Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i just bought two corn snake hatchlings, one male and the other female. will i be able to keep them in the same cage, or do they have to be separated? if they can be put in the same cage, is there anything special that i have to do?

thanks for your help,
rachel

I sent you my FAQ on housing snakes together. Hope it helps.

Good luck!

Most will agree you should keep them separate. It prevents the spread of any potential diseases in the future and allows better monitoring of feeding, shedding, etc. Also reduces stress on the animals.

Good Luck
KevinM

>>i just bought two corn snake hatchlings, one male and the other female. will i be able to keep them in the same cage, or do they have to be separated? if they can be put in the same cage, is there anything special that i have to do?
>>
>>thanks for your help,
>>rachel

There are many beliefs, ideas and opinions on the subject so let's start with mine.
It is not truly worth the risk. Yes, there are a lot of people who keep multiple corns together with success, BUT ..there are things to consider.
If one of the snakes regurgitates its food or has a runny stool there is no way to tell which one has the problem.
If one gets sick it is a pretty high likelihood that the other will also.
Some corns are stressed by the presence of other snakes. You might have one, or both of the snakes, that will have eating problems and possibly other problems due to stress.
There is always a chance of cannibalism. Even if you separate the snakes when feeding there is the possibility that the lingering smell of mouse could trigger a feeding response in one of the snakes. On feeding day you have two. The next day you look into the container to see only one and that one is extremely full. There is also a good chance that this hatchling could die if it can't digest a meal of that size.
You can get 6-quart Rubbermaid shoeboxes for around $2.00 each so habitat cost isn't high. For three or four dollars you can get enough aspen shavings to accommodate two "shoebox" habitats for quite a while.
Heating is also pretty easy. You can get a heat pad at Wal-Mart for around ten dollars.
Two shoebox habitats can easily share a heat pad.
So, in my opinion, although people do it successfully I just don't think it is worth the risk.
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Remember, my posts are MY opinion only.
Jimmy (draybar)