In my opinion, Ball Pythons cannot live together. Cohabiting them leads to a range of potential issues, from anorexia to full-blown illness. Competition between them will be subtle, but it will be there! There’s also the small issue of unwanted eggs – if you just want pets rather than a breeding project, that is.
In this video and accompanying blog post we learn the following: • Ball Pythons are solitary creatures in the wild, primarily coming together for breeding purposes. • Their natural breeding strategy is polygynandry, where males mate with multiple females and vice versa. • Cohabiting Ball Pythons is not recommended due to the competition they exhibit in the wild. • Competition among male Ball Pythons can involve intense wrestling matches for mating rights. • Female Ball Pythons have the ability to choose which sperm to use for fertilization, resulting in "dual-sire" clutches. • Risks of cohabiting Ball Pythons include fighting for dominance, stress, cannibalism, spreading diseases, spreading parasites, increased risk of illness, and unwanted breeding. • Dominance fights between female Ball Pythons are subtle, with snakes attempting to claim warm spots or hiding places. • Stress from cohabitation can lead to anorexia, regurgitation, and weakened immune response, making the snakes more susceptible to illnesses.
Contents of this video: 00:00 Intro 01:09 Fighting for dominance 03:18 Stress and anorexia 05:23 Cannibalism 06:04 Contagious disease 07:20 Parasites 08:47 Spontaneous illness 09:44 Unwanted breeding 10:32 Conclusion
I’m hoping after watching the video you’ll agree that keeping them together is generally not a great idea. But as always, feel free to get in touch and ask about anything else you'd like to know.
