Pinky and The Brain in the pool...

New member, first post.
Meet Pinky and The Brain. I've had Pinky for about 6 years now and I know her typical behavior patterns pretty well. They are, hide in my cave or under the bedding for most of the day, come out when she's hungry and wants food then occasionally look for a means to escape.
After all of this time I felt that Pinky deserved some companionship so I purchased "The Brain" who is quite a bit younger and I believe he's male, not entirely sure though.
Here's the thing I am concerned about, as you can see in the pictures, Pinky and The Brain have taken to climbing into the water dish which is on the cold side of the tank and staying there for 1-2 hours that I can observe each day, maybe more. The Brain's eyes are cloudy so I can see him getting ready to shed but Pinky's eyes are clear and she's not due to shed for a couple of weeks.
Every now and then I catch Pinky and The Brain sitting on the warm side of the tank, on the heat rock, under the heat lamp. It really seems like they are cooling themselves off and then warming up over and over again. Has anyone observed similar behavior before? Should I be concerned with the amount of time they are spending in the water?

I wouldn't worry if it's normal.

However, most people here will immediately say you should separate them. That is up to you totally. The main thing about co-habbing is this: Do you have enough space for them both and enough hides so they don't have to compete to get the best place(s) to be warm or cool?
I personally would add one or two more water bowls, so that way you have one on the cool end, one on the middle, and one on the warm end. That might help.

Thanks! It's a 40 gal. tank with 2 large hides (they look like turtle shells) 2 hollowed out wood log halves to slither under, the large water bowl on the cool side, 2 climbing branches, plastic ivy to create more shade, a warming rock surrounded by a few flat, limestone style rocks (good for rubbing) and a heat lamp above the heat rock (the heating element kind, not a light bulb). I also have day and night time UV lights above them. I like the idea of a second water dish on the warmer side, thanks for that! I really hope that I don't have to end up separating them, I don't know if it is really helpful or harmful for them to be together. I was just thinking that it must get boring in there alone. I understand that they may not even have the capacity to know/feel boredom but that's a philosophical conversation for a different thread.
Thanks again for your reply!

If it's a change in Pinky's behaviour, have you checked for mites? Sitting in water is a common reaction to the irritation caused by mites.

They are a beautiful pair. I love their names, too. That is the only cartoon I can watch, for some reason it amuses me. Most cartoons drive me insane with boredom.
Best wishes!

Thanks BorderKelpie, they are a great couple, the whole "trying to take over the world" every night is a bit challenging to deal with but I still love them.
Thank you diamondlil, that's exactly the kind of response I was hoping for, I haven't checked for mites and as soon as I get home, I'll look up how to, then do it (I'm at work right now).

Do you really have a heat rock, like you plug it in and it gets hot? Those are not recommended for use with any reptiles (except by the manufacturer). My vet even has packaging from them in his office with a big sign that says DO NOT USE HOT ROCKS!! The reason is because they get hot enough to burn. Maybe your snakes are getting way too hot, having to cool off, then wanting to warm up, but getting too hot again.

Most people use an under tank heater regulated by a rheostat as lamps can make it to warm in the viv & dry it out making it difficult to shed. With the under tanks heaters they get the belly heat and it helps them thermoregulate I would recommend looking into getting one and getting rid of the lamps it might help with them moving back and forth causing them to become stressed and may refuse to eat or regurge.

Amen on the hot rocks - thats pretty much accepted to be a no-no...

Snakes dont react to heat like mammals do - so if they are overheating or being burnt it takes them a long time to realise and by then the damage can already be done - blisters under scales cant be very pleasant for them - not to mention local heat wont do their internal organs all that much good - since they dont actively thermoregulate like a mammal can and rely external heat to keep everything running properly..

Like the others have said. Get rid of the heat rock. And you dont need the over head light either. The snakes are probably going back and forth because they cant find the right temp they need. An under the tank heater with thermostat would fix this. I cant really say much on keeping the two together, some have luck with it and others dont. It does sound like you have plenty of hides though. I would just make sure you have two hides on the hot side, two on the cool and two in the middle.

Heat rock and heat lamp are definately bad ideas. You need a UTH with a way to regulate it for proper heat for these guys.
As also mentioned - it could also be a reaction to mites which your new snake may have brought in and contaminated your existing snake (another reason why cohabitating is not a good idea). You should always quarantine a new snake, preferably in a separate room, from any existing snakes you own for a period of time to determine if there are any health issues that could spread to your new snake.

Thanks for all of the responses. The tank came with Pinky when I bought her 5-6 years ago and she has never behaved like this before so I don't think it's a thermal regulation problem. Maybe "heat rock" was a bad term, this plug in rock does get slightly warm but it does not get hot, certainly not hot enough to burn. Pinky has been using the warming rock for over 5 years now and uses it in a predictable manner, after eating, drinking a little and resting, she heads over to the rock to warm up and digest her mouse.
I will take your suggestions and get rid of the rock and lamp, I've wanted to get a under the pad heater for a while now but didn't really have a reason to, everything was working out for Pinky just fine. Then The Brain comes around and messes everything up. Now Pinky is all over the enclosure, taking long baths, hanging out on the branches, honestly it's kind of nice, I get to see her a lot more, but the behavior change did concern me. This is why I created the account, and now I know about heat lamps and hot rocks. Cool.

zaczac said:

Thanks for all of the responses. The tank came with Pinky when I bought her 5-6 years ago and she has never behaved like this before so I don't think it's a thermal regulation problem. Maybe "heat rock" was a bad term, this plug in rock does get slightly warm but it does not get hot, certainly not hot enough to burn. Pinky has been using the warming rock for over 5 years now and uses it in a predictable manner, after eating, drinking a little and resting, she heads over to the rock to warm up and digest her mouse.
I will take your suggestions and get rid of the rock and lamp, I've wanted to get a under the pad heater for a while now but didn't really have a reason to, everything was working out for Pinky just fine. Then The Brain comes around and messes everything up. Now Pinky is all over the enclosure, taking long baths, hanging out on the branches, honestly it's kind of nice, I get to see her a lot more, but the behavior change did concern me. This is why I created the account, and now I know about heat lamps and hot rocks. Cool.

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Another reason she could be all over the place may be caused by stress. Snakes usually show it in that manner. Snakes are not meant to coin-habit. If she starts refusing to eat or regurgitates I would highly recommend separating for their own good.

Zaczac please listen to the advice given its for the best of your snakes you need to separate them ASAP, there can be tons of problems and issues when hosing multiple snakes in 1 tank. Don’t forget to get a thermostat or rheostat for your heatpad.

Damn, I was hoping that would not be the case (stress from cohabitation). If it is not mites and if she shows other signs like not eating or broken up shed skin, I'll separate them for their own good. Poop. She has always had excellent full sheds, I'll know if the cohabitation is bothering her.
Thanks again for all of the excellent advice!

I don't know if you quarantined or not, but if not that could be part of your problem. The second snake could have had mites and passed them onto the first snake, hence both of them trying to use the water dish for relief. It's always been thought snakes should not be co-habbed and I think this is a good case against it.
I would check them both for little black dots, especially around their face and if you find any there or in the water, you have mites.
Please try to find another viv for one of the snakes and that way you will be sure they won't be stressed from trying to fight for the best areas in the viv.
Good luck to you in whatever way you decide to go.

Did not quarantine The Brain before introducing him to the "viv" which I guess means tank. I just checked The Brain and can't find any "black dots". He has very cloudy eyes so he should be shedding any day now. I'll let you know if it's a healthy shed. Pinky is hiding so I'll have to check her tomorrow. I'll get rid of the heat rock and overhead heater when I find a regulated heat pad I can place underneath. If cohabitation is really that bad for Pinky I'll just have to take The Brain back to the pet store, I can't buy another tank nor do I have the room for it. I would hate to do that because I really like his personality and he is MUCH more handler friendly than Pinky. The Brain just chills out when you hold him, moves around a bit but that's all. Pinky is always looking for an escape.

Instead of a large aquarium for The Brain, why don't you go with the storage tote method? That way, you can keep him. His is very attractive and you seem to like him. I'd hate for you to have to give him up. Storage totes aren't very pretty, but they are easy to manage and don't take up much room at all.
I have several storage totes arranged for my snakes, and, if you can get the under tank heat source, you can even stack them if necessery. I used to keep mine on metal storage shelves that I got from Home Depot or Target or somewhere like that because I was worried about wood and heat sources. Worked out really well for me.
I bet we could brain storm (lol - no pun intended) a way for you to separate Pinky and The Brain without having to part with him.
Any ideas, anyone?