Can you have two

[mrfluffy]

Howdy all ,we have been the proud owners of a beautiful stimson who now would be 60cm long we think about 10 mth old ,my question is it possible to keep two in the same enclosure ,
i was buying the latest supply of fuzzies and while doing so came across a lovely spotted of about the same size and was told that might be possible to keep the spotted in the same 3x2 enclosure
or is this asking for trouble

 

[ubermensch]

It's definitely not recommended...they may have the right personalities to be housed together but you don't have a guarantee that they would never attack eachother...you don't want to house two adolescent males together so sex can be an issue too. And if you feed one and the other smells the food on it.....!

 

[bigjoediver]

If you've got your heart set on getting the spotted set up a cheap tub until you can afford another enclosure. Then when you move it into the enclosure you will have a spare tub for your next snake to live in until you get another enclosure etc etc !

 

[thomasssss]

have a look in the thread antaresia freaks , not totally sure what page it is but around page 80 i think , if the pictures in there dont put you off then nothing will so i wont waste my time , it shows to stimmies that where put together for breeding , unfortunately one was halfway down the others throat when the owner got home , point is it can go wrong so easily and their is no benefit from it out side of breeding season , if you wish to be foolish enough to do so (not directed entirely at the op more so all of the others who do it and think its good advice for others) than thats fine but beware of the consequences and dont think that it will not happen as it can and does happen so easily

and thats just one of the problems associated with keeping them together , theres also the stress issue that one or both may stop eating , if one gets sick theres a high chance the other will as well plus many many more problems , only benefit is eggs if it is done right and at the right time of year , i have also heard of animals that wont breed with their cage mate but they will still both breed with other animals , so all in all keeping them together full term isn't necessary and is kinda foolish

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Exactly what thomassssssssss has said, with the added no-no of putting a Stimson's with a Spotted and the prospect of them cross-breeding - definitely not recommended.

Jamie

 

[Myvekk]

On the gripping hand, I have 2 Stimsons in the same 4' enclosure. But they have been together ever since I got them both at a couple of months old. I'm always careful to feed them separately, but no issues.

 

[thomasssss]

On the gripping hand, I have 2 Stimsons in the same 4' enclosure. But they have been together ever since I got them both at a couple of months old. I'm always careful to feed them separately, but no issues.

yes , and you are one of those foolish people i was talking about , please do not recommend this to people as it is potentially dangerous to your animals and shouldnt be given as advice , if you wish to keep doing it then fine i couldn't be bothered trying to tell the ignorant, but please keep it to yourself and don't recommend it to others

i to have seen 2 coastals that had been together since hatchies and never showed any aggression , thankfully the owner of those snakes had the sense to remove one and make another enclosure after i showed him the post of the 2 stimmis eating each other , the risks are far 2 high for what will be gained (which is very little and only for the enjoyment of the owner not the animals so dont kid yourself there )

 

[Myvekk]

If you read what I wrote, thomasssss, you will see that I did not recommend it, I simply stated that I have had no issues.

Read what is written, not what you think is written. Your interpretation of my post is in error.

 

[borntobnude]

We have had our stimmies together for 2 years now with no problems yet . I am telling you that i CAN be done but am not recomending it as that would have people frown down upon me . Our setup is two hides -big enough for them both one hide just big enough for 1 if they want to get away lats of climbing sticks to hide in and 1 water bowl . Not that i would suggest anyone copy me .:evil:

 

[Ramsayi]

I've asked this before but will ask again as I didn't get an answer at the time.

For those advocating keeping 2 or more snakes together,if a poster took your advice on board and something nasty happened would you offer to replace one or both of the animals?

If the answer is no then would it be right to think that deep down you think it's not as safe as you would believe ?

 

[thomasssss]

If you read what I wrote, thomasssss, you will see that I did not recommend it, I simply stated that I have had no issues.

Read what is written, not what you think is written. Your interpretation of my post is in error.

i read what you wrote , im not illiterate i am on an internet forum after all , you can go on believing that you where not recommending it in any way but simply posting what you posted you where , by saying that it gives the op the false impression that it will be ok

 

[Skelhorn]

always a risk but I have had my two together since hatchies, they are still together and are now close to 80cm. They get fed at the same time, seperately and havea good sized enclosure...however are 90% of the time found together!

 

[Ramsayi]

however are 90% of the time found together!

This comment comes up a lot.Why are they usually found together? I'm curious as to what people think.

 

[Stuart]

This comment comes up a lot.Why are they usually found together? I'm curious as to what people think.

I read a theory on this a while ago when they asked the same question based on snakes not seeming to require socialisation in order for "learning or growth" as their life seems to progress on instinct alone. I'll find the paper and fire you a PM, interesting read if you are like me (a bit weird).

 

[Skelhorn]

^ hahaha we are all weird SniperCap! But am not to sure why. Its just like RBB burrows and things like that, snakes congregate together sometimes.

 

[Raymonde]

This comment comes up a lot.Why are they usually found together? I'm curious as to what people think.

I have no idea why they would stay together most of the time, but if i had to guess i would think it might be for warmth or temperature control, an animal with larger body mass will loose less heat than a smaller one, therefore it would be beneficial for 2 pythons to curl up together. My other guess would be that there is safety in numbers, if they stick together then there are 2 sets of eyes to look out for danger, and if a 'predator' does come, then maybe the other snake will get 'taken'... These are just theories from my knowledge of why other animals form groups.

or maybe its as simple as the best spot in the cage is where python 1 is, so python 2 goes over and joins python 1....

 

[Myvekk]

Likewise. 90+% of the time, mine are curled up together in the same part of one of the hides. I guess they both just like that one better.

i read what you wrote , im not illiterate i am on an internet forum after all ...

I am constantly amazed by how many illiterate people there ARE on internet forums! By comparison to many, yes you are. No caps & missing punctuation, but I bet that you DO know the correct uses of their, there & they're.

It seems that it can be done & many do, although there have been some bad outcomes as well. As with keeping any creatures, some will be happy together & some will not. Some may get used to each other & be happy together after a while, some may start off happy together & then become hostile. The same happens with dogs, cats, rabbits, birds and, especially, people.

Several posters here have said do not do it. Others have said they have not had a problem. As with anything, this is a choice that you take & that responsibility lies with the person making the choice. So, should those who have had no problem remain silent because others have and deny the OP that information? Or should he be given full information from everyone so he can make an informed decision?

I cannot say you are right, nor can I say you are wrong. Only that this is my experience of the situation he asked about.

Which is, as above, that mine have lived together for nearly 2 years, since they were very young, and have had no problems. No more, no less. Any attempt to say I am advocating or recommending it is purely the interpretation of the person reading that into it. Yes, under some circumstances it can be done, and under others it can end badly. Which it is, in this case, will be determined by far more factors that I know from the OP and the OP will have to decide, based on what he can learn here.

To give only the information for one of the 2 options, is tantamount to lying. Or politics, since this is exactly the type of thing that politicians try to do. Give you their spin on the situation & deny you any other information or viewpoint.


There were several pertinent questions asked, relating to the species, age, personality and sex of the 2 snakes. These are all factors that the OP must consider. There are undoubtedly other factors as well, that will come up in the course of discussion. The OP must gain as much information as he needs, to make his decision. Not have people arguing & saying effectively, 'you are foolish if you keep more than one in an enclosure' and 'will you pay when it all goes wrong'. These sort of statements do not inform or help. Please try to keep the statements logical & supply reasons, not attack people with differing viewpoints or experience to yours.

 

[mrfluffy]

wow didn't mean to ask about such a touchy subject ,when your not sure about an aspect of this interest hobby its great to here what more experienced people have discovered along the way and here about what they have learned ,will just have to learn how to filter out the anger ,thanks for all your insight, will probably go with my first thought which is to build a multiple
enclosure book case for the lounge ,what would be the most efficient way to heat it

 

[bigjoediver]

Heat cord under a tile with a thermostat. Led light strips for lighting. Depending on the ambient temp of your lounge room you could get away with using as little as 30w per enclosure for heat and light,

 

[CaptainRatbag]

We have had our stimmies together for 2 years now with no problems yet . I am telling you that i CAN be done but am not recomending it as that would have people frown down upon me . Our setup is two hides -big enough for them both one hide just big enough for 1 if they want to get away lats of climbing sticks to hide in and 1 water bowl . Not that i would suggest anyone copy me .:evil:

The op is talking about already having a stimmi, but is thinking of getting a spotted as well and asking if he can cohabitate them. I have 2 spotteds together, same as you have 2 stimmis together.... no real problem with that (as long as they are of similar size). The op is asking about 2 different breeds of python together. My advice would be no for the 2 main reasons, that the spotted would prolly see the stimmi as a snack at some stage, and the obvious no-no if they were to cross breed.

I would say it could possibly work, but I wouldnt be doing it personally. A second enclosure would be the go IMO.

I havent yet read thru the rest of this post, so apologies if this has been said already

- - - Updated - - -

wow didn't mean to ask about such a touchy subject ,when your not sure about an aspect of this interest hobby its great to here what more experienced people have discovered along the way and here about what they have learned ,will just have to learn how to filter out the anger ,thanks for all your insight, will probably go with my first thought which is to build a multiple
enclosure book case for the lounge ,what would be the most efficient way to heat it

If you build the enclosures either one on top of the other, or side by side, you can always have one thermostat and 2 heat pads running off it, one in each enclosure. Have the probe on top of the bottom enclosures pad and have a nice big easy to read thermometer in each enclosure, so you can monitor the 2 enclosures individually. Checking accurately the temps at both ends of both enclosures with a laser thermometer is always a good idea. I have two 1200x600x600 enclosures on top of each other set up this way with a thermostat with a power board plugged into it and a 20w heatpad from each enclosure plugged into the powerboard. This works well for me. Just remember to see what the maximum wattage the thermostat can handle and dont overload it.

I still am against cohabitating a stimmi and a spotted, your idea of a double enclosure sounds perfect to me. let us know how you get on