Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all..thanks a bunch for the pep talk! You all were wonderful. My browser is messed up so I am only able to post intermitantly, but I thought I would post now since I can and say thank you. I have had my snakes about a week now and they are doing great. I have even handled them a few times and am getting much more confident with them!!

They ARE in the same tank, and I know that cohabbing is generally frowned upon. I was origionally told that they are a male and a female but am pretty confident that they are both males (they each have a 'lump' just above the cloaca). They have been together their entire life (2 years) without the slightest hint of a problem. I have done A LOT of research and talked to a lot of corn snake people and I am still not sure if I am going to seperate them or leave them together. I am pretty much getting a 50/50 split as far as opinions on cohabbing at this point. I did add two more hides (now there are two hides on the warm side and two on the cool side) so they don't have to share anymore. What are your opinions on this?

Also..they seem a little thin in comparison to the pics I have seen. They are being fed 1 adult mouse every 2-3 weeks right now, and I am thinking of bumping them up a bit on their feeding. What are you recomendations for this?

Thanks in advance! I am sure I will have many, many more questions in the days to come!!

AS FOR THE FEEDING- 1 mouse a week per snake. and make sure you feed them seperately b/c if they both latch on to the same food... 1 will end up eatting the other snake. (1 reason why i dont house together) Also...if 1 snake smells mouse on the other... it could strike and kill the other snake. also... if 1 snake is sick, how would you know which one is? and if one is sick. that means 99.999999999999999% chance the other is sick as well and instead of possibly loosing 1 snake, you could loose 2. i'll try to find jimmys cohabitation to post for you to read. i pretty much agree with him.... if not, i'm sure he'll post it soon.
~kin
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~Sober Serpents~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SNAKIES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corns:
.1 Normal (Gertrude) [just a pet...she started it all]
1. Orange normal (Romeo)
1.2 Miami Phase (Hector, Emily, Charlotte) thanks jeff!
2. Miami Phase part zigzag (Starkey, Mcvitty)[Emilys F2]
1. Amel het Blizzard (Dunesbury) .1 Blizzard (Detta)
1. Classic het Hypo, poss het Amel, Anery (Cobra)
1.1 Classics (Henry VIII, Cassy) [Emilys F1 babies]
.1 Sunglow Amel (Pepperoni)*1. Sunglow coming soon!
1.1 Hypo zig zags poss HET Caramel (Bernard, Abegail)
.1 Hypo HET Stripe (Gracie Lou) 1. Hypo Stripe (Gideon)
1.1 Anery HET Motley (Lleroy, Persia)
.2 Candy Cane (Peaches HoneyBlossom[Just a pet], NO NAME)
1.1 Abbotts Okeetee (Albert[Charlottes son], NO NAME)
1.1 Snow (Crickle, Isis) .1 Green Snow (Maya)
1. Caramel poss HET Butter (Topher)
.1 Anery stripe (V) [husbands snake...he named it]
.1 Orange Reverse Okeetee (Lonna)
1.2 Bloodred HET Amel 1. Amel HET Bloodred

Others:
1.1 Black rats (Willard, Cecily)
1.1 Striped Cal Kings (Dweezil, Skunky)
1. High-white Reverse Spotted Cal King (Wishbone) *.1 soon!
.1 Albino Stripe Cal King (Eve)
.1 Bananna spotted/stripe cal king (Speckle) Thanks Jeff!!!
1.1 Thayeri (Giuseppe[MSP], Cheyenne)
1.1 Creamsicle HET Motley(Orangejello, Genevieve)
1. Creamsicle motley (no name) Thanks Jimmy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~LIZARDS~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.1 Blizzard Leopard Gecko(Blitz)
.1? High yellow Leopard Gecko(no name)
1. Bearded Dragon (no name)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~TURTLES~~~~~~~~~~~~
.1 white cheeked mud (Opel)
.1 snapping turtle (Snappy Jaws)

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Co-habitation
Something to think about

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.
My 2 cents
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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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Yes,......I've been in the "snake game" for about 40 years now, and have given many,many people advise over the years,.your post doesn't leave much room for an argument, I agree with every word you said!!, good job................................Doug

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Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!

Thank you guys for the advice, and I appreciate you delivering it in a respectful manor and not totally flaming me for considering both options. I am still on the fence about seperating them...I have read several testimonials from owners who did seperate their snakes and had them 'grieve' and refuse to eat and become very lethargic. On the other hand, there are problems that can and do occur with cohabbing as well.

As for the feeding..what are most of your feeding schedules like? These snakes are used to being fed every 2-3 weeks, but it seems like most snake keepers feed once a week. Do you think I should bump them up?

Yes....once per week is a great rule of thumb. Just my experience
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I have come to the conclusion that there is no cure for snake addiction!

Adult males? Wouldn't every 10 days be a better schedule? I remmember reading something about overfed males developing heart disease. I know it may vary snake to snake...
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1.0 Green Iguana
1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.1 Midnight Blizard Leopard Gecko
2.4 Corn Snakes (2 Blood Red,1 Granite,1 Butter, 1 Creamsicle,1 Anery)
2.1 Ball Python (2 Normal, 1 Lemon Pastel)

They are approx. 2, possibly a bit younger. They have been on a schedule of one mouse every 2-3 weeks but they seem thin compared to other snakes that I have seen on here and that is why I am concerned about their feeding schedule. I will try and get some pics soon..I just need to get some new batteries for my digi!

>>They are approx. 2, possibly a bit younger. They have been on a schedule of one mouse every 2-3 weeks but they seem thin compared to other snakes that I have seen on here and that is why I am concerned about their feeding schedule. I will try and get some pics soon..I just need to get some new batteries for my digi!

any and all of my snakes that are taking adult mice get fed once a week.
If and when any of them begin to show any signs of obesity I will switch them to every other week.
I feed my snakes on Sunday so I would simply make it every other week as opposed to every 10 days just to keep everything feeding on the same day.
I have snakes on adult mice ranging from around 6 years old to 2 years old and none show any signs of weight problems, yet....lol

One note about a statement made in one of the posts about snakes being separated and not doing well.
It is not the separation from the other snake that is the problem.
It is the change in environment that is the problem.
Snakes can sometimes have adverse reactions to changes in environments. New environment my be too large, the temps may not be right, the hides may not seem as secure, substrate could be different or it could be something more subtle such as a new odor.
They will usually settle in, but it can just take a little time.
It is not due to being separated, though. Snakes, especially corn snakes, are solitary animals.
Yes, you see times when snakes will gather in areas such as hibernaculums or for mating but during normal daily living they are solitary.
As mentioned in the co-habitation post, snakes do not have the capacity to like or miss another snake.
The only "attractions" would be mating, food or environment.
So, If you continue to keep them together just be careful and watch for any problems.
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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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