Reptile & Amphibian Forums

After reading the post about the unbread “For lack of a better term” corn I thought about my pair, Then for those of you that frequent the Leopard Gecko Forum You already know about the problems I had with my pair of Geckos. I got to thinking. Casper and Prince are still extremely young 05’s they have been housed together since before I got them “They were together in the pet store” They are still together in my snake room. At what age should I separate them as to not have trouble with breeding to young? Or should I separate them right now? Thanks in advance. As I said they have been together all there life and they get along great. I have not witnessed any breeding between them “I’m not saying it hasn’t happened” but have not witnessed it and have no reason to believe they are doing anything like that as of yet. Thanks agan
My Research and Collection

There is no 'magic age', really. More than likely if they are housed together, the male will eventually breed her too young. As very young hatchlings there's no risk of breeding, but as they get older the risk increases (it's just your tolerance level).

Many people will tell you not to house corns together at all, and whether you're willing to accept the other risks that come with it or not or not, I would definitely remove the female no later than 1 year of age (earlier if they're growing faster). Do not put her in with the male again until she's sufficient weight to easily withstand breeding. (Recommended min. breeding weight is 300g.)

-Kat
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This Space For Rent

I would honestly seperate them as soon as you can. I keep my females seperate than my males, even as babies. Corn snakes will try to breed at even a year old. This will cause the stunted growth of the female and possible health problems, like egg binding, mal-nourishment, stress. Hope this helps. I just had my one year old lay eggs(previous post). She was housed with another female (had her sexed again to be sure) of the same age. I don't know what caused her to do this and at such a weird time of year. I had already planned to seperate them, but just a little too late. Now I am nursing her back up to good weight and hope it did not stunt her growth. Problems happen even when it is two of the same sex together. Just my opinion
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------Misty-------
Never knock on Death's door. Ring the bell and run. He hates that!

>>After reading the post about the unbread “For lack of a better term” corn I thought about my pair, Then for those of you that frequent the Leopard Gecko Forum You already know about the problems I had with my pair of Geckos. I got to thinking. Casper and Prince are still extremely young 05’s they have been housed together since before I got them “They were together in the pet store” They are still together in my snake room. At what age should I separate them as to not have trouble with breeding to young? Or should I separate them right now? Thanks in advance. As I said they have been together all there life and they get along great. I have not witnessed any breeding between them “I’m not saying it hasn’t happened” but have not witnessed it and have no reason to believe they are doing anything like that as of yet. Thanks agan
>>My Research and Collection

just because they were together at the pet store doesn't make it a good idea. Most pet stores are limited in space. They must get the animals out there on display. They can't afford to put every animal in separate enclosures.

now
without futher adue...
COHABITATION
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 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
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

Draybars Snakes

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Ok thanks for all the replies first of all. 2nd I would like to defend my local pet store a bit. I have been dealing with them for years and know each and ever employee and the owner personally and they only give the best care to the animals they sell. They will not hesitate to take an enclosure off the shelf to house a snake if necessary. On that same note they would not over order there animals as to have to do that anyway. 3rd Not knowing about the stool or regurge makes a lot of since. I think you’re argument is a valid one and I will plan on separating them as soon as possible. They do eat separately. I do not feed my snakes in there enclosures but rather in a card board box, however after feeding they are put right back in with each other “With no problems yet” Thanks agan everyone.
My Research and Collection