Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just wanna share my boys too! Nothing special, but feel free to say how pretty they are - even the plain ol' corn.

Yes, they too are nice looking.

In that first picture, is the snake on the left eating?? Did the other snake latch on to the moust also? What was the out come of having both snakes in the same area and only one eating?
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"I reject your reality and substitute my own" Adam Savage
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0 Creamscicle motley corn
0.1 Creamscicle corn
0.0.1 Normal corn
0.1 Black Pine
1.1 Bearded Dragon

That is not a real bright thing to do.Feeding next each other is not going to end real good.
Take it from me.I housed my corns in one cage without problems because I fed seperately but a few times I got lazy and fed on opposite sides of the cage(4x2) instead of removing one.I turned around to get the other mouse and in that second the other corn came clear across the cage and tagged the other corn on the side of the head,then grabbed the off end of the mouse.Luckily I was there to break it up.The one let go pretty easily.After that I fed seperately only and gave an hour to settle them down before returning one back to the cage...
I no longer house together because I gave my anery away to a friend, so only have my normal now.
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You can see my earlier response - I always feed them separately, this was a "leftover" from another snake. They had both had large meals.

I have had the albino for at least 6 months and just got the more aggressive regular corn. The first day they were together, the albino followed him around forever and the regular corn just kept to himself. It took about a week, but now they do sleep together in the same hide box even though I have 3 hide boxes and deep aspen bedding in the 40-gallon breeder cage that they are in.

Are you indicating that I should not house these corn snakes together?

>>Are you indicating that I should not house these corn snakes together?

I feel it is best to keep snakes separate.
I know a lot of people can and do keep multiple snakes together without problems. I just feel the possible drawbacks need to be expressed.
When a person gets the experience and knowledge of each individual snake in his care, and wants to try co-habitation, it is up to them. They just need to be careful and observant enough to see and understand the subtle signs of stress in their snakes.
There can be definite drawbacks in co-habitation.
If one snake becomes sick there is a very good likelihood the other/others will get sick as well.
It may also take a while (usually too long) to determine which one is the sick one.
If one regurgitates its food you won't know which one unless you happen to get lucky and see it.
If one has a problem stool you won't know which one. Once again one may have a problem and by the time you figure out which one the other/others could end up with the same problem.
Although this is only a slight possibility, it is still a possibility and has been know to happen... one snake could eat the other. Cannibalism can and does occur with corn snakes. The smell of a prey item could trigger one snake to eat the other. Or simple hunger accompanied by a ready food source could do the same. Although uncommon, it has happened and is a possibility.
Another possibility is unwanted pregnancy. A female may become gravid and you may not have the knowledge, desire or ability to incubate the eggs, care for the hatchlings and find homes for them. With hatchlings comes added responsibility.
A lot of people rationalize by saying, "I will just put two males or two females together". That can work but mistakes can be made, especially with hatchlings. You could easily end up with a male and female.
There is also a chance of a female breeding too young or too small and becoming egg-bound. Although uncommon, it is a possibility and can happen.
With multiple snakes in the same enclosure you could easily loose them all if there happens to be an avenue of escape. Instead of losing one you could loose two or more depending on how many you decide to place together.
With multiple snakes in an enclosure, one or all of them could be stressed by the presence of the others. Stress can cause a drop in appetite and other health problems as well.
People will put multiple snakes in an enclosure and ask why one isn't eating.
When they are told it is probably due to stress caused by the other snake, the response is almost always the same "they like each other, they are always under the same hide together". Well this probably just means "that" hide or area of the tank has the optimum conditions they are looking for.
Snakes do not LIKE each other or ENJOY each other’s company.
There is no capacity for snakes to "like" or "enjoy".
I have kept multiple snakes together, without problems, but have made a choice to keep them separate. There are NO good arguments as to why you SHOULD keep them together but there ARE several good arguments as to why you SHOULD NOT.
So, in my opinion, although people do it successfully I just don't think it is worth the risk.
If you decide to keep multiple snakes together, watch closely for any signs of appetite loss, shedding problems, regurgitation or “personality” changes. These could all be signs of stress.
You would also want to feed them in separate containers and give them an hour or so before putting them back together.
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

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Okay - sounds like I will be going to the petstore tomorrow to buy a terrarium - all I have extra right now is a 10-gallon tall. If you saw the picture of the smaller regular corn, would that be adequate, or do I need at least a 20-gallon for him?

The regular corn came from the petstore having lived with 2 other regular corns his size and bigger for several months, so I thought it would be okay. I'll hook him up with his own pad.

okay, I didn't wait. I had an extra 10-gallon tall that I moved my small rat snake into - he likes to climb high anyway. Then I moved my smaller normal corn into the 20-gallon long terrarium. He told me to tell Draybar thanks because a one-bedroom by himself is better than a condo with a big fat albino sitting on his head.

>>okay, I didn't wait. I had an extra 10-gallon tall that I moved my small rat snake into - he likes to climb high anyway. Then I moved my smaller normal corn into the 20-gallon long terrarium. He told me to tell Draybar thanks because a one-bedroom by himself is better than a condo with a big fat albino sitting on his head.

I'm glad you were able to do this.
As I stated, a lot of people keep their snakes together without problems but dificulties can and do arise so why not play it safe if you can.
Good luck and thanks for not taking it as anything other then advise aimed to help.

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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

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No problem on accepting advice (I know my husband wished I was that easy to get along with on all matters). You don't happen to know anything about Prairie Kingsnakes, do you?

>>No problem on accepting advice (I know my husband wished I was that easy to get along with on all matters). You don't happen to know anything about Prairie Kingsnakes, do you?

not a lot.
I caught a nice little hatchling last year at work but after two failed attempts at feeding I decided to let it go while it was still strong enough to survive.
From most everything I have read the general care would be basically the same as for corn snakes.
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

>>>>No problem on accepting advice (I know my husband wished I was that easy to get along with on all matters). You don't happen to know anything about Prairie Kingsnakes, do you?
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>>not a lot.
>>I caught a nice little hatchling last year at work but after two failed attempts at feeding I decided to let it go while it was still strong enough to survive.
>>From most everything I have read the general care would be basically the same as for corn snakes.
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correction
actually it was a mole king. sub species of the prairie.

I found thi slittle snipit
www.kingsnake.com/king/calligaster/ccalligaster.html
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

I normally feed them separately in a 10-gallon aquarium and they had both eaten large meals; however, the pinkie you see was a leftover from my rat snake. The albino corn went on his merry way and didn't even pay attention to the other guy - the photo makes it look like he was coming to get the pinkie, when in fact, he was just passin' on by.

the 'plain old corns' are my favorite!

Their bellies are pretty - but I like the Miami Phase and Oketee the best. However, my albino will always remain the prettiest to me. That's probably how you feel about your first snake!