though the rabbits are never in the room when I am separating them. I have had both snakes go in a feeding frenzy while trying to separate them, and fending off the big female while trying to remove the smaller male has led to some interesting incidents. Several times I have simply just had to back off and leave the room and let them realize it's not feeding time yet. When I'm finished feeding them, I usually leave the male in his feeding box for several hours, at least 12 hours or more if possible. By that time he's calm enough to remove, and the female has calmed as well. So far, I've never had the snakes fight, and I've never been bitten in this process (although I have been struck at numerous times). That being said, my wife and I just moved, and we are building a new home for my snakes at the new house. When it is finished (which should be in a few days), the snakes will be separated. Though it may sound hypocritical (and I guess it sort of is), it's not something you should do if you can help it. I've been doing it for over 3 years now, and I haven't had an accident. But I've been lucky, and my luck will one day run out. Hopefully, this arrangement will change this week and my snakes will have their own enclosures. And I don't plan on housing two big snakes in the same cage again. As I have learned, it's just too risky -- for you and the snakes.

RP