Playing Devil's advocate...

[dannydee]

Ok playing Devil's advocate here...
Justin Julander keeps pairs of carpets together all year round. He is one of the main guys involved with carpets and many other snakes for that matter. Now if it's good enough for him, why do so many people with only a fraction of his experience say not to do it?

 

[baker]

The way I see it is that he can house them like that because he has such extensive experience with those animals and knows all the signs to look for before something can go bad. Generally from what I see a lot of the people that want to keep two snakes together are only relatively new to keeping snakes and in being so do not know what signs to look out for. It safer for the majority of people and their animals to advise against housing together just to eliminate the risk of something going bad on the people involved. Plus I personally would feel quite bad if I told someone that they can keep their snakes together and they end up with a dead one as a result of my bad advice.
Cheers Cameron

 

[Riffherper]

To each their own. Most people really care about their reptiles like they are part of the family. Why take any risk no matter how small?

 

[Hamalicious]

Baker pretty much has it. Keeping snakes together can and does go wrong. Even with experience i don't think it's right because snakes are solitary creatures so they want to be alone. BUT, if you are going to house them together, you need to have extensive experience with snakes so that you know exactly what signs to look for.

 

[pythonmum]

Justin is sure of his pairs. This year my proven male was put with a friend's 'female' and we had combat. The snakes were quickly separated without damage, but that 'female' had been living with a male before my friend got them. The sex of the other snake was confirmed on autopsy when he died of cancer. It was sheer luck that the previous owner didn't have combat and a terrible outcome. Mistakes happen.

Another reason people separate the snakes is conflict during feeding time, which can lead to bites and stress. You can feed one snake in a tub to avoid this, but it means that animal is handled right after a feed.

Another reason is that animals which constantly live together sometimes are less likely to mate. Not always, but sometimes. Separation may increase breeding success.

 

[dangles]

Ask these people that advocate keeping multiple in the 1 enclosure, That if you followed their advice and the worst result happened of 2 dead snakes, would they give you a pair of their own to replace them?

 

[dannydee]

The way I see it is that he can house them like that because he has such extensive experience with those animals and knows all the signs to look for before something can go bad. Generally from what I see a lot of the people that want to keep two snakes together are only relatively new to keeping snakes and in being so do not know what signs to look out for. It safer for the majority of people and their animals to advise against housing together just to eliminate the risk of something going bad on the people involved. Plus I personally would feel quite bad if I told someone that they can keep their snakes together and they end up with a dead one as a result of my bad advice.
Cheers Cameron

Excellent reply Cameron, I think you have definitely hit the nail on the head.

To each their own. Most people really care about their reptiles like they are part of the family. Why take any risk no matter how small?

This is a good point, although many do not have the same emotional attachment to their snakes as they do their dog for example. Many breeders will provide the best of care for their snakes but do not care for them like their family.

Justin is sure of his pairs. This year my proven male was put with a friend's 'female' and we had combat. The snakes were quickly separated without damage, but that 'female' had been living with a male before my friend got them. The sex of the other snake was confirmed on autopsy when he died of cancer. It was sheer luck that the previous owner didn't have combat and a terrible outcome. Mistakes happen.

Another reason people separate the snakes is conflict during feeding time, which can lead to bites and stress. You can feed one snake in a tub to avoid this, but it means that animal is handled right after a feed.

Another reason is that animals which constantly live together sometimes are less likely to mate. Not always, but sometimes. Separation may increase breeding success.

Mistakes do happen but many can be avoided. If the snakes had been probed before introducing them to one another, you would have known you were putting two males together.

Ask these people that advocate keeping multiple in the 1 enclosure, That if you followed their advice and the worst result happened of 2 dead snakes, would they give you a pair of their own to replace them?

Good point.

 

[Darlyn]

Saw a pic on another site last week of a very pudgy BHP that had eaten it's date. Not worth it I think.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

There is some truth the the old adage "familiarity breeds contempt" but in this case I'd replace "contempt" with "indifference." Having said that, I would never question Justin's expertise - he's THE master when it comes to M.S. ssp...

Jamie

 

[pythonmum]

Dannydee - the snake HAD been probed as female and was sold in a pair. Mistakes happen and some snakes don't probe to conventional depth. Also, some people are better at this than others.

 

[dabigjhemzehh]

I actually found this thread quite enlightening.

 

[Chris1]

Mistakes do happen but many can be avoided. If the snakes had been probed before introducing them to one another, you would have known you were putting two males together.

both snakes had been probed twice, i bought them as a definate breeding pair at 3 years old.

 

[onimocnhoj]

I have kept many different Morelia spp in pairs and groups of three. Indoors as well as outdoors. Some of these animals pictured have lived together for nearly a decade without problems. The majority breed every year the females are fed well.

Knowing your animals and being able to recognise early signs of stress is critical if attempting to keep animals together. Small changes can disrupt the peace and you must be able to spot these behaviours before they become detrimental to the animals health.

In saying that, I find great satisfaction in seeing adult specimens 'getting along' all year round. I even have pairs that do not challenge each other for food. They will let their cage-mate eat peacefully, even when they have finished their own meal and would readily accept another. I'll picture it next time I feed them.

 

[Snowman]

I keep M.s imbricata together no probs. However they are a sub species that doesn't display any male combat in the breeding season.
It's a very common practice to keep pairs together in WA.
I have heard of someone introducing them to breed and one attacked the other. Whether it was food related, personality etc I don't know.

 

[lithopian]

I would agree with the above from Snowman and will probably look at housing my imbricata together in the future if I ever get a pair of similar size. But I don't think I will ever have the confidence to house BHPs or womas together like some keepers do.

onimocnhoj - beautiful photos. Loved the GTP pic

 

[Craig483]

I have kept my 2 stimmies together for years with no problems. When I seperate them for more than a day they seem to fret and roam around looking for each other. Once I put them back together they go straight into one hide, even though they have a choice of 3.

 

[lithopian]

My stimmie pair are the same- remove one and the other roams the Viv and doesn’t settle until the first one is replaced. Mine have a choice of hides on the hot and cold spots and can always be found together- except sometimes after a feed the female will take a hide and not allow the male in after her. After most feeds, they are in separate hides and then will rejoin eachother a few days later.

 

[The_Geeza]

I hear a lot about stimi's houses together and I'm contemplating placing my trio together????

 

[onimocnhoj]

I am a little dubious about keeping Antaresia together as they can enjoy the taste of reptiles a bit too much. It can work well, but you definitely need adults that are similarly sized. I wouldn't keep the macs I have together again as I have personally seen young macs eat each other. Wolfing down a meal the same size and shape as itself is quite a feat, but not a lesson I need to learn again..

For the most part, Morelia can be significantly different in size and not be problematic. Particularly if the male is the smaller. This should only apply to adults/sub-adults as young (hatchling/yearling) reptiles of any species are willing to try almost anything in the food department. I have seen a young green python eat a sibling in the past, so I personally keep housing separate until the animals are a little more sensible.

Any way you look at it, a watchful eye is required..

 

[Red-Ink]

I am a little dubious about keeping Antaresia together as they can enjoy the taste of reptiles a bit too much. It can work well, but you definitely need adults that are similarly sized. I wouldn't keep the macs I have together again as I have personally seen young macs eat each other. Wolfing down a meal the same size and shape as itself is quite a feat, but not a lesson I need to learn again..

For the most part, Morelia can be significantly different in size and not be problematic. Particularly if the male is the smaller. This should only apply to adults/sub-adults as young (hatchling/yearling) reptiles of any species are willing to try almost anything in the food department. I have seen a young green python eat a sibling in the past, so I personally keep housing separate until the animals are a little more sensible.

Any way you look at it, a watchful eye is required..

It would be a shame if your macs start eating each other mate... I'm a fan of them.