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Hi to all

I was wandering...is it safe to house multiple specimens of mexicana mexicana, thayeri, alterna, greeri on the same enclosure? Are these species (and subspecies) ophiophagous, or have any of you experienced this?

Cheers

>>Hi to all
>>
>>I was wandering...is it safe to house multiple specimens of mexicana mexicana, thayeri, alterna, greeri on the same enclosure? Are these species (and subspecies) ophiophagous, or have any of you experienced this?

They are kingsnakes thus are ophiophagous.....But I have housed and brumated pairs together on occasion.....
I would only do this with the ones you trust to do this with...I can tell which ones that will not co habitat safely with another.....

Also....I have lost one male due to a female killing him, but not eating him.....This happened during a breedin attempt in 2004.....

I wouldn't encourage this practice but some folks do.....
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

Thank you
Yes, kingsnakes are ophiophagous that's why I asked, simply because some species could be less inclined to eat one another

The likelyhood with that complex is very low. Any snake can eat another snake given the right conditions or individual personality. But with thayeri, etc the likelyhood is quite low.

I've housed mex-mex together, thayeri together. Never saw one eat another. What would be helpful is if folks would reply who have had it happen. John did reply that a female did kill a male I think he said. So that is one.

BTW, when you house two snakes separately until adulthood, then thrust them together in a small box, the likelyhood of one attacking the other is much higher than if the two snakes were housed together when young. That is what I have seen anyway, and that goes for any kingsnake, even Cal kings.
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Mark

Mark, I totally agree with the age factor and tight quarters. I am raising some kings together and some of the two year olds ( splendidas and holbrooki) are still together without incidence. The others are separate because they don't fit into my breeding plans. That said, all snakes can be ophiophages so to do any of this would be at your own risk. Your support must be high and your hides must be appropriate in number. Frank Retes certainly has an excellent point here about them being clannish, IMO.
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Todd Hughes

>>Frank Retes certainly has an excellent point here about them being clannish, IMO.
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Oh you bet. This is such an interesting aspect of keeping these snakes.

I completely understand the reasoning why most keep the snakes separate (cage size, management, cleaning, etc), and I understand that keepers do not want the possibility of one snake eating another. Unfortunately by doing that, we miss seeing the dynamic that goes on between individuals, namely siblings, but also with certain males and females which clearly pair off from the rest. Fun stuff. Interesting stuff.
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Mark

I agree, and if your colony is clean, you shouldn't have to worry about sick snakes affecting others. I understand others' rationale on this part, I just don't agree with it. I think it an advanced part of keeping, one should learn to keep one separately,and successfully, then several separately, and successfully before moving on to trying to keep pairs and trios.
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Todd Hughes

>>I agree, and if your colony is clean, you shouldn't have to worry about sick snakes affecting others. I understand others' rationale on this part, I just don't agree with it. I think it an advanced part of keeping, one should learn to keep one separately,and successfully, then several separately, and successfully before moving on to trying to keep pairs and trios.
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Does one do this on a 1 acre lot or in a rubbermaid?.....LOL
The affects of the rubbermaid will definitely make your snakes act differently than in the wild....no doubt about it.....The "wild" cannot be replicated in a rubber sweater box nor a lavish enclosure....

Individual snakes have their own characteristics/attitudes.
Some can be kept together....Some cannot....
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

agreed, but show me one from the wild.....then we can compare apples to apples, please, our rubbermaid snakes are NOT wild, even my w.c. snakes are becoming desensitized, some come begging just like a c.b.
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Todd Hughes

>>agreed, but show me one from the wild.....then we can compare apples to apples, please, our rubbermaid snakes are NOT wild, even my w.c. snakes are becoming desensitized, some come begging just like a c.b.

That's why snakes make such good captives, eh?.......
Come on over I'll show you a wild king snake from Mexico........
Very much desensitized from being a captive for a LONG time...lol
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

For the group dynamic, it is my opinion that the cage must be larger than a sweaterbox.

I kept my kings in a 2ft x 4ft cage, and it seemed big enough to elicit some noticeable behaviors in the kings that one doesn't see when kept singly.

The 1 acre cage was too expensive..
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Mark

Hahahahaha, lmao, yep it takes too long to spot clean too!
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Todd Hughes

>>Hahahahaha, lmao, yep it takes too long to spot clean too!
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>>Todd Hughes

Or change out the ASPEN.....lol
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

I also had a female Thayeri breeder kill a male when I put them together for 15 minutes and didn't watch them. She did not try to eat him either. Also had sibling babies try to eat each other without food being present. Mike Bodner

Not a chance I would want to try myself!

Scott

Indiana Jones. Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?