Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a Western Diamondback and Eastern Diamonback that i'v kept separately for the last few years but due to a lack of room, i'm planning on housing them together in a large glass enclosure. Any reason why this cant be done?

well other than the obvious reason that they are different species, there are dozens of other reasons why they should NOT be housed together. i dont have time to go into detail right now but im sure someone else will be glad to list all the reasons why different species (even the same species most of the time) should not be housed together.

IMHO if you dont have the room to keep both of these snakes separately in adequate enclosures, get rid of them in a responsible manner.
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Dylan Lutz

1.1 BCI, 1.0 Bearded Dragon

We keep multiple crotalines in the same exhibit, HOWEVER, there is a specific purpose for doing it:
- same species used for a breeding program
- several different species found in the same geographic area to show the similarities and differences of these animals.

If your purpose is to keep them together because you can't afford to keep them separately, or, that you don't have room for two cages, then you ought to consider getting rid of one (personally, if you can't afford a second cage that means you can't afford the antivenin, and you most likely don't have any, which means that you are expecting that a local zoo is responsible for saving your rear which basicall means, in this very long, run on sentence, that you shouldn't keep them period). This is a bit harsh, but your question kind of set you up for a few, honest answers.

There is also the other obvious reason in that C. atrox and C. adamanteus come from two completely different regions of the U.S. and have very different husbandry requirements...if for nothing else, this reason alone should be enough to answer your initial question.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center

>>well other than the obvious reason that they are different species, there are dozens of other reasons why they should NOT be housed together. i dont have time to go into detail right now but im sure someone else will be glad to list all the reasons why different species (even the same species most of the time) should not be housed together.
>>
>>IMHO if you dont have the room to keep both of these snakes separately in adequate enclosures, get rid of them in a responsible manner.
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>>Dylan Lutz
>>
>>1.1 BCI, 1.0 Bearded Dragon
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

I agree with this analysis and also point out the issue of opening one door to deal with two dangerous snakes.

Here is where I get confused. Seems like just about every other rattlesnake exhibit or picture has two conspecifics in the same enclosure. Are there many husbandry reasons to discourage this?

Right off the top of my head, the three main reasons I do not like to house even conspecifics together (unless breeding, obviously) is 1)dealing with multiples as a safety issue, as already mentioned, 2)feeding, much more easily done with one appetite than two, and also again a safety issue, and 3)defecation. Who is putting out what, exactly?
Call me paranoid, but dealing one-on-one is safer and allows you to know who is up to what at any given time.

Granted, husbandry is pretty similar but their are enough subtle differences (hot spot/background temps, ambient humidity, substrate, etc.) in their requirements that they should be kept separately.

>>I agree with this analysis and also point out the issue of opening one door to deal with two dangerous snakes.
>>
>>Here is where I get confused. Seems like just about every other rattlesnake exhibit or picture has two conspecifics in the same enclosure. Are there many husbandry reasons to discourage this?
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL