Can They Live Together?

[House_Of_Pets]

Ive got two snakes, both 7.5 ft long..ones a retick and the other is a red tail...both are female and I was wondering whether or not they might possibly be able to coexist peacefully in one very large enclosure. Its a hand made box, 5ft by 5ft, they both need a lot of space. Is there a chance that they could live together or would they kill each other?

[Joe]

they might not physically kill each other, but snakes are primarily solitary animals, the fact they both come from different continents and would carry different pathogens could also cause a huge problem, mixing and matching snakes hardly ever proves to be a wise idea, the stress alone could be enough to kill an animal, best regards!

[PDXErik]

Let alone the difficulties in identifying and controlling problems like parasites and viruses.

[gonesnakee]

Always best to house all specimens individually except for breeding purposes for a multitude of reasons. Feeding for one would require one or both to be removed from it for a period of time (few hours) & in the case of large Boids you do not want to be moving them around when its feeding time, good way to get ones self hurt or killed (Retic!). The cage sounds OK for the RTB but the Retic (unless a dwarf) will require a much larger enclosure than that anyway. I would consider something more along the lines of 8ft long 3 feet deep for a Retic with 3 ft + in height as well. Group housing within the same species is frowned apon & mixing of species is generally considered Taboo by most all herpers. Mark

[redtails]

Like everyone else, said, it's not wise to house them together, especially when it come time to feed. One other thing, boas are common carriers of IBD(inclusion body disease) which can be fatal to pythons(boas too but not nearly as often), I wouldn't risk their safety. The only reason to ever keep animals together is during breeding and maybe babies from the same clutch/litter for a little while, and even then you need to watch them to make sure they are ok together.

If you can't build/get another cage right now, think about putting a divider in there for a little bit to keep them seperate in 5x2.5 spaces temporarily. Remember what gonesnakee said, that cage is fine for the redtail as it's nearly full grown, but the retic will most likely need more space. I have my 12' male in a 6x3x2 and my 10' male in an 8x2x2 as these are a bit more suited for them, but females will get bigger and require at least a 6x3 cage if not 8' long by 3 or 4' wide.

[House_Of_Pets]

I see, thanks for the tips.Ill be sure to keep them seperate. How big do female RTB get?

[TailsW/Scales]

As everyone else said for health reasons it's best to keep them seperate. But another reason is Retics can be very territorial. Even on neutral ground. Fights can break out.

Just another bit of food for thought.

[redtails]

The boa might get to 10' or more depending on type of rtb, but most likely is full grown now.

[Artemis]

Absolutely not.

[ffollett]

Basically what everyone is saying is NO NO NO. I have some pics that someone posted on the net a few years ago of a boa that ate a ball python. I saved the pics when they were posted because while this is not a normal thing it is good to be able to show strange things can happen.

[Artemis]

Basically what everyone is saying is NO NO NO. I have some pics that someone posted on the net a few years ago of a boa that ate a ball python. I saved the pics when they were posted because while this is not a normal thing it is good to be able to show strange things can happen.

So do we get to see em?

[ffollett]

It has been so long since I got the pictures I don't remember who the owner of the pictures is so I can't really get their permission. Thats the only thing holding me back from posting them. I just don't want to cause a problem.

[gonesnakee]

I don't really want to see a regurged Ball Python anyhow THX I've seen it before its just nasty. Usually when one snake eats another like that it also regurges & dies as well. Not sure if that was the case with the BP mentioned, but I do know of 2 guys locally that had larger Boas eat smaller ones they were housed with & then puke them & die after. All & all a "pleasant" herping experience that in all cases of such is 1000% avoidable so why go there at all? Unless you like dealing with puked up & other dead snakes. Mark

[redtails]

I got out of boas when my 3' male ate my 2.5' female. He never regurged & didn't die either, still alive with a friend. I was stupid & put them together while cleaning a cage, & within that 15 minutes she was completely gone and he was twice as thick.

[Artemis]

It has been so long since I got the pictures I don't remember who the owner of the pictures is so I can't really get their permission. Thats the only thing holding me back from posting them. I just don't want to cause a problem.

Oh, well drats. I wouldnt have minded seeing those!

[gonesnakee]

I got out of boas when my 3' male ate my 2.5' female. He never regurged & didn't die either, still alive with a friend. I was stupid & put them together while cleaning a cage, & within that 15 minutes she was completely gone and he was twice as thick.
Lucky to only lose one anyway, with bigger ones you usually lose both or thats what I have heard & thats also what happened in the 2 cases I know directly about first hand. Mark