Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Tonight im picking up another burmese python. Im in the process of ordering new vision cages for my snakes but was wondering if for a week or 2 would it be alright housing 2 male burms together? Both are around the same size one being 6' and the other 7'.

it should be allright as long as they have enough space there not canibals and i know people that keep 3-4 in the same cage.
CrazyCody

i would not put 2 burms together at all. i had 2 fight each other a year ago. they were both about 10 feet and i could barely get them apart. i will never make that mistake again.

` Putting snakes together is a balancing act. You've got to know the individuals very well.
` Putting unknown snakes together to save on more cages, or to get by until your new cages arrive, is really a mistake.
` Any animal that eats meat is a potential cannibal.
` I advise against the situation you describe.
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I've always discouraged keeping snakes together. Unless breeding, snakes should be housed separate. There are a number of reasons for this. Cannibalism is one but not all. If a snake becomes ill and is housed with others it makes treating the afliction much greater (usually).
I think the scenario you asked about will end peacefully though. Just going on the odds there.
Still it is an unwise practise. You should have been prepared prior to getting the snake. I'm sorry, I was lecturing.
I agree with dfr's post other than to add that even snakes that are 'known' are still snakes and thereby unpredictable. I have been bitten by the 'tamest' of them all and then unpacked a conda today and not so much as a hiss. The only point of this is that snakes are always unpredictable because they react on instinct and not reason. I don't ever think my conda will bite me but I'm still always watching.lol If you do house them together I wish you luck. I don't think you'll have any probs but I dont take thAt risk with mine
Arik

` "Known" refers more to health history than to behavior, in my jargon. If I don't know that history, and what animals it's been exposed to, I quarantine for 24 months.
` Boid snakes actually are quite predictable. Their behavior options are quite limited. Also, they are much more likely to bite a human, than another snake.
` Boids are smart enough to know that they are totally outclassed by a human. They also know that they are trapped, by YOU, especially when being handled, or having their habitat invaded. A bite to a human is usually a warning, since the snake can't tell you to get (&^%$#!) !@#$ed.
` Once you've established, to your satisfaction, the individual snake's level of aggression, it's not too hard to predict if it will attack another snake, with the proper husbandry, in non-feeding, non-mating situations.
` It's how you establish that which is the art.
` Unless you really know what you're doing, and have much experience doing it, mixing snakes is not caring for them properly.

` Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.
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A little off topic...I as well as many others house the most agressive boas I know of...ATB's together. They are the only snakes I would house together and when I took in that 7 ft retic...it was housed with a 13 ft burm and was bitten by it. Good luck.

I just wanted to emphasize that a snake can still suprise you with unexpected behavior sometimes. They are going on instinct I know but sometimes there are triggers that we (as humans) may not be aware of.
Arik

Very rarely can anyone not be in agreement with DFR and almost never on snake care...lets face it, the guy knows his stuff. Unless you tell me not to house my ATB's together DFR...your posts stay backed in my book, jk. Keep the burms separate.

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I know dfr is knowledgable about snakes but I still have alot of beliefs about them as well. I think dfr is mature enough to appreciate a differen't opinion.
I have kept A LOT of snakes in the past and, although this is my first time working with condas, a am not a novice. Saying that, I would like to add that in no way do I know even close to 'everything' and am always open to someone else's opinion.

Arik

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