need help with spotted pair

[Lonewolf]

hey i have had my female spotted for a year now and i just got a 1 yr old male spotted python now a few things have gone pear shaped and iv had to divide one of me enclosures they have both been vet checked 1 last week and the other yesterday and they are all good i was just wondering if there would be any reason at all that they would not be able to live together i know to feed them separately and they are both ruffly the same size one is M61cm the other is F63cm

 

[cjpossum]

The female could be protective of her teritory and introducing another is could upset her.

It is always best to house them separately

For health reasons and stress, even if vet checked.

Good luck

 

[Lonewolf]

thanks for that
my female doesn't stress so easy tho shes the problem she keeps getting in with him and since the male has been home i court them together about 6 times just all curled up in one of the hides i separated them each time

 

[SlothHead]

when you say pair shaped, are they fighting? is that what you mean?

If that is the case i would suspect that they are both males if anything.

 

[Lonewolf]

Na they ain't fighting if they were i wouldn't keep them together i meant with trying to house them separately

 

[bfg23]

so they are in the same enclosure but you dont want them to sleep together you want them to sleep in separate hides?

 

[beeman]

The quarentine issue comes to mind as a good enough reason to keep them well apart. Just because they have been to a vet is no garentee that they are not carrying
a virus such as OPMV or IBD as vets cannot check or diagnose such thing until the animal is dead.
Its funny how people dont realise how important this issue is in relation to bringing
new snakes into a collection

 

[Lonewolf]

iv tried to keep them separated but they just wont stay apart

 

[Lonewolf]

and thanks beeman that was the answer i was looking for
but what are the chances of ether on of them having those things

 

[SlothHead]

If you house the pair of them in the same enclosure, there is nothing you can do about keeping them apart, they just will get into the same space. Which as beeman has said is a quarantine issue.

As for the chance of them having it, well unless you know exactly where they came from and the know the person that sold you the animals and know their keeping standards then you wouldnt even be able to start with a probability quotient.

The problem with the disease is, as beeman has said, that you only know if the animal has it after it has died, and just because the animal has it doesnt necessarily mean that it is going to present symptoms today or tomorrow. It may be a year before they start showing any signs.

For the money that it costs on setting up another enclosure it is certainly worth while to have that "insurance policy" in place in case something is there.