Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm more used to some of the Asian rats that can be housed together, but I'm looking into Baird's, and have not seen any info for or against this practice.

Thanx in advance!

Freight

I fall against it, however i usually say never house two snakes together...basic reasons. if one is sick the other will be. if you see bloody excrement or if one regurgs you wont know which one it comes from. breeding problem if you have two opposite sex snakes..and can come before the female is ready to possibly killing her. then you have a minor problem of cannibilism. this could posilby kill the one eating it as well. the list goes on and on...i'm kinda tired though so anyone wanna pick up what i've forgotten i'd appreciate it.

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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Neonate Black Rat (het for Lic Stk's) (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)

I'm farmiliar with the "possible" complications of keeping certain species in pairs/groups, but I do know that other species do very well, and sometimes better together than alone. So, I just figured I'd put it out there, and I think that pic was a very good answer to the question!

Thank you

Freight

I keep Obsoleta in pairs all of the time. It's not the generally accepted practice and but it works fine for me. I've never had a problem. Crtoon (Clint?) is right about all of his cautions. Now that I've said this, you will get a lot of other folks responding to tell you they consider this a risky practice and all of their concerns will be valid. You need to be extra sure to follow high level husbandry practices, provide extra room to accomodate a second snake and feed them outside of the main cage. If they both lock onto the same pinkie and you aren't there to see it, you could have an accidental cannibalism episode. If you are a high quality keeper, it may work out fine for you. Personally, I like the look of a nice cage will multiple animals. You will frequently see zoo displays with multiple Obsoleta and they sometimes mix in other species as well. Make the choice that is right for you and enjoy the animals..

Chris. lol.

As I said there are a bunch of people who do it safely all the time. I just dont wanna take the liability on my shoulders if one eats another....lol.
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Neonate Black Rat (het for Lic Stk's) (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)

I think what I would, and may do if I decide to work with Baird's, is to keep them apart to acclimate and grow them a bit, as a precaution against possible problems, and then feel them out by putting them together in close observation for a while. I tend to give my animals much larger enclosures than most people do, so space to get away from each other shouldn't be an issue.

To date I have had only problems with keeping certain species of turtles together, and although I'd love to put my hoggies together, there is enough evidence against it that I cannot confortably go there! It sounds like the Baird'e might "possibly" be a better match!

Thanx again!

Freight

Hi Freight,

As you know I'm a former zoo guy so I've often had to house certain species together. It definately seems like more work come feeding time but, on the other hand, does not seem like twice as much work when it comes to cleaning.

Regarding sickness, etc., you really begin to develop a feel for when a snake is not doing well. You and I know each other pretty well and I'm guessing you're already pretty good at this.

Ironically, now that I'm solely a private keeper and keep a genus known for doing well in pairs or small groups, I house all of my individuals separately. Primarily because I work with so many imports and to keep track of feeding. When Anh and I buy a house I'll go to bigger cages and start keeping them in small groups. Of course I've been so fickle about this I'll probably change my mind by lunch time.

Regarding Baird's, let me contact a friend of mine at a zoo where they keep a pair of Baird's together. I'll either send him your e-mail address or just forward his reply.

Another option is for you to send me your oxycephala and janseni in order to increase your cage space. As a favor I'll take them for free

Hope things are going well out east.

Chris
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

That's so nice of you to offer to take my babies away from me! How big of a box would you like me to send them in? NOT!!!

I candled the 1 Oxy/Jansen egg tonight and I believe I can see the developing embryo inside! The egg is very chalky white as its been about 3 weeks since it was layed, so visibility inside is a bit difficult, but I think so far so good!

Ben says he has actually kept 2 male baird's together with no problems at all!

As far as cage space goes, I can always build more!

Freight