Of course behavior is inherent, learned, and practived. In the case of snakes, Learning is key.



As you mentioned, reptiled raised together have a much higher percentage of living in captive conditoins better then those rasied seperately.



But, behavior is what it is. It always has exceptions.



The problem with being social, and that is with all types of animals and people. Social means to include certain individuals, and exclude others. So groups are by choice not by mechanics.



Also in captivity, we have some very misguided ideas. We are so very basic. That is, if you feed a snake, you assume its full. If you fed it yesterday, its not suppose to be fed until next week, thats when it should be hungry again. Theres one thing wrong with that, its about you and not the animals.



Folks with lizards and hopefully fast snakes, already know, they feed on a daily basis.



Most in captivity do not understand there is more to hunger then hungry, there are different levels, just like with us. Theres hungry, theres really hungry and theres starving. Then theres cannibillistic hunger. Most animals have these levels.



In many cases captive snakes eat their cagemates because their keepers do not understand this.



Couple that with lavyers of bonding. Truely bonded reptiles do not eat eachother, not even kingsnakes. There are different levels of bonding. Those levels are determined by how they work together. So one eating the other tells you, they were not all that bonded.



Bonded snakes, these INDIVDUALS, spend aprox half of every year, together, touching eachother. There is at least two blacktails and 6 rock rattlesnakes here.



This is the third year these SAME individuals are here. The point is, why aren't other individuals here, there are many many more individuals in the same area. They learn to work with some individuals and not others, That is a bond.



A captive bonded pair. I would love to see you mess with the girl. he would tear you apart, or at least bluff to, hahahahahahahaha

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