Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know I have asked before, but I need some opinions with my problem. I have 6 corns in my class. 2 males in one tank, 2 females in one tank , and 1 male and 1 female in a third tank. The mixed couple I got that way have decided not to change. The other four I got at one time and housed together up till this past winter(Oh the snakes are 2 years old). I seperated so they wouldn't mate. I just got moved from my school to a new school. I have a space issue and can't keep as many tanks this year. Can I put the four snakes together in one tank that is large enough to house them and have enough hides for all four snakes? The snakes lived togehter for over a year. I know I risk mating and that is fine, I have plenty of students that want snakes. And yes I feed them seperately.

I will keep the other two together in a different tank because they are smaller.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Brian

The subject of housing together has been covered at length on this forum, so I won't go into all of the various issues. It sounds like you are already aware of some of them. I would suggest looking back through some of the posts on keeping corns together. They will probably be fine, especially if they are used to living with other corns. But that is only probably - many things could go wrong, so just be aware of the possibility and be ready for the possible consequences.
-----
1.0 Anery Corn
1.0 Anery Motley Corn
1.0 Sunglow Motley Corn
0.1 Amel Stripe Corn
3.5 Leopard Geckos
3.1 Crested Geckos
1.0 Peacock Day Gecko
0.1 Gold Dust Day Gecko
1.1 Giant Day Geckos
4.2 Cats

First of all...Good for you for exposing your students to herps! Some of my kids' teachers have had snakes, and most of the kids really seem to love it.

Personally, I would consider taking one tank home with you, and possibly separating those snakes eventually. As the other post suggested...You may very well be able to put 4 corns together, but it is not the BEST possible setup for them, and you do have some responsibility to TEACH what is best for the animals.

As for babies...You have plenty of student who WANT snakes, yes.
But does wanting them mean that they can and will take them and properly care for them? What grade do you teach?

Final thought: If you have enough "space" for 1 tank that is large enough for 4 corns...How is it that you do not have enough space for multiple tanks housing one or two each? Also, keep in mind that the corns will continue to grow and may very well require their own cages eventually. Given that...Sooner is better for your snakes' sake.

Good luck! Tough choices, but I am sure that you will do what is best for the snakes and be a better teacher for it.
Duffy

What size tanks do you have for them currently? And you say you have students who would like them and as it was pointed out how many would take care of them...but also yeah they want them but there is this one really pesky little thing called mom and dad, lol. You have to think in a year or whenever they are ready to breed, if they do, you have 3 pairs, laying up to 15 eggs per pair, possibly 2-3 times in one year! Thats a lot of baby snakes!
-----
The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

Battling ignorance one stupid person at a time.

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat(Lola)
1.0 Neonate Black Rat (het for Lic Stk's) (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds ("Bill" and "The Bride aka Beatrix Kiddo" )

The tank I was thinking of putting all four in is 4 feet long by 1 1/2 feet deep. If I did come into a situation where I had more snakes than "willing" parents, I would give them to the person I got my first four(these snakes) from and he said he would be able eo find them homes. Last year I was approached by over forty families that wanted a snake. I quess having a teacher that walks around all day with a snake on his arm eliminates a lot of fears. I also bring my snakes and beardeds to classes and give basic lessons ( not at the same time). Again, any suggestion would be appreciated!

Brian

I taught sixth grade for 13 years and this year I am in 5th grade. I would make sure anyone who took a snake(or any animal) would know the responsibilities involved. The issue actually is the number of tanks. I also have 4 bearded dragons in two set-ups , 2 geckos in one set-up, and a chamelion in another set-up. Therefore, I have 7 tanks going into my class and my new school has never had any reptiles and there aren't even gerbils or hamsters. I am introducing the school to a whole new "idea" and I don't want to do too much at once(scare them off), so I thought consolidating might help a little.

What health risks could I subject my snakes to if I were to house four in one tank?

All suggestions welcomed!

Thanks!
Brian

You already mentioned the idea of unexpected eggs. Other issues are the possible stress that one or more of the animals can experience as it competes for space, favorite hides, hotspots, etc, and the stress that the females can experience if the males are after them all season long.
Other issues: If one snake becomes ill, the liklihood of all becoming ill is high. And...If any of the above causes a snake to puke...the 64 thousand dollar question: Who puked and now needs to go 10 days with no food. Answer: They all do I guess.

That said, there are plenty of folks housing multiple snakes with OK results. It can be done, but it is not the best possible scenario for your animals. I would suggest that if you DO house them together, you go out of your way to tell your interested students that one snake to a cage is probably best.

Good luck, and again, good for you for teaching herps! Duffy

Being a beginner keeper i usually stay out of these types of posts. But i haven't seen anyone mention the possibility of cannibalism. Now from what i have seen on the sites it seems it is more common in young snakes, is this an issue with older snakes as well?

Whatever you do i wish you, the snakes and your students the best of luck with the class zoo if only teachers were that cool when i was in school.

Wayne

Probably the least likely problem that he might have, since he has stated that he does not feed them together. In the older corns, it is most likely to happen if two are trying to eat the same prey item. OOOPS! I ate my tank-mate, too!