housing snakes together of different species

Question
I have recently acquired a red-tailed boa and a reticulated python.  I want to know if I can put them in the same enclosure.

Answer
I personally wouldnt.

I am generally against keeping snakes of different species together as it can cause unnecessary problems. With your two snakes -especially if the red-tail is male and the retic female - there will be a big size difference of possibly 12-15ft. this can result in avoidable stress for the smaller snake and may put it off feeding. another problem with housing snakes of different species is that some snakes are immune to certain illnesses and others not. This means that whilst one snake shows no signs of an illness due to immunity, the illness can be passed on to the other snake with potentially dangerous consequences.

Despite this, many people do house snakes of different species together without problems, but in my opinion it's not worth the risk.

Thanks for your question,

Andy