Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all, I have your typical question about housing corns together. I've read a lot of the arguments for and against. I think one of the biggest arguments against, given that I have three healthy corns, is the fear of breeding too young and endangering the female due to egg binding.

My question relates to this specifically. We'll leave aside possibilities of cannabalism, spreading infection, and the need to feed in separate containers.

It's late in the year, and I don't THINK that if I put my corns together they will respond with attempts to breed. But I don't KNOW the cycles of corn snakes that well. IF I put them together is it LIKELY (anything is POSSIBLE) that the male will jump the two girls resulting in a dangerous situation?

I'm picking up a sixty gallon aquarium in the next week and was planning on putting the three corns in the aquarium together. They will have multiple hides, a warm spot in the middle with two cool ends, many things to climb on, and will be fed separately. Two of the three were housed together until I purchased them earlier in the year, but I separated them when I purchased a snake rack. (Turned out to be one of the worst purchases I've made.... I've lost more snakes from this rack than anything) I'm hoping to put the three corns together in the one cage for the fall, brumate them in the winter, and then leave them together so that they might breed. Once I have a sense that they are gravid I will separate all three.

Anyway, thoughts, opinions, etc, are welcome.
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~Sasheena

Corns can and will breed anytime they are warm enough.

Tim
Southampton Herps

Hello Sasheena, I would not put them together until AFTER you slow them down (drop the temps). I've never brumated snakes together, but a friend of mine does his like that all the time. If you are planning on breeding the group together then it really doesn't matter, BUT if you want a select breeding project, NEVER introduce a male that you don't want to be the daddy. Never have any doubts as to who produced what if you are after a certain trait, etc... If the whole group is going to be bred together than that doesn't matter.

Kerby...

>>Hello Sasheena, I would not put them together until AFTER you slow them down (drop the temps). I've never brumated snakes together, but a friend of mine does his like that all the time. If you are planning on breeding the group together then it really doesn't matter, BUT if you want a select breeding project, NEVER introduce a male that you don't want to be the daddy. Never have any doubts as to who produced what if you are after a certain trait, etc... If the whole group is going to be bred together than that doesn't matter.
>>
>>Kerby...

Thanks Kerby, I really have a lot to go on in this particular case. I'll keep them separate (might put the girls together) and won't put the male in with the females until they've been off food and cooled for a few weeks. (Or I might just wait until spring). In this particular instance, the male is slated to be bred to both the females in the spring anyway, as he will be the only male corn snake of breedable age, and they the only females of breedable age. But again, just learning right now, trying to figure out which single, or multiple snakes, to put in our "living room display" cage. We had one snake slated to be in there, but alas, she died, so I'm looking at alternatives. Perhaps I'll put my Jungle Carpet Python in there and leave the corns all to their lonesome.

Thanks again to everyone on this board for your sound advice.
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~Sasheena