Cohabiting my carpets

Thinking of putting my female jag in with my male jungle, the jag isn't at breeding age or anything, just thinking of trying it out! It will be in a 3ft Penine viv. Just wonderinghow would you feed them if one is a drop feeder and one is a strike feeder, the male is about 5yo and I plan to breed him to the jag anyway just not yet!

So how would you feed them?

And does anyone else cohabit their snakes?

I wouldn't keep them together. As the Male would torture her. Breedable age or not IMO.

The only snakes I have ever co-habited are same-sex corn snakes, and even then I separated them for feeding and gave them a rinse and a dry-off before returning them to their viv (so there was no risk of them smelling food off each other and striking).

I wouldn't co-habit carpets (or other snakes) for a number of reasons:

1. Co-habiting can stress the more subordinate animal and the resulting stress can result in decreased appetite, lethargy, respiratory infection etc;

2. Should one of the inhabitants come down with something e.g. resp infection, there is a high risk it will infect the other snake also....you'll then have to treat 2 snakes and have higher vets bills;

3. Unless you can provide both snakes with separate warm baskings spots and cool areas to rest in, one will dominate at these positions within the viv and the other snake will evetually become ill from not being able to thermoregulate properly. A 3ft Pennine would be too small to allow for this. The only time I've seen pythons co-habited successfully was in large enclosures where each could find its own basking and cool spots.....zoos such as Cotswold Wildlife Park do this very successfully and some private keepers also keep larger pythins and boas this way.....but it requires a lot of room.

4. A strike feeder will always get to the food before the drop feeder. Drop feeders generally require a quiet viv and peace to eat in their own time, usually overnight; if there is another snake in there roaming about the more timid feeder is less likely to feed. In any instance, the strike feeder would end up getting 2 meals instrad of one. They could be separated and tubbed overnight until both had fed, but much better to house them seperately IMO.

5. As WAMA has mentioned above, putting a mature male in with a subadult female is asking for trouble. He will breed the female before she is of sufficient weight and age, and this can result in all sorts of problems such as egg binding. He would also probably be larger than her if he is 5 and she is younger, so the size difference is another reason not to co-habit.

6. Co-habiting makes it more difficult to manage each animal....e.g. you find a shed skin.....who was it from? You find a loose stool....who might have an infection and needs treating?

Hope that helps. Co-habiting animals is one of those never-ending debates with no right or wrong answers.....it depends on your own circumstances and opinions. I wouldn't do it.