Actually, I took the part off about the male female deal. I reread the post you put and had for some reason originally thought I'd read male in with female. I then saw that it was female/female...still not good but better than a pair of opposites. I had edited it out but you got a hold of it too fast! LOL! If I had unlimited funds I'd build a room size viv for each snake. I've entertained thoughts of how to build a building that has cages with access to individual outdoor sections. My friend keeps his turtles like that. Just don't have the means to do it so I have to settle with larger cages that are as natural as I can make them in the space I have. I'd certainly have more if I had the room for them. I can only fit so many 4 ft long by 2 ft high by 2 ft deep cages in the room. The corns have nearly 4 ft long cages by 2 ft deep and 18" high. They don't need the height of the arboreal since they spend more time on the ground. In my dreams I'd have a huge building with the roof with plexiglass openings to let in lots of natural light. Kind of like the greenhouses you see except much bigger...maybe like you see at large nursery's. The cages would be open screen types because I could control the humidity in the building and airflow. I'd have them all natural with trees and bushes and plants of all types. I'd also love running water in them. I totally love that in the snail eater's cage. It's basically a dart frog setup, but it works wonderfully for the smaller species. I'd like something like it for my eyelash viper as well. Unfortunately....I'm not rich as Midas at this time and don't expect to be anytime soon, so I have to do the best I can..which is provide as large a cage as can be managed and give them as natural a caging as possible. No one is saying that you need a 10 to keep them. I DO say that you need to meet minimum requirements. A living space large enough to accomodate the animal, food that meets it's nutritional needs, temperatures that meet it's needs, medical care should it be necessary, hiding areas to give it a feeling of safety and a cage alone in respect for it's natural habits. This is true of ANY animal you own. If you have a dog...it should be kept the way a dog's natural needs are met...the need of the animal...not the need of Susie or Joe or Meg ...the dog. If you have a cat, you need to meet the needs of that cat....not the dog....a horse...the horse's needs. Too many of us keep their animals in ways that are convenient for US, not what the animal really needs to thrive as THAT species. Dogs need a pack, horses need a herd, wide spaces and the ability to graze constantly. Cats need...well...cats just want what they want! Snakes need to be alone. It's in their DNA...that's the basics of the animal. You can keep them in a tank with paper towel and hides...that works...yes it does. People keep them that way and they do fine....pretty much. You meet the minimum needs of the species-and snakes don't require that much. However, when you keep multiple snakes together, you are no longer meeting the minimum needs of the animal....you are going against the basic instincts of it. I personally think that keeping in more naturalistic and larger cages helps keep the snakes active and stimulated. Since I don't feed weekly, my snakes are almost always out and active hunting for food and searching through the cages. Babies are kept in smaller tubs to help them feel more secure. They are moved to larger setups when they are ready. I've had some snakes that take longer to move into larger cages because they stress too much when they get into the bigger spots. I had a green tree python that did not handle moving to a larger space well at all. I moved her back into a tub to provide her with less stress until she grew a little more. She is still one of my more nervous snakes that does not like to be handled and reacts to things more strongly than my other green trees. I respect that by avoiding handling her at all, usually leaving her strictly alone except to spot clean and feed/water changes. I don't make her have to tolerate me more than I have to. Bigger would not necessarily be better for her. You judge each snake....I still would NOT ever co-habitate a snake with even my calmest snake because it just...is...against....their....nature....period!
