Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ive had a snow corn for about two weeks, its small only a couple months and ijust purchased an anery today thats a little smaller but very similar in size... ive heard a lot about housing them together about how its bad or its good. i have them housed together right now, and at first the snow was a little jumpy but then calmed down fine... and they were actually curled up together for a little and then curled up next to each other. now i just want to know what you guys think of this,,

Everyone makes their own decisions but I just thought I would offer my opinion and a few things to think about.

COHABITATION

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 being detrimental to the snakes. I just feel the possible drawbacks need to be expressed.
When a person gets the experience and knowledge of each individual snake and wants to try co-habitation, it is up to them. They just need to be careful 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. Or simple hunger accompanied by a ready food source.
Although uncommon, 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 or raise the hatchlings. With hatchlings comes the responsibility to raise them or find them homes.
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 egg-bound. Although uncommon, it IS a possibility and can happen.
With multiple snakes in an enclosure you stand the chance of loosing all of them if there happens to be an avenue of escape. 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 the same "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” changes. These could all be signs of stress.
You would also want to feed them in separate containers and give them an hour or so before putting them back together.
My 2 cents

-----
Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

Draybars Snakes

_____

thanks a lot for the input but yes i did know some of the drawbacks for housing them together... i put them in together and they seem okay now, i fed the snow corn after the new anery was introduced and he ate fine, and seems fine now, they are actually curled up together right now, so thats good, i know its better to house them seperate, but im at school and its space permitting and its just easy for right now, also ive always fed my snakes in seperate containers, in the past ive housed two russian rats successfully with no problems so hopefully this will work out for me, thanks for the input i really appreciate it.... right now im a proud owner of a reverse okeetee, snow corn, anery corn, and a vietnamese blue beauty, in the past ive had two russian rats, fox snake, milk snake, and a burmese python,,, hope all is well in your world, thanks again

I've house corns together for a while. I've only done it while they were small, and when I knew the sexes to prevent premature breeding. As long as you keep them apart for feeding and about a day after feeding, they should be fine. Also, make sure you have both a warm and cold hide for each snake, so they aren't forced to be together. If one of them isn't eating, Seperate them. Cannibalism is most common in non-feeder hatchlings.
-----
Corn Snakes: Eden, Mars, Sierra, Lavendar, The Tweedle Twins
Crested Geckos: Parker, Emily Dickinson, Bonnie, Unnamed 1 & unnamed 2, Cali
Leopard Geckos: Paris, Helen, Annabelle, Artemis
Bearded Dragon: Humphrey
Jambea Dwarf Retic

Sure you CAN, but this may happen.....

...and it is only one of the MANY possible drawbacks!

KJ

>>thanks a lot for the input but yes i did know some of the drawbacks for housing them together...

There are lots of cons to housing together as others have pointed out, but if you keep tabs on the snakes behaviors you can successfully house multiples. I always try to house similar sizes together. I've never had a problem with housing adults together. They are all accustomed to being fed in their own feeding containers (all labled so the same snake always uses the same container). I put them all back at the same time after waiting about 5-10 minutes after the slowest of the bunch has finished its meal. Because they are accustomed to this particular routine, I have not had problems with them getting antsy or still in 'feeding mode' when put back into the main cage. I am more cautious about hatchlings though because their feeding drive and more excitable nature just calls for it. I wait a longer period of time before putting them back into their main cage. The hardest part about housing multiple hatchlings together is keeping track of who shed what skin and when... the patterns are much fainter on the sheds than the adults. lol.
-----
_____

PHWyvern

I saw his question earlier today and knew your post was soon to follow!
-----
0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
0.0.1 Butter Corn "Butters" (South Park)
1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
1.0 Ball Python "Wilson" (Castaway)
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"

>>I saw his question earlier today and knew your post was soon to follow!
>>-----
-----
Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

Draybars Snakes

_____

i have a shipping container here, want me to send to you so you can pack that snake in the pic in it and send it to me??

>>i have a shipping container here, want me to send to you so you can pack that snake in the pic in it and send it to me??

That's Sadie.
definitely a beauty isn't she?
I will be pairing her with Doc, this handsome young man I got from Don at SMR, in the spring.
They should produce some nice classics.
You just never know, send your shipping box with a return label and a nice little classic may show up on your doorstep in June.

-----
Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

Draybars Snakes

_____

hey i was just on your turtle page...... did know you also kept turtles....... finally now i found someone with some knowledge that i know so to speak..... i just ended up with a yellwo bellied slider baby..... put him in a 55 gallon tank with about 6 inches of water, a turtle landing, fluval 303, heater basking light and repti sun 5.0..... havent seen him eat yet.

.

>>hey i was just on your turtle page...... did know you also kept turtles....... finally now i found someone with some knowledge that i know so to speak..... i just ended up with a yellwo bellied slider baby..... put him in a 55 gallon tank with about 6 inches of water, a turtle landing, fluval 303, heater basking light and repti sun 5.0..... havent seen him eat yet.

Try to go with deeper water if you can. The deeper the better. They need to be able to swim on and below the surface of the water.
Even though it's a baby, when it comes to sliders, you can never have too much water. Just make sure there is easy access to a basking area.
I have basically backed out of turtles. Only four turtles and a tortoise at this time. Along with 3 bearded dragons, five dogs, eight cats and my forty six snakes...lol
-----
Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

Draybars Snakes

_____

LoL jk had to get your attention. Nice collection of animals.

>>LoL jk had to get your attention. Nice collection of animals.
-----
Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

Draybars Snakes

_____

you sound about as bad as me..... 1 dog, 2 cats, 2 corns, 1 ball python, 3 ferrets, 21 rats, 2 guinea pigs, 5 tarantulas, the turtle, and a sugar glider(my baby), and tomorrow i am adopting another turtle....