Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have never posted here before, I usually stay with the burmese section. I have an affinity for all snakes and would like to increase my collection to include ball pythons. I hope someone can answer a questions for me. Can balls be community snakes? In other words, can I house 2-3 snakes in one cage (provided the cage is large enough - which it is) without them killing each other (feeding will obviousily be done separate)? Thank you for your help in advance to this question.

sincerely,

Marco
Stuck in Utah

Don't know that'd kill each other....well, maybe indirectly. Snakes aren't social. Housing together can cause feeding problems and stress leading to illness, disease transmission, etc. While there are some ways to tell if a snake is stressed it may not always be obvious - at least not right off.

My personal feeling is that it's just not worth their health and possibly transmitting disease and losing them both. I wouldn't risk it - I know some have had success with it. Not sure why you'd want to house them together, but if it's because you can't afford 2 setups then you can't necessarily afford the cost of 2 big vet bills. If it's a space issue, look into stackable cages - you can put more snakes in a smaller space. I know some have made it work, but again my personal opinion is it's not worth it. Besides, I love planning/decorating cages - so getting a second cage is just an excuse to have some more fun!
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The answer is yes. I've known a few people who have housed this species communally. However, I do not recommend the practice if you intend on breeding your snakes. This does not mean they cannot be produced in such a setting. However, I would expect greater breeding successes on average otherwise. For example, a cousin of mine kept a pair of balls together for several years. I probed them and discovered that they were a sexual pair and decided to try and breed them. The female was certainly large enough to produce during the years that the pair was kept together, and the animals were inadvertently cycled each winter as the temperatures dropped. This pair produced babies for 3 seasons afterward. I simply separated them starting early Fall, fed the female heavily for 2-3 months, and introduced them early winter.

I have had success with housing my two males together. I had to do it once while I was between houses (escrow closed on the house I was selling two weeks before escrow closed on the house I was buying!) and had to crash at a friend's house. They survived. I had them apart for a while, then together for a few months, then apart again when I had a big enough cage for the smaller one.

THEN came the San Diego wildfires last October/November. I piled both boys into one cage and got the H-E-Double-L out. Once we were let back in, I didn't have the energy to re-do the setup (I had mis-placed one of the lids in my rush to evac). So.... the boys got put into the big tank together. They've been doing fine ever since, eating nicely and behaving.

The important thing is HUSBANDRY. I have to be extra vigilant about keeping after the cage to make sure that there's no poopy about. I also make sure to feed them separately - I have heard too many horror stories about two snakes trying to eat the same mouse and having one eat the other!

One thing I wish I hadn't done in the wildfires is house all my rats together. I had 1 male and 4 females and was only planning on one pregnancy for the next couple of months. A few weeks later, guess what I had? A GOZILLION little baby rats! Note to self: When evacuating, KEEP SEXES SEPARATE!