my baby bp hasn't been out of his hide in two days, he is on the hot side and ate a small mouse on sunday. his cagemate seems fine, active and acting normal. I am wondering if I should take him out of his hide and handle him for a bit. this has seemed to work in the past when my snakes tended to become reclusive. plus it gives me a chance to look him over for any obvious signs of sickness or other problems.
thanks
Mike

How big is his cage mate compared to him, and is he a new acquisition?

If he's new, he's likely going through an adjustment period. He should be quarantined. Aside from the fact that he might have a spreadable disease, he may be confused and intimidated by his cagemate, especially if the other snake is large than he is.

If this is the case, handling him will not make the situation better. You'll want to separate him into his own enclosure at least for the quarantine period of 30-60 days. Don't handle him or bother him more than absolutely necessary either. Give him some time to adjust and calm down.

This is the first situation that came to my mind.

It would also be helpful to know the size of the cage, the temperatures and set-up. We could give more accurate information then.

__________________
"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.

they are about the same size maybe 16 inches, I bought them together bout 2 weeks ago, high temp is 93-95 low temp is 78-85 depending on time of day. until snake went into hide there were not problems with the snakes. both got along well together, i handled both daily, snakes usually denned together on cold side of tank. active snake still prefers cold hide during day, but basks on hot side or under moonlight lamp at night. cage is a 20 long.
thanks
Mike

it might be best if they were separated. even if they are the same size he may stressed out with the presence of a cagemate. just because they sleep in the same hide or are together does not mean they like each other. they may just want the same spot. snakes are a solitary creature and do not require or need "friends" as we think of it. many times we give our animals human characteristics that just aren't there.

they may be fine now but later on they may not tolerate each other so it would be wise to have the room and materials for a second set up incase you have to separate them later on. i know with my corns I tried putting them together and they did not tolerate each other at all so I have them separated.

make sure all the temps are correct as well as humidity. a 20 long is alright for if they're smaller but once they grow I don't think 2 grown ball pythons will have much room in a 20 long so you might want to look into something bigger.

its possible your other snake is not moving from the cold side because he is picking security over the right temperature because the other snake is stressing him out.

__________________

yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot and Bear

i think I have to come to the point where the well being of my snake (even tho the problem at this point is a very subtle one) is more important than my personal feelings. so today i'll be saying goodbye to one of my new friends. i'm sure he'll go to a nice home and be well taken care of. thankfully the pet shop I got him from is very understanding and willing to take him back.
mike
ps some of you also may be members of kingsnake.com. pls don't tell anyone there about this. they have been very rude and downright nasty at times. and I don't think I can take the gloating and "i told you so's" from them right now.
thanks

I dont think you have anything to worry about here,, we are not a spiteful group of people! We try to help and educate. I think the majority of us are all to old to dally in that kind of nonsense, lol. (well, I am to old and tired for that, lol)
I am glad that you learned from your mistake though! I think all will be well with the other one once they are seperated.

__________________




I have sucker tattood on my forehead

Mike,

That's a very good decision on your part. It's important to be willing to do whatever is in the best interests of the animal, even if it's that we can no longer give it the care that it needs. Recognizing this and being able to take action accordingly is very admirable.

I'm sorry people have been mean to you there. Unfortunately, sometimes it just ends up that way.

__________________
"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.

I think it was a good idea keeping only one BP for now. Let us know how your little one reacts to having the enclosure all to himself

I'm going to have to agree with everyone else on your decision to return one, as for members on kingsnake.com, thats sad to hear, im not a member on the forums with that site, and it makes me glad I joined this one first.
These forums revolve around educating people on proper care of reptiles/amphibians/and so on, Sometimes people kind of lose that somewhere, and all you get is long in depth discussions about how cool it is to watch your python eat a mouse (I have Seen quite a few at a few other sites) While i'm not going to say there is not something mystical about an animal on the hunt, but I think anyone who enjoys the suffering of another creature, be it a reptile, a mouse, or even a cricket, has some serious issues. Animals eat other animals as a way of life, theres nothing wrong with that, but im sure some of you are farmiliar with what i'm talking about.

__________________
"Nobody can do Everything, but Everybody can do Something."

i think it was also a good idea to get rid of the one if you were unable or didn't have the space to separate them into two enclosures. it is better to be safe than sorry with the well being of the snakes and it was better to do what you thought was the best for him.

it'll also give you time to focus on the one you have and to learn more about him.

enjoy him

__________________

yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot and Bear