housing snakes togethr

Question
QUESTION: we have a ball python who is  2 feet and a new little columbian red tail boa that
is maybe a little over  foot is it safe to house them together

ANSWER: Amber, it is NEVER ok to house different species of snakes together.  Your snakes have different environmental needs.  Not to mention the fact that they could make each other sick.  Also, the boa is going to grow much faster than the ball and because of that and the fact that boas are more active, the boa will soon intimidate the ball and then the ball will go off feed.  I would highly recommend a new cage for your new snake.  Also, because that boa will grow quickly, buy the biggest cage you can afford as a 10 gallon will simply be a waste of money.  And don't forget the plastics isle at your local Wal-mart, some of those plastic boxes (with a few modifications) make for great, large, CHEAP cages!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: If it is not ok to house two snakes of a different species together then why do
they do it at the Zoo and at pet stores? also, how can they make each other
sick?  We did not plan to house them together forever just until the boa gets
a little bigger then the python. Also, we do not feed them in their cage and
we feed them by their selfs in a feeding container. We have had snakes before
but we wanted to know if they would eat each other or attack each other
mainly because of the size difference.  Thanks for you help though

Answer
Amber,

When zoos do it (at least the ones I have seen), they display animals which would normally occur in the same region.  For example red and yellow rat snakes.  When pet stores do it, they should only do the same thing, BUT you're right many don't.  They are setting a poor example.  But remember they are in the business of making money, which means they may not necessarily care about setting an example.  More snakes crammed into fewer cages = more stuff to sell.

Your two snakes do not come from the same region, contienent, or type of habitat.  One is from the semi-arid regions of Africa where it would normally spend most of it's time in a termite mound.  The other is from the tropical forests of central and south America, where it would spend time both on the ground and in the trees.  It's going to be VERY difficult to simulate those two completely different environments in one cage.

How do they make each other sick?  One comes in with it's own set of pathogens (disease causing organisms) which may or may not actually make it sick, and the other with it's own.  One from S. Am. and one from Africa.  Remember the pilgrims and the Indians?  

I try to give the "best" advice I can.  You're right in that they may do fine together for a while.  But, the best advice would be to have a cage set up and ready to go BEFORE you buy the next animal.