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matty18714
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2016 Posts |
 Posted - 13/10/2009 : 21:09:12
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Co-habiting Royal Pythons
As with everything, there are pro’s and con’s to co-habiting royal pythons. I will try and explain a few of them and allow other keepers to make up their own mind.
One thing I would like to say is most peoples views regarding co-habiting are linked to the way they perceive their snakes. I personally feel that snakes don’t understand any concept of love or enjoyment, they just analyse a new thing as threat, non-threat or food. Some people think that they do have these feelings. Generally, the people that think they act purely on instinct are against co-habiting, and people that think they are more intelligent are more for it.
Pros:
~ Frees up more room for the keeper.
Cons:
~ Monitoring – How will you tell which one is passing waste fine, and which may not be?
~ Competition – Snakes coiled together in one hide are competing for the best spot.
~ Health – How will you stop a disease or parasites passing from animal to animal?
~ Housing – If you are going to co-habit responsibly, you should have an extra set-up for each snake so that if they were to attack each other, you could split them all up.
~ Cannibalism – Snakes don’t see each other as friends and are very capable of killing and eating one another.
~ Unexpected eggs – If one animal is miss-sexed, you could end up with unwanted eggs and a female that may be too young to breed safely. Don’t assume they will only breed in the breeding season or when the female is a safe age/size.
Tips for safely co-habiting:
~ Make sure the animals are of a similar weight.
~ Make sure the animals are of a similar length.
~ Only co-habit snakes that are over or equal to breeding weight (species dependant).
~ Make sure you check weights regularly. Monitoring the animals is an even higher priority when co-habiting.
~ Feed the animals separately, they may mistake one another for food.
I hope this has helped some of you, and please remember that if it goes wrong, the snakes will feel it worst, not you.
After reading this, I’m sure you have noticed my Con’s list is a lot longer than my Pro’s list. I personally feel that there isn’t anything positive for the snakes, only the keeper. I’m not really biased, but of course I have an opinion. Because of this, I would like others to post their views on the subject, but I would appreciate structured posts with reasons and explanations rather than just a statement of what you prefer.
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wolfspirit
Old Royal - I Post too much!
United Kingdom
5741 Posts |
Posted - 13/10/2009 : 21:29:44
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great post Matty, should be stickied i think... |
"No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from
now and make a brand new ending."
-- Source Unknown
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Blackecho
Royal Python Admin
United Kingdom
11327 Posts |
Posted - 13/10/2009 : 21:58:26
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| It will be after the other Matty has replied and I will delete the other posts. |
 
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chris100575
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
743 Posts |
Posted - 14/10/2009 : 09:14:56
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| I think Matty has pretty much hit the nail on the head for me, the only thing I'd add is that snakes are naturally solitary, in the wild they only come together for breeding. |
0.1.0 Royal Python - Princess
0.1.0 BCI - Feather |
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Kazerella
Royal Python Admin
United Kingdom
1196 Posts |
Posted - 14/10/2009 : 16:31:33
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| Nice post Matty! |
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matty198111
Yearling
United Kingdom
174 Posts |
Posted - 14/10/2009 : 18:00:04
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| will post tonight or tomorrow as im stuck at work at the moment |
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Blackecho
Royal Python Admin
United Kingdom
11327 Posts |
Posted - 15/10/2009 : 23:09:35
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| Matty? |
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matty198111
Yearling
United Kingdom
174 Posts |
Posted - 15/10/2009 : 23:28:45
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ok first of all i would like to say matty that is a great post.
as you all know i was gonna write the pros of co habiting, well ive been thinking about this non stop for the last 3 days.
i thought i read alot of posts before i bouht my royals, but no where near the ammount ive read in the last few days, this is because if i were to write something i wanted it to be accurate.
i have read a few posts about people succesfully co habiting for many years, but ive also read some terrible stories of snakes fighting, but the one thing i did see is a snake that ate another snake then regurged it and to be honest i cant get that picture out of my mind.
and now i keep thinking about my 2, and yes maybe after seeing that there is a little doubt, so i dont think its fair for me to tell people its ok to co habit, because if someone read my post and thought yeah im gonna put 2 together and something happened i would not forgive my self.
so what im trying to say is, if 100 people read my post and happily co habit for many years that would be great but if one snake can be saved by me not writing then thats what im gonna do, not write.
i think that mattys post has enough info so lets keep it as a sticky and hopefully before people make up there minds they do the research as they would when they buy a snake.
all the best
mat
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Blackecho
Royal Python Admin
United Kingdom
11327 Posts |
Posted - 16/10/2009 : 07:25:24
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Mat, that's a brilliant response, very well thought out and put.
Thank you.
I will let others read for a day or two and then clean this up a bit. |
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lee2308
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2597 Posts |
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matty18714
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2016 Posts |
Posted - 16/10/2009 : 16:55:45
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quote:
Originally posted by Blackecho
Mat, that's a brilliant response, very well thought out and put.
Thank you.
I will let others read for a day or two and then clean this up a bit.
Agreed, very good. |
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dazb
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2847 Posts |
Posted - 16/10/2009 : 18:54:18
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Nice sticky matty and a good response from the other matty... |
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Co-habiting Royal Pythons
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