Reptile & Amphibian Forums

how risky is it putting corns together i have 5 corns abought the same size and if its safe i was going to put them in one cage to save space.
thanks,
andy

Some people do it with seemingly no problems, but to many of us its definatly not a good idea. There are plenty of health risks, if one snake gets sick all of them will end up getting sick (5x the vet bill), you can keep track of who shed, who deficated, if you found loose feces or blood you wouldnt know who it was from. Feeding time can be a problem, even if theyre fed seperately they will smell like the rodent for awhile, and the other snakes will think its more food. Stress is a big issue, snakes in the wild are solitary, and being forced to live with each other can be stressful, which can cause all sorts of problems. If theyre young the males may breed witht he female before they are ready, who then may become egg-bound and could die. Personally the risks outweight the benifits, and even if theres a slight risk involved I see no reason to take it unless absolutly nessicary.

All the main points have been hit, i'll just add on a couple more.

Snakes are solitary animals. They only want to be together when it comes time to mate, then they dont care if they dont see anyone for another year. (some guys I know are like that also, only interested in others when it's time to "mate". lol.) You will sometimes see a couple snakes coiled together and think "oh they're friends! they like being with each other!" BS!!! I'm sorry but this is a commonly screwed up thought. They are coiled together because they have all found the one part of the tank thats the most comfy, and instead of fighting a battle they both most certainly will lose, they just decided to share it. Not happily, most likely. Also having 5 snakes in one tank, your tank would have to be MASSIVE.
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-Chris

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
N. American Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote
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Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
0.1 Texas Bairdi (Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Monty)

>>how risky is it putting corns together i have 5 corns abought the same size and if its safe i was going to put them in one cage to save space.
>>thanks,
>> andy

COHABITATION
I thought I would post MY OPINION

I feel it is best to keep snakes separate.
I know a lot of people keep multiple snakes together without problems and it can obviously be done without dangers to the snakes. I just feel that for new people in the hobby the possible drawbacks need to be expressed.
When a person gets the experience and knowledge of their individual snakes and wants to try cohabitation that is up to them. They just need to be carefull and able to read the subtle signs of their snakes.
There can be definite drawbacks.
If one snake becomes sick there is a very good likelihood the other/others will get sick as well.
It may also take a while (usually too long) to determine which one is the sick one.
If one regurgitates its food you won't know which one unless you happen to get lucky and see it.
If one has a problem stool you won't know which one. Once again one may have a problem but by the time you figure out which one the other/others could end up with the same problem.
Although this is only a slight possibility, it is still a possibility and has been know to happen, one snake could eat the other. The smell of a prey item could trigger one snake to eat the other.
Like I said, this doesn't happen often but it has happened and is a possibility.
Another possibility is unwanted pregnancy. A female might get pregnant and you may not have the knowledge, desire or ability to incubate the eggs properly and raise the babies. With babies comes the responsibility of caring for them until you can find them a home.
A lot of people rationalize by saying "I will just put two males or two females together". That can work but mistakes can easily be made, especially with hatchlings. You could easily end up with a male and female.
There is also a chance of a female breeding too young or too small and becoming eggbound. Although not common it is a possibility and can happen.
With multiple snakes in an enclosure you stand the chance of loosing all of them if you happen to leave a top secured improperly or there happens to be a place they can escape through. Instead of losing one you could loose two or more depending on how many you decide to place together.
One or both of the snakes could be stressed by the presence of the other. Stress can cause a drop in appetite and lead to other health problems as well.
People will put multiple snakes in an enclosure and ask why one isn't eating.
When they are told it is probably due to stress caused by the other snake, the response is almost always "they like each other, they are always under the same hide together". Well this probably just means that hide or area of the tank has the optimum conditions they are looking for.
Snakes do not LIKE each other or ENJOY each other’s company.
There is no capacity for snakes to "like" or "enjoy".

I have kept multiple snakes together without problems but have made a choice to keep them separate. There is no clear argument on why you SHOULD keep them together but there are clear arguments as to why you SHOULD NOT.
So, in my opinion, although people do it successfully I just don't think it is worth the risk.
If you decide to keep multiple snakes together watch closely for any signs of appetite loss, regurgitation or any kind of personality change. These could all be signs of stress.
You would also want to feed them in separate containers and give them an hour or so to allow the smell of they prey item to dissipate, before putting them back together.
My 2 cents
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

Draybars Snakes

thanks for your help i had a one hundred and twenty gallon i was mainly wondering how cannabolistic they can be their big enough to breed so im not worried about that.
thanks,
andy

I think 99% of the people that ask this know the answer. They are just looking for someone to validate what they are going to do anyway. They don't really want to hear that they should not do it.
Just my two cents.

The basic answer will be "a lot riskier". I keep pairs and trios of adults, but five would make me think really hard before I did that.

Few questions for you and my views:
- How big are the snakes? They should be adult before being introduced.
- What sexes are they? You should only have one male per viv otherwise you run the risk of fights come breeding season.
- How big is the viv you want to put them in? They need enough room and hides to be able to stay away from each other if they choose to, and yet still be able to move freely to thermoregulate properly. For five Corns, that's a pretty big viv. My largest is four feet long x 3 feet tall x 18 inches deep with three levels and multiple hides. I keep three in that.
- How well do you know each of them as individuals e.g. temperament, feeding habits, "personality" (for want of a better word)? This will be key as you'll need to be able to spot potentially subtle signs of stress.
- Have they been kept singly up until now? Some Corns just don't tolerate sharing, so be prepared to have five full-sized vivs/tanks in your home.

If that was me, five Corns in one place would be too many variables for comfort.

Kel