Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it safe to do this year round? Or will they kill each other?

You can keep MOST rat snakes together as long as they are about the same size. Just keep in mind that they will fight over food. One snake might even bite the other after the feeding has taken place just because he can still smell the prey's scent on the skin of the other snake. It is always best to feed them in separate enclosures.

There is another reason to keep them separated all the time, illness. If one snake gets sick, the other snake is less likely to catch the same illness if they are kept separate.

Just to be clear: It is always BEST to keep each snake in its own cage, for the reasons mentioned above, and for other reasons, too. That said...I assume you are talking "pairs" as in a male and a female of the same kind of ratsnake. Are they together already, or are you getting ready to set up for new arrival(s)? How old are they? Are you planning on breeding them, and are they old/big enough to do OK with the potential for the female unexpectedly becoming gravid? Do/did these snakes come from the same place, and were they housed together previously? If they were not already together (and you have not put them together yet), you should really keep them apart until you have clearly determined that both animals are healthy. By then, of course, you will have two cages, so...why bother putting them together. As you can see, it might just be easier to give them each their own cage. If cost is an issue, I suggest looking into sterilite/tupperware for one of them. Duffy

That said, pay close atention to everything that Duffy and the "fan" said. They are absolutely correct. I don't pair snakes that aren't similar in size and known healthy. I also feed them all in a separate feeding container to avoid competition. I love keeping them together because it provides better viewing and all of my snakes are doing well. They don't exhibit stress, they do hang out around the same areas together and all feed well. My biggest conglomeration is currently 3 subadult Everglades in a Vision 322. As they grow, though, that'll need to drop to a pair. I like to ensure they have plenty of room.
Here's an old shot of the snake tangle.

just do to the lack of space I have around hatching season. Then one day, one of my females decided to consume her sibling. They had not been fed for 2-3 days so they were not fighting over food. It was pretty crazy....but it can happen. I believe the older they are, the less chance you have of this happening. These were Black Ratsnakes.

I got 5 '03 black rats in October and put all of them in a 40 gallon aquarium with lots of climbing branches. Nearly have to tear the darn thing apart for every feeding. I've enjoyed having them in the aquarium as it's the main living room display tank. Now that spring is around the corner, I plan on separating all five into their own enclosures. I will probably put a group of 1.2 corn snakes that are ready to breed into the tank instead. After that I will probably turn it over to my juvie Jungle Carpet Python. (By then I hope to have built at least one rack, if not two to house EVErYONe seperate) It's fun to have them all visible, watch them clump together, but feeding separate is just bugging me... way too much effort!

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~Sasheena