Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am inheriting two balls from a friend who has decided to disperse his snake collection and move into keeping lizards.

Monty is, I believe, female and about 4-5 years old. Apparently she is on a fast at the moment, which is a slight concern - is this likely to be related to breeding behaviour, possibly because she is housed with Siphon, who is a male approximately 1 year old who apparently has no feeding troubles.

I am inheriting their current vivarium set-up to start with, but I am conscious they will need to be housed separately before Siphon reaches sexual maturity. Is it possible his presence at this time of year is the cause of Monty's fast? (which has been going on since January I believe). Monty is a healthy snake who, last time I saw her had a good body weight so I am sure there is no immediate worry.

I will be collecting much more information tonight about both of them and their habits when my friend brings them round - but I would welcome any initial comments on Monty's fast or the issue of housing them together.

It's a distinct possibility that Siphon is causing Monty's fast. She may be uncomfortable with a second snake around. It would probably be best in the long run if these guys were separated for good.

Congratulations on your new snakes!

It's possible that the second snake is causing the fast, but bp's will sometimes just decide not to eat. I have a juvenile male that will eat fine and then want nothing to do with foo for a week or two. I would be too worried about it as long as she looks healthy. Hope this helps.