check out our collection

[Sheldon & Tori]

this is our collection. if you look close there are three snakes all curled up together. a 39" male red-tail, a 26" female red-tail, and a 22" royal python. let me know what you think!

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=15017&password=&sort=1&cat=3097&page=1

[BoidKeeper]

In my opinion, which I'm basing on things I've read and things that I know large breeders do, I feel that snakes should never be housed together. Here are some points that I keep in mind and reasons why I do not house snakes together.
1. The presence of another animal in their space represents competition, competition leads to stress.
2. Stress leads to loss of appetite and or disease.
3. If one sick gets sick they can both get sick.
4. How do you know who is defecating and who is not?
5. Snakes are not social animals so although captivity its self is not natural forcing two animals to live together is even more unnatural.
Now keeping two different species together can open up a whole new can of worms. Different species can be more susceptible to different diseases. Also they can differ in heat and humidity requirements. Ball Pythons and Boas come from two different continents
Cheers,
Trevor

[Sheldon & Tori]

Thnx for your input trevor but i can (as of right now) prove 1-4 wrong (only because the snakes are so small). I haven't had any competition as of yet (when I took that picture I had just lifted up the hiding spot and found them like that) so, like I said, no competition as of yet. As for the loss of appetite there definately hasn't been a problem there! All three of them are eation like pigs! The sickness part I haven't run into as of yet. The three of them have been living together for over a month now and not even mites have appeared. The defecating part is simple. When you have three snakes that are a foot apart from each other (male boa --> female boa --> female royal) it's quite simple to distinguish between who's feces is who's. As far as the last one goes, other than sleeping these three seem to have no trouble at all finding their own space in my cage (6'x2'x2.5') Now as far as boa's and royal's being from different continents, all the research I've done has concluded that they both require the same temp as well as humidity (well actually the humidity is 5% different). I'm not trying to prove what you've said as being wrong, I'm just saying as far as research that I've done goes, these three are ok together for right now. I will be moving them to different cages as soon as I can afford the supplies to build them.

[Jezabel]

Great post BoidKeeper.

Sheldon & Tori How a few search on the internet and a month of keeping them together can beat years and years of experiece from some keeper. Great if you had no problem since then but better be safe then sorry. And if your doing this cause you can't afford the supplies to build cages, you doing this for the worst reason I think. If one get sick and the 2 other caught it, it'll be 3 time the price at the vet, will you be able to afford it? At least, separate the ball from the boas.

[BoidKeeper]

Did you know that in the 80's when boas where being imported in large numbers the first thing the importer would do with the shipment is toss in a Ball python? The reason being that if the boas had IBD it would kill the ball faster then a bullet. Does that tell you anything? If you are keeping three snakes together, one of which is not even the same species you have a lot to learn about husbandry practices and herps in genral. Each snake deserves it's own cage and if can't/won't give it to them or believe they don't need it then you are keeping snakes for selfish reasons and probaly shouldn't have any herps. Anyone who has more snakes then cages is hording animals.
Trevor

[brig]

First off, I'll say that I don't have experience with Ball Pythons, but I do agree with Jezabel about not keeping different species together - I don't know where you animals came from, and I can't tell from your post if you've only had them a month, or if you've had them longer, but they've only been in the enclosure together a month, but by all the research I've ever done, a month is not sufficient quarantine period for some of the very nasty diseases when can affect both boas and pythons.

In fact, I've read a ton of information on IBD (Inclusion Body Disease), which kills boas AND pythons, but pythons succumb much more quickly. Because of this, it is said that people have 'used' a 'cheap' ball python in a suspect 'expensive' boa cage to see if it dies of the disease, to confirm the boa carries it!!! Not nice, IMO, but this is what I've read! (I can find references if required).

Anyway, the other thing I wanted to say was to do with the animals curling up together. I used to keep two cornsnakes together, and always thought it was nice that they seemed to like to share the same space - they always looked very cosy and content. They never had any eating/defecating problems, and eventually we separated them only because they became 'interested' in each other and the female wasn't large enough to breed (we were a bit naive then - they were our first snakes).
To our amazement, they both thrived far better separately, grew faster for the same amount of food, (in fact, arguably a bit too much!!! LOL), and were just generally better all round.
If I hadn't seen it myself, I would not necessarily believe it. The thing about stress is that it can manifest in many ways, and over a long period of time. Not just the immediate 'my snake won't eat' type of stress.
And the fact that all your animals are going for the same hide spot IS itself competition, to my mind. They are unlikely to want to be with each other, so what's left is that they all want to be in the same optimum spot.

All in all, I think that you'll probably be ok in the short term (and I personally like the fact that your enclosure is so large), and if you really are planning on building new ones, then you seem to be doing the right thing... I just wouldn't leave them as they are for long.

As Jezabel said, better safe than sorry.

Sorry for the lenth of this... once I get started, ya know...

Briggy.

[brig]

LOL!!! Boidkeeper, we seem to have posted the same thing at the same time... sorry,

Briggy

[Linds]

In addition to what everyone else has said, same requirements or not... they are still from different geographic areas meangint they all carry their own host specific bacteria which is harmful to those that do not carry it.
I wouldn't be so sure you can distinguish the feces based on size of snake, what is the largest snake is not defecating as healthy as it should be and only a small amount is excreted? Also size brings yet another point, any animals (same species only) that do end up housed together should be relatively the same size.
Snakes that are curled up together may still not be comfortable with eachother, it may be a sign of either dominance or heat conservation.
It really isn't in anyone's best interest to mix species like that. And even still, is it worth risking the well-being of your animals to prove what has been proven right to be wrong?

[Zoe]

Yeah, I would definitely not keep a ball python with a boa constrictor.
Keeping two boas together is one thing, but ball pythons are a whole different species, family and genus! Not even close. Not to mention, that they don't have exactly the same requirements. Even if their temps and humidity are fairly close, boas in my experience do better with a big cage with lots of roaming room, and ball pythons tend to like cages tight with rocks, branches, etc. Obviously this isn't always true, but it still isn't a good idea to keep them together. Also, ball pythons are shy creatures whereas BCIs tend to be less so. Not a good mix.

Instead of having one HUGE cage, why not just have two appropriately sized cages to meet each of the snake's requirement? You could keep the boas together for now (it's always better to seperate) but keeping different species apart is just common sense.

[boa]

WOW it's people like you that should not own snakes 3 snakes together ball python with boas wow you should have them housed alone also you should have cared more about those snakes hope you get you s*** together.

[Zoe]

I wouldn't be so sure you can distinguish the feces based on size of snake, what is the largest snake is not defecating as healthy as it should be and only a small amount is excreted? Good point... my 5'8 irian jaya carpet python has smaller defecations slightly more frequently, but my 5'2 male of the same species has huge ones but less frequently. If I kept them together, I wouldn't know what the heck was going on. They both have the same care, but the small one likes to stay where it's warmest so he digests sooner.

[sara]

Since your enclosure is so large you could easily install temporary dividers, if you have any questions about how to do it i'm sure someone on the site could help you out.
Think of it this way; you will have to provide more space for them as they grow anyway so why not just get it over with and buy/make 2 extra cages for them now? It really would be better for your animals, and you can cross something off your to-do list at the same time.:p

[Vanan]

I know I don't normally post here but just had a couple of questions for Linds and Zoe.

Linds,
Snakes that are curled up together may still not be comfortable with eachother, it may be a sign of either dominance
Never heard of that before. Are you referring to males during sexual combat rituals? The only snakes I know to exhibit dominance amongst each other are King cobras.

Zoe,
but ball pythons are a whole different species, family and genus
last I heard, there was only one family grouping boas and bp's. Don't mean to be rude or anything but just thought I'd clarify if it's an honest mistake which went unnoticed.

BTW, Sheldon & Tori, do your snakes and the hobby a favour and take the advice of these people. You and your snakes will be thankful for it in the future. :)

[foman]

From the posts i have red of yours it seems to me you are doing what is best for you, not what is best for your snakes. Seperate the ball and get your male boa on rats asap. A 3 foot boa should eat rats not mice. Go buy yourself a rubbermaid for the ball python they are super cheap and easy to set up. You could even go that route with the boas as well. You have some beautiful snakes and they deserve the best.

[Zoe]

last I heard, there was only one family grouping boas and bp's. Don't mean to be rude or anything but just thought I'd clarify if it's an honest mistake which went unnoticed.

Maybe, but doesn't it work this way?:
Pythonidae Morelia Spilota Variegata
(Family Genus Species Subspecies)
vs
Boidae Boa Constrictor Imperator
(Family Genus Species Subspecies)

Or is Pythonidae (the family) just a subfamily of boidae?

At least that's the way I learned it in bio :P If I'm wrong, I'd love to be corrected!

Zoe

[Vanan]

I'm sure Boidae is the only valid family. Pythoninae is used as a subfamily I believe. :) Is your bio tutor current in his taxonomy? Damn things are always changing!

[Solid Snake]

i didnt read the replys on the top but, why the heck are u putting 3 snakes in the same cage? they're not even the same snakes.

looks like theres someone who's too cheap and selfish...

[SDSnakes]

ok, i'll be the first to admit that their husbandry habits aren't
the best, but STOP THE FLAMMING!!! damn, how bout you help
them out and dont just tell them what they're doing wrong.
Im not saying everyone who replied flamed them. We dont want this to end like "the other" big snake site.

[AnniesMom]

I would have to agree with most of the people here, they should be seperated. My BP has always had her own cage, but the two boas I bought were housed together at their old home and here as well. Now I have 2 boas with mouth rot and twice the stress on them of having to gove oral antibiotics every other day. Had I kept them in seperate cages from when I brought them home, this may not have happened :( I'm sorry that my ignorance in thinking that housing them together was ok has caused them this stress and illness. Because of this site, though, I decided to biuld seperate cages instead of the original one giant cage for them. Thank you sSnakess.com :)

[Solid Snake]

Originally posted by SDSnakes
ok, i'll be the first to admit that their husbandry habits aren't
the best, but STOP THE FLAMMING!!! damn, how bout you help
them out and dont just tell them what they're doing wrong.
Im not saying everyone who replied flamed them. We dont want this to end like "the other" big snake site.

telling people not to flame isnt helping out either, u've got people flaming and helping from the start of the thread, its not like this post which is on the 2nd page is gonna help...

[chas*e]

I (would)keep hibernating venomous species together and some same species together if the enclosure is big enough...but never unlike species.....ideally one should house a snake alone, better for it's immune system,(stress related health problems)

[Jezabel]

Well, flaming? Not quite. People do get a bit more rude when someone takes the time to right a nice post full of good advice and the other reply that because she had try this for a month, it's fine and the advice is wrong. When you just whan you hear what you want, you might expect that people will not stay so polite.

Then, I just read your other post: i'm also working on getting my small boa and my baby royal python on rats but they are being a bit stubborn.
hey everyone, i got my first boa as a rescue. now, i know most red-tails should be approx. 4ft after one year. mine is 3'3" but i don't know if his growth may have been stunted. is there any way to tell?

So, you place a rescue boa with other snakes without quarantine? I hope it's another boa. They are stubborn feeder and you still house them together? Here you say As for the loss of appetite there definately hasn't been a problem there! All three of them are eation like pigs!

You seem like you try to convince yourself it's ok to keep them together.

[Dave G]

I'm sorry if you thought how you were housing these animals was ok, and that housing those species together is just a minor variation of how individuals keep their snakes. But is not. Actually its a Big NO NO.

I know, I know, if you read the care sheets they tell you the general temp and humidity is approximately the same, but there is so, so much more involved here. Lets look at environmental conditions first.

Lets say a care sheet says 65% humidity. How is that humidity created? If it is not ambiant humidity and you are accomplishing that by having wet shavings/environment..the boas will tolerate it for a while but the ball will develop a scarring/skin blistering condition in no time. OUCH!

Now about stress:
I think it was Linds who posted about host specific bacteria, that seems logical enough and i cannot expand on it. However I do know that both species pictured carry some of the the same bacteria all the time (ex. pseudomonas and aeromonas) both species have different levels of immunity to these nasties responsible for respiratory infections, therfore the longer you contain the two species together the more you are exposing the less tolerant animal to higher concentrations. That itself is Stress to the less tolerant animal's immune system. Despite what you see now, you won't realize they are stessed by each other until you observe their behavior after they are separated.

Even if right now you don't believe trevor about the stress, try it..the difference will be night and day.

I know you guys work in a pet store and all..and alot of people come in asking questions, and to them, you guys know "alot" but that does not negate the fact that there are some people here with years and years and years of experience.
Some people are giving you the correct information based on general concensus of what people have told them, and others, are giving you correct information because its first hand.. either way; the general concensus is.... They need to be separated. I hope you don't push the envelope by delaying the neccesity of individual housing any longer.

Oh and People.. it would seem to me the last ones who we should drive away with flame.. shouldn't be the first ones the general public come in contact with.. it only serves to perpetuate the problem. Someone had a slogan below there avatar once.. forget who it was now...said something like "education is key?"..that seemed to make sense.

[Zoe]

Great post Dave!

ok, i'll be the first to admit that their husbandry habits aren't
the best, but STOP THE FLAMMING!!! damn, how bout you help
them out and dont just tell them what they're doing wrong.
Im not saying everyone who replied flamed them. We dont want this to end like "the other" big snake site.
I looked over the post, and pretty much everyone was polite and helpful about it. Other than one person who was just rude, everyone gave explanations in hopes to encourage the person to separate their snakes... I didn't see much flaming.

Zoe

[Zoe]

Oh! I've just noticed your post on your BP not eating and you having to forcefeed it... have you not paused to consider the fact that living with two BOAS may have put the ball python off food?

[JeffT]

Im really surprised you would do that. I mean did you read caresheets or anything prior to buying the snakes? Are you too cheap to provide them each their own cage? You shouldnt even house snakes that size together unless its for breeding. I mean even rubbermaids will be good, at like $8 a piece!!!!
Ugh

[foman]

Hey Sheldon & Tori it may seem like people are being rude or harsh but these people like myself want the best for all snakes. People on this site care a great deal about the health and enviroment of these awesome creatures we have been lucky enough to aquire and keep as our pets. If you take the advise of these people your snakes will do much better and you will feel much better about yourself knowing you have provided the proper set up for your snakes.
You are more than welcome on this site and I hope you find alot of info on here that will help you keep your snakes in prime shape. Good luck and hope you post some pics of your snakes in their new homes soon.
Here are some things that will help get your rubbermaid going until you build your new cages- human heatpad or one from the pet store, two hides(one on the cool end and one on the warm side),digital thermometre(15$ at walmart)and some sort of substrate(newspaper,aspen). All the above will cost about 40-50 bucks.

[BoidKeeper]

Great post Dave! Thanks for taking the time to go further then I did with your explanantions, I'm sure it helped.
Cheers,
Trevor

[Linds]

Dave,
Excellent post! :thumbsup:

Originally posted by Vanan
ILinds,

Never heard of that before. Are you referring to males during sexual combat rituals? The only snakes I know to exhibit dominance amongst each other are King cobras.


No I didn't mean combat. Perhaps I could've worded it better. More in the way of bullying. Bigger snake ends up intimidating the other one causing behavioural problems such as failure to feed or aggression.>(

[daver676]

Such beautiful snakes too.......too bad......

[maiden_canada]

why don't you just stop argueing and separate them, everyone who told you to seperate them is right, it doesnt even cost 30bucks for 3rubbermaids for them.

[C.m.pyrrhus]

Everyone has pretty much got the point across. I feel it should have been looked into more before the snakes were aquired. Plainly not enough information was looked into and/or worked on.

I keep one pair of boas together, other that that all my snakes are seperated. At the moment I have many snakes brumating, which some are sharing containers such as my cerberus and atrox. Other than that, it is a good idea to keep snakes seperated even when they are the same species. If you have enough room, it is OK to keep smae species caged together.

Another point I want to make is that you should have not aquired these snakes UNTIL you hade proper caging for each of them. I also feel more reseach is needed on your half to ensure better husbandry of these snakes.

[BoidKeeper]

forget who it was now...said something like "education is key?"..that seemed to make sense.
I some how missed that part Dave. I've got another saying for you. "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink."
Trevor

[LadyHawke]

i ended up taking in a 5 1/2 ft boa and a 3 ft ball that were housed together, i couldnt believe it, they had told me that the ball would go off food every few months, they had him for at least 2 yrs and they associated that with the typical ball appetite, when i got them home i placed them in seperate homes, i have had the ball for over a year now and he has never missed a meal, its quite obvious he was stressed, by his refusal of food was the only way he could say so.

[Sheldon & Tori]

i just want to thank everyone for their opinion. i just want you all to know that the only reason they are together was because i couldn't house them seperately at the time. i had all three checked for diseases before i put all three together and was told that for a short period of time they would be ok together. i also want everyone to know that i will be building my ball a seperate cage as of tomorrow (sunday). i didn't have enough money at the time but now that i got my big paycheque from work i can now afford the supplies and they will be separated tomorrow. thnx again everyone for your input. also, working at a pet store i do know the husbandry of these snakes and that's why i took every precaution before combining these three. sorry if i made it seem like i didn't know what i was doing, but like i said earlier, i had them checked out by a breeder and was told that for a short time they would be fine together.

[Zoe]

Glad to hear that you are seperating your snakes... I know that when people first start out with herps, they don't always do the right thing. Noobs make lots of mistakes, the key is learning from them before your animals get hurt.

Just a few words of advice:
- If you can't afford to house two animals seperately, don't get them.

working at a pet store i do know the husbandry of these snakes I hate to break it to ya, but I've been to a lot of petstores and very rarely do the employees know what they are doing. I've seen ball pythons kept on sand, which is just a bit worse than keeping them with two boas. If you knew the husbandry of the snakes well enough, they wouldn't have been kept together, with no hideboxes, and you wouldn't have been forcefeeding a ball python with decent weight (also, ideally, the snake would never have gone off feed).

Just a few things to keep in mind... just because you work in a petstore, it doesn't mean you know everything. Doesn't mean you can't learn, of course. Now that you're a member of this site, you'll probably become 10x as herp smart as the smartest employee at your petstore ;)

Zoe

[Sheldon & Tori]

i don't know where you got the idea that i force fed my royal but i do know better than that. force feeding should be a very very last resort. and the longest my ball was off of food was 10 days. i know i don't know everything but like i said, i was only housing them together for a short period of time and i was told, by a breeder, that they would be ok for a month or two. which by the way has only been 3wks to a month.

[Zoe]

Oop! that was my fault, i was a little sidetracked and thought of someone else :P

Zoe

[Sheldon & Tori]

no problem, i was just a little confused as to where that came from

[hip]

Here is an easy method I use before I purchase any new Boa's I will buy or build new caging (one more than the actual number of animals bought, 2 Boa's = 3 setups) I run test them for a two week period to set up the heat and humidty, Once the "kids" are home they are in the proper enviroment from the start and only a bit of fine tuning is required to each set up to get the numbers right in repsect to each Boa's preferred ranges.



Hip

[Invictus]

Originally posted by Sheldon & Tori
also, working at a pet store i do know the husbandry of these snakes and that's why i took every precaution before combining these three.

I'm sorry, but working at a pet store means exactly squat. You do not know the proper husbandry of these snakes, or you would not have mixed species in the same enclosure. Sometimes it is ok to hosue boas together for short periods of time, yes. Many people do it, and the boas don't seem to suffer any long-term negative effects from it. But if you did your research, or if you knew what you were doing, you never would have even thought of mixing species together.

i had them checked out by a breeder and was told that for a short time they would be fine together.

You had them checked out by a breeder? A breeder is NOT a vet, and just because they breed also does NOT make them an expert, just as working in a pet store does not make you an expert.

Well, you're on the right site, because it seems to me that you still have much to learn.

P.S. I did just read that you are separating your royal. GOOD. Now work on separating the two boas.

[SerpentLust]

I have to agree with the pet store remarks. When I was hired at the pet store (and later fired for doing the right thing) the "head of reptiles" had my future Ribbon Snake mixed with two corns that were twitching alot. He had half the animals on sand. He switched a sick leopard gecko's cage with a healthy ball python's cage, that snake is lucky it didn't catch anything. He was not educating people before they purchased things, I didn't even hear him tell some teens exactly how large the baby iguana would get. The Chameleons had the most HORRIBLE environment I've ever seen with a VERY low humidity...

I fixed all that, and then they fired me lol Go figure. Pet stores see their reptiles as stock, as money. And to make the most profit, you give the least care and use up as little products like substrate, food, lighting, heating, etc. as possible.

I know not ALL pet stores are like this, but I have yet to see the PERFECT pet store doing EVERYTHING right. They simply can't, they would probably be broke.

I've been following this thread for a while now and I'm glad to hear you're seperating the Ball Python. Seperating the two boas would be even better, as Invictus said.

Good luck with your snakes, I hope you enjoy them as much as the rest of us enjoy and cherish ours :)

Jenn

[Yness]

What a Great thread! I am still a noobie (only have one snake so far) but in time I hope to have a long long list. I was over at cranwills and the setup he had "thrown together" was absolutely amazing IMO. He used rubbermaids and a rack system and wow! Soon I will have one set up like that...

[Yness]

Oh stupid pet store guys sold me a female BRB that was actually a male>:| Its a good thing I am not breeding

[Sheldon & Tori]

ok, in response to invictus' reply, the breeder is a vet, so that's why he offered to check it out for me. and as far as the husbandry goes, i didn't learn it from work, i learned it from reading a bunch of books that we have in the store. now, i just want all of you to know that first time red-tail or royal owners who just buy a book from the pet store will find themselves in big trouble without knowing it. i mean, i knowingly put these three together (after having them checked out by the breeder/vet) but if you were to just read the books that petstores have, you would probably mix a red-tail with a royal. every book i have read at work has said this is ok. and knowing that it is not, i just disregaurd it and tell the customers to do the same.

[Invictus]

I'd like to know specifically which books you are reading.

[BoidKeeper]

but if you were to just read the books that petstores have, you would probably mix a red-tail with a royal. every book i have read at work has said this is ok. and knowing that it is not, i just disregaurd it and tell the customers to do the same.
I too want the names and authors names. If ever there was a need for a book burning....

[Jeff_Favelle]

i had them checked out by a breeder and was told that for a short time they would be fine together.

Can you inform us who this "breeder" is, because if they are suggesting that keeping 2 boas and Ball in the same cage is fine, then I don't think anyone is going to want to buy anything from them!

And people shouldn't buy animals unless they have the means to house them. If you have three snakes, you should have THREE enclosures already set up and temperatures calibrated BEFORE you get them.

*sigh*...

[marisa]

Actually when I read the books pet stores have it makes me want to burn them, not house my snakes together. But um yeah.

Most people who have been in this hobby for a few years realize a couple things. 1. Pet stores suck. Period. Most don't even go there for supplies let alone animals or advice. 2. Books have a 50-50 chance of sucking. A few OUTSTANDING books are out there, most pet stores stock the CRAP outdating totally wrong books. Ignore them. They are better used for kindling. 3. Vets. Just because someone is called "vet" means diddly squat when it comes to reptiles, especially snakes. There are a ton of outstanding SNAKE vets out there, but most know nothing about what they are doing and often can cause more harm than good for snakes. But because someone hears and sees "vet" and "breeder" they think that person must be right. *sigh*

I am glad you are seperating your snakes, and I advise you to start ignoring pet store books and advice.

Marisa

[C.m.pyrrhus]

With some curiousity I took a look at the webpage on your user profile. It was linked here: <a href="http://www.geocities.com/leo_gecko_man/home.html">Your Website</a>

It seems you pass information for boa husbandry on your website (although the links are not working as of yet). You would think that you would have made a better job at working on your own if you had the information to give on a website (or planned to in the least) about boa care. It seems you sell captive born boas as well as stated on that site. Could I be wrong?

I think it would be a grand idea to get your side of things worked out correctly before giving information to others, as what you posted here in this thread does not coinside with what is on you website at all. Same with selling boas. Just seems a bit odd, strange, what have you....

[Dark_Angel_25]

Ok, No flaming...no flaming....

I have a few things to say, firstly, I don't know why you say Boa's and Pythons have the same humidity and temps,. that isn't true at all! Ok granted the temparatur isn't that different, but the humidity? Pythons need upwards of 75 - 80% especially when they shed, Boas? Only between 50-60% (higher when they shed if needed)

And if your Breeder/Vet told you that is would be ok to mix the 2 species together for a short time, I think what he really was doing was trying to make a buck, and personally I wouldn't use him again.

I have a ball Python, and a BCI, and I would NEVER mix the two. As for the research you did, I don't thin you did enough, because I have yet to find one website that says mixing breeds is ok. And even putting 2 of the same together for other than breeding...

Anyhow, it is great that you are seperating your Ball, but like others said, spend the 8$ and buy a rubbermaid, seperate your boas too. Even if nothing happened yet, why risk your wallet and more importantly your snakes lives on somthing that you can avoid for such little cost??

And as others have said, if you ever do buy another reptile, please make sure that you have everything set up before hand. Chances are if you have to depend on a big paycheck to be able to suppost 1 enclosure, you are going to have a hard time with 3 snakes for the rest of their lives.

If you can't afford the enclosure, then you shouldn't have the snakes, and if you have the snakes and something(god forbid) happens to your snakes, what about vet bills? Just to walk in the door can cost $30 or more.. not counting the actual treatment of exam...

Anyhow, just think about it, and split them up, you know if won't do any harm to keep them seperate, and bottom line is you can't be sure about it if you keep them together.

Don't risk their lives, it isn't worth it.

[reverendsterlin]

27 snakes, estimated annual fecals this year $250USD(group rate lol)

[Sheldon & Tori]

Thnx everyone, i finally got a rubbermaid (one of those under the bed ones) which i have decided my ball python will go in, my smaller boa is going in the new cage, and my big boa is going to stay in my bigger, origional cage.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Excellent step in the RIGHT direction.