Keeping several pythons together in one enclosure

[Starter]

I got my 4 new snakes - and they are huge! They are two pairs, one pair of Bredli and one pair of Murray Darlings, between 5 and 8 years old, and really big. I have got two fully equipped enclosures, about 5 feet (150cm) high and 2-3 feet wide and deep, and two water tanks, about 4 feet wide, and all these enclosures appear too small to me. I have also a fully equipped large cattery cage outdoors, and so I risked to put the snakes together in there. First the two females together, and they were friendly and loved the place. There are hiding boxes and cat trees to climb on, wind-protected basking places, etc. I also put a bathtub with water in there and mounted a heat lamp on the ceiling for the night (outdoor temperatures go down to 6 degrees these days). After a few hours, I added the MD male, and he was friendly with the girls and happy there, too. Over night, the girls chose to sleep in cat tree boxes, the boy cuddled himself underneath a blanket near the heat lamp. Today, I took the MD boy out and put the Bredli boy in. He also was friendly with the girls and happily explored everything. All these pythons have been kept separately by now and have never met anyone of their own kind before.

My question: Can I dare to put the second male back into the large enclosure, so two males share the same enclosure with the females? I read that, during breeding season, males tend to fight and would bite each other. What about outside of the breeding season? The Bredli male is the only one out of the four who by now showed aggression - he tried to bite me several times (and then bit me indeed into my worker's glove when I took him out of his small enclosure). I fed him a rat yesterday to calm him down (the other ones refused to eat yesterday), but today he was just as aggressive towards me when I took him out. However, with the female snakes he is fine. Could it be dangerous to expose him to the other male? What do I do when they start fighting? Is it difficult to separate fighting snakes? As I said, they are huge, fully grown pythons. Even the males are about 3 metres long.

 

[Riffherper]

With the temps described and coming into breeding season I would think the males would combat so I wouldn't advise it. In saying that I personally don't like keeping more than one snake in each enclosure but that's just me.

 

[sharky]

DON'T! Why do you want to risk it? Yes, the males will fight if put in the same enclosure. Why are you even considering it!? You are only harming your snakes! If you can't provide seperate enclosures for the snakes then you really shouldn't be owning them. Sorry, but that is just the way I see it.

I keep my male bredli in a 180x100x60cm enclosure and that will last him his whole life. (Up to just over 3m-ish)

Also you shouldn't be keeping 2 different species in the same enclosure, no matter the gender.

EDIT: I also agree with the above post. I don't like keeping 2 snakes in the same enclosure. Too many risks :?

 

[Starter]

With the temps described and coming into breeding season I would think the males would combat so I wouldn't advise it. In saying that I personally don't like keeping more than one snake in each enclosure but that's just me.

"Coming into breeding season?" I thought breeding season starts in September - here in Australia. Am I wrongly informed?


I should add that the cattery cage is about 2.5 X 2.5 x 2 metres large and that I expect the snakes to hibernate over winter, from about beginning of May until September. I will definitely seperate the species before they wake up again, so not to create hybrids.

 

[Snowman]

Aussie pythons don't hibernate.... I think you have a lot to learn and you need to read a few books on keeping and breeding Australian pythons. Many breed through winter. Though SWCP breed October November.

 

[Brodie]

Both Bredli and MDs are late breeders. MDs around September and Bredli as late as November. Having said that i have had MDs mate as early as July. I would advise against keeping them in the same enclosure though. Many people have done so successfully but it is just not worth the risk. Buy some more cages or sell some snakes.

 

[Starter]

Aussie pythons don't hibernate.... I think you have a lot to learn and you need to read a few books on keeping and breeding Australian pythons. Many breed through winter. Though SWCP breed October November.

Perhaps I have used the wrong term when I wrote "hibernate". But all the websites I read say that, although indoor pet snakes can be kept awake throughout winter, to prepare them for breeding you have to cool them down from May to September and not feed them during this time, while they sleep and hardly ever even move.

 

[Snowman]

They are still active and bask when the sun is out... Keeping in an aviary is only advised if the species occurs naturally in your area / climate. As stated above. If you can't cage them properly you need to get rid of some our build suitable enclosures.

 

[Starter]

Both Bredli and MDs are late breeders. MDs around September and Bredli as late as November. Having said that i have had MDs mate as early as July. I would advise against keeping them in the same enclosure though. Many people have done so successfully but it is just not worth the risk. Buy some more cages or sell some snakes.

This sounds like sound knowledge and advice. I have now taken the male out (as i can't watch them 24/7) and put both males, separately, into the two bigger enclosures that I have got: 155 cm and 160 cm tall, and each about 65 cm deep and 70 cm wide. The water tanks are definitely too small for either of the snakes. For the females who are bigger than the males (about 3.5m each) I may need to find another solution. For the time being, the outdoor cattery seems ideal. But I guess when they lay eggs, they may become protective = aggressive. I don't know. With regards to mating - doesn't it happen only around the time of ovulation? I thought as long as I don't see the females underbelly swell up (showing the presence of eggs), no mating could be expected. Or am I wrong again?

 

[Starter]

They are still active and bask when the sun is out... Keeping in an aviary is only advised if the species occurs naturally in your area / climate. As stated above. If you can't cage them properly you need to get rid of some our build suitable enclosures.

The Murray Darling Carpet Pythons do actually occur naturally in our area (Riverland, SA). So, I am very happy to hear that - I may keep at least the MD girl where she is now and let her look after her eggs "in her (almost) natural homelands".
But what would be the perfect enclosure for Bredli Pythons? Also called Centralian Carpet Pythons, they occur in the centre of Australia, in the desert mountains near Alice Springs, where it is a bit hotter at daytime than here and just as cold at night. While MDs love climbing on trees, Bredlis rather love slithering on rocks and hiding in caves. So, there are a few differences. Most of all, what size of enclosure is ideal for them, and indoors or outdoors?

 

[Snowman]

Inside you could get away with 1800L x 1000H x 600D. But I'd only put one animal in that. That's if they are 3.5m snakes.

 

[stimigex]

I for one would like to see these 3.5m pythons !! (nearly 11.5 foot)

 

[Starter]

I for one would like to see these 3.5m pythons !! (nearly 11.5 foot)

OK, that was just an estimate and perhaps a bit over the top, but I haven't had the chance yet to measure them completely stretched out. They are definitely longer than 2 metres each, and the girls about 30% larger than the males and much fatter in the middle.

 

[Jungletrans]

There are people out there that would keep pythons that big in tubs [ not me ] so why put them all together when you have suitable housing . If you insist on putting them in together set up a video camera . When you have no snakes left you might be able to sell the vid on utube .

 

[Paintbrushturkey]

if i were you i wouldn't put a bredli male with the md girl, or vice versa... you can get into some trouble for hybridising species... also your males will probably kill each other during mating season if you put them together (as they will have no retreat options in an enclosure), they can do a surprising amount of damage in a relatively short amount of time....

 

[nintendont]

you can get into some trouble for hybridising species...

isnt Bredli X MD called a cross breed because theyre both carpets? Im not into crosses or hybrids (an example of a hybrid to my understanding would be Water python X Carpet) but I am curious to know more about this trouble you speak of? Which states?

 

[RedFox]

isnt Bredli X MD called a cross breed because theyre both carpets? Im not into crosses or hybrids (an example of a hybrid to my understanding would be Water python X Carpet) but I am curious to know more about this trouble you speak of? Which states?

Generally on our species lists jungles, diamonds, coastals, MDs, SWCP, darwins, etc. are all classed as carpet pythons (Morelia spilota). Therefore it is legal to cross the different subspecies of Morelia spilota in all states. As bredli (Morelia bredli) are not of the same species even though they are of the same genus, it is illegal for a MD and a Bredli to reproduce in some states.

 

[Snowman]

Generally on our species lists jungles, diamonds, coastals, MDs, SWCP, darwins, etc. are all classed as carpet pythons (Morelia spilota). Therefore it is legal to cross the different subspecies of Morelia spilota in all states. As bredli (Morelia bredli) are not of the same species even though they are of the same genus, it is illegal for a MD and a Bredli to reproduce in some states.

Not all states. WA it is certainly illegal to cross sub species. And sub species are listed as such.

 

[RedFox]

I stand corrected. Most states then.

 

[champagne]

ok both md and bredli would do fine outside in Riverland, SA. I wouldn't keep to different species in together and defiantly not two males. Don't just do want the ''experts'' on here say but rather take their advise on board but do your own research.... just because something hasn't worked for them doesn't mean it wont for you a visa versa.