Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Are there any snakes out there that can live and cohabit with its own kind? Just thought it'd be cool to have a tank with multiple snakes in there instead of just one.

In larger enclosures it is possible to keep some types of snakes together. I keep my Rubber Boas in the same enclosure, and three of my Sand Boas share a 60 gallon tank. I don't notice any difference in behavior between the Sand Boas that are kept alone and those that are kept together, they all eat very well and have good temperaments. I haven't tried cohabitating Rosy Boas, as I've heard they are more easily stressed out.

When keeping multiple snakes in the same enclosure, however, there are always certain risks involved. If one snake gets ill, chances are all of the snakes will catch that illness as well. If one snake regurgitates a meal, it is sometimes difficult to determine which one did it. It is difficult to keep track of who is pooping and when, though in the case of my Sand Boas, each one is a different size so I can generally tell which piece of poop came from which boa. Additionally, there is also the risk (albeit a very low risk with Erycine boas) that one snake will get hungry and confused and decide to make a meal out of one of his/her tankmates. This is not usually a problem as long as the snakes are fed well.

There are people on here who have kept snakes like Kings and Corns together in the same enclosure, though that is not something I would want to risk with my own animals because those kinds of snakes tend to feed on other snakes in the wild. Lots of people also keep multiple garters in the same habitat, though I have heard reports of them preying on each other as well.

Basically the message is that yes, you can keep certain kinds of snakes together in the same enclosure without having to worry too much, but you need to understand that there will always be certain risks involved.
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- Natalie
(San Francisco Bay Area)

1.0 Banded California King
1.0 Mexican Black King
1.0 Bay of LA Rosy Boa
0.1 San Ignacio Rosy Boa
0.1 Ortiz Rosy Boa
2.3 Kenyan Sand Boas
0.1 Saharan Sand Boa
1.2 Rubber Boas
0.1 Pickering's Gartersnake

I agree with everything stated above and have a friend that has been keeping a couple cornsnakes together for a couple years without any problems. Small snakes such as Red-bellied snakes tend to do well together also but regardless of what species you end up deciding to house together you will either need to VERY closely supervise feeding or just feed them separately. I would recommend just feeding separately. Even with species that never eat other snakes it is possible for any species to smell the food that their cage-mate is eating, grab onto its other end, and start eating. Once the two snakes meet half way down the prey item one inevitably will work itself right over the other and swallow it.

In my personal opinion you absolutely should NOT house any kingsnakes together. The same can be said for milks but kings are MUCH more likely to eat their own species. My girlfriend once told me a story about some hatchling kingsnakes at a petsore she used to work at that escaped their enclosure and somehow made it into an aquarium with a juvenile kingsnake. In the morning they found an empty hatchling tank and a very fat kingsnake next door. woops...

Kingsnakes can be housed together if they are siblings and well fed, though I agree that for most keepers, there is always that fear.

I've housed milks together alot. In all cases, siblings from the same clutch. I've done Sinaloans (different bloodlines) and Pueblans (not Sinaloans with Pueblans) and have not seen snake-eating behavior ever.

I did Cal kings too with no incidences. But then, I adhered to strict guidelines that have worked. The benefit was the behaviors that you can observe that you do not see when keeping them singly. Kingsnakes live in tight groups in the wild.
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Mark

A pair of garters of similar size will interact well.

I have one tank with 3 dekay browns, 2 small garters and a red belly, they have all lived that way for 1.5 years, just fine.

I have seen them ball up together on chilly nights.

Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey

our critters

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1.0.0 Ball Python - Python regius "Cane" Rescue
0.0.1 Eastern MilkSnake WC "Carmello" adult super sweet temperment
1.2.3 Storeria dekayi Casper, Xena, Athena, & Kids (30 plus released!)
0.0.2 Thamnophis marcianus - Checkered Garters "spot" & "Zig"
2.2.0 Thamnophis radix Snow, Iowa snow & christmas snow het.
2.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis - "Flame" red and white stripes
1.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis CB "Flame" & Melanistic
1.0.0 Thamnophis pickeringi - Puget Sound Garter "Sky" (adult, Sky blue)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon - Water Snake - "Aqua" adult WC
0.1.0 Storeria occipitomaculata - Red Belly snake (Her children were raised & released)
0.0.1 Amelanistic Corn Snake "CY" Juvinile CB
1.0.0. Pueblan Milk snake "Oreo" adult CB
1.0.0. ASIAN GREEN SNAKE 3' WC Cyclophiops major"Limon"
0.0.1. Savannah Monitor "CHOMPER" Growing fast!
0.1.0. Green Anole "Crystal" WC
1.0.0. K9 "ACE" Black Cockapoo
0.2.0. Feline"Felix"(R.I.P. 4/27/08) "Kaja" & "Silver"
2.1.0. calico RATS
2.4.?? Mice - Feeder farm - Crickets / fish
More herps than I could ever list out back on the land.

i had a breeding trio(1.2) of coastal carpet pythons in the same enclosure for almost 4 yrs,with no problems whatsoever.the only time that i separated them was for weekly feeding and yearly cooling.i had an old 6' butcher case,46" tall,36"deep,with a large branch(actually the main trunk from an old crepe myrtle tree from my backyard)2 heated areas,basking lights,and a large plastic water tub on the cool end of the tank.the case was totally mirrored on the inside,which made for a great display tank.the male was roughly 7',1 female was 6 1/2',and the other female was almost 9'.they would sprawl out on different sections of the branch,and just chill out.
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1.1 cb spotted turtles (parker(f),stinky(m))
0.0.1 cb baby red cheek mud (unnamed as of yet)
0.0.1 cb baby chiapas musk (chomper)
0.0.3 wc baby stinkpots (inky,blinky,&dot)
1.1 wc eastern mud turtles (george & jane)
1.0 cb eastern painted turtle (fred)
0.0.1 mississippi map (lil' dummy)
0.0.1 cb ally snapper (gamera)
1.0 cb albino corn (rusty)
0.0.1 wc halloween crab
0.1 irritating cat (sassy )
2.0 cb children (sidney,13 & kaelan,5)
0.1 wc wife (danae,age withheld due to fears for personal safety)

I think the better question to answer, guys, is "are there any snakes that a beginner can house together?"

Those of you who mention that you have snakes housed together, how many of you have kept snakes for a decade or more?

I would suggest for anyone who is just starting with snakes, don't try to keep more than one together. You should get the experience of caring for one or two separately first, so that you learn how to "read" your snakes' reactions and can perfect your husbandry.

It would be cool to house more than one snake together, but I'd say if you don't have room to be able to separate them if needed, then just stick with the one or two snakes you've got. If one of the snakes in a multi-snake cage did get sick, you'd have to separate them anyway, quarantine and all that.

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Holly

0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Lizzie Borden) (missing )
1.0 Florida Kingsnake (Eddie Gein)
0.0.2 Cornsnakes (Lyle & Erik Menendez)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Charley Manson)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Black Cat (Shadowfax)
1.0 Egyptian Arabian (Bagan) (Deceased )
1.0 Tennessee Walking Horse (Durango)

2.0 Toddlers (Justice & Trevor)

Great point, Holly.

Still, there are snakes like gartersnakes that do quite well together. And rubber boas, I think they almost prefer it.

The first time I kept two snakes together, I was a kid. Two watersnakes, which had babies during the summer. I was fascinated.
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Mark