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multiple snakes?!!??!

S

shenishen

New member
hi im new here and i have a question to ask. i've had snakes in the past when i was growing up and recently got excited about snakes again...soooooooooo i went out and purchased 2 little cornsnake hatchlings that are cuter then ever. ive been looking for info on the net about keeping snakes in the same tank with no luck. the guy at the store said it shouldnt be a problem if they are the same size and are seperated for feedings. i dont know if he was just pulling my leg to make a sale or if he was giving me the right info. i really hope i can keep them in the same tank for as long as possible. right now they are in a 10 gallon and pretty soon will be moving into a 20 gallon. i know thats fine for now since they are really tiny but is it best to seperate them when they are bigger? i can either get a really large tank for the both of them or buy a another tank when i need to seperate them, and if they do need to be seperated how long can they share the same tank for and what size tank is good for sharing?? sorry i have alot of questions, ive done my research and have some past experience but nothing so far about snakes in the same encloser. any help will be greatly appreciated :spinner:
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do a search for cohabbing on the forums.

but i can tell you right now, having 2 snakes in one tank is NEVER EVER a good idea, no matter how small. for no length of time should you have them in the same enclosure. do a search for reasons why.
 
They are nice snakes.......But you should look at the co-hab threads, and see the wars that have occurred over that subject.
IMO I can see one reason to keep them together..(savings on tanks etc.) And hundreds for not doing it.....LOL
 
ooooh cohabbing....i have yet to search that word lmao i will try that out...i assume one problem would be that they would try to eat each other, thank you thank you...i love my little grey guy...i just couldnt resist those spots on his neck! hehe
 
it would actually be cheaper for me to have 2 tanks rather then one large one anyway...concidering im getting my whites tree frog the biggest exo terra i can get...then there tank will be going to one these guys and i guess i will purchase another 20 when the time is right! :D
 
i assume one problem would be that they would try to eat each other
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Certainly as hatchlings there's an increased risk of cannibalism in Corns.
 
Just keep in mind withing the next 12 months you will likely want a 20 gal long or equivilent for each corn.

Congrats on two good looking corns!
 
i have seen snakes cohab without any problems but yes there are risks involved, its really up to you on what you want to risk, yes one could eat the other and illness is a problem, theres also a stress factor involved where one might dominate the other. I have seen corn snakes cohab together and my buddy has a Colombian red tail boa with a ball python and they actually get depressed when they are separated. let us know what you decide on, me personally i have my snakes separated because i dont want to risk the cannibalism
 
xchris said:
i have seen snakes cohab without any problems but yes there are risks involved, its really up to you on what you want to risk, yes one could eat the other and illness is a problem, theres also a stress factor involved where one might dominate the other. I have seen corn snakes cohab together and my buddy has a Colombian red tail boa with a ball python and they actually get depressed when they are separated. let us know what you decide on, me personally i have my snakes separated because i dont want to risk the cannibalism
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How does he evaluate depression in a snake?
 
im not sure if its real depression, im not trying to say anyone can really evaluate emotions in a snake BUT if one snake is taken out of the tank the other will refuse to eat and will become inactive until the other is put back in. they are fed in their enclosure... my friends dad owns those two snakes so he does a couple things wrong like feeding in the enclosure,feeding live, and the heat lights are actually exposed inside the tank but neither of them have ever touched them so whatever.

Also the ball python likes to "cuddle up with the red tail"

With the size of the red tail i would actually remove the ball python, im afraid shes gonna suffocate em but its not my snakes.

Im not trying to start an argument im just discussing my observations :shrugs:
 
xchris said:
im not sure if its real depression, im not trying to say anyone can really evaluate emotions in a snake BUT if one snake is taken out of the tank the other will refuse to eat and will become inactive until the other is put back in. they are fed in their enclosure... my friends dad owns those two snakes so he does a couple things wrong like feeding in the enclosure,feeding live, and the heat lights are actually exposed inside the tank but neither of them have ever touched them so whatever.

Also the ball python likes to "cuddle up with the red tail"

With the size of the red tail i would actually remove the ball python, im afraid shes gonna suffocate em but its not my snakes.

Im not trying to start an argument im just discussing my observations :shrugs:
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Snakes do not not have emotions like people. They do not get depressed. Snakes are solitary creatures by nature and to many people like to humanize their pets. Well sorry, reptiles are not like mammals and birds and do not require the same attention.
And cohabbing ball pythons and RTBs are always a bad idea. These animals have 2 different requirements as in heat and humidity.

I would go to a local used book shop and get your friend some books on snakes. mainly owner manuals for Balls, RTBs and Corn snakes.
 
tricksterpup said:
Snakes do not not have emotions like people. They do not get depressed. Snakes are solitary creatures by nature and to many people like to humanize their pets. Well sorry, reptiles are not like mammals and birds and do not require the same attention.
And cohabbing ball pythons and RTBs are always a bad idea. These animals have 2 different requirements as in heat and humidity.

I would go to a local used book shop and get your friend some books on snakes. mainly owner manuals for Balls, RTBs and Corn snakes.
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Im aware they are solitary, my bearded dragon is supposed to be solitary as well but some people get lucky and are able to cohab with other beardies or even uromastyx.

as for me telling my friend the two differences in the snakes... as i stated his dad owns those two snakes so its on him but i dont think hes gonna change anything up, i havent researched either of those snakes but from what i've seen it looks like the ball python needs more humidity then the RTB, the RTB always has complete sheds and the ball pythons are either all over the place or complete but its hit or miss.

Im not going to tell anyone that cohabbing is a good idea, im just gonna say what i did in my original post, its been done and its on you to decide if you want to take the risks.

Also like i said, i keep my snakes in different tanks, im not willing to take the risks.


P.S. Just to bash my work alittle bit, Petsmart policy says you can house 3-4 corn snakes together at a time, LMAO. Im so glad i havent allowed that
 
xchris said:
as for me telling my friend the two differences in the snakes... as i stated his dad owns those two snakes so its on him but i dont think hes gonna change anything up, i havent researched either of those snakes but from what i've seen it looks like the ball python needs more humidity then the RTB, the RTB always has complete sheds and the ball pythons are either all over the place or complete but its hit or miss.
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But you know buying his pop a few books wouldn't hurt either. Maybe he doesn't know any better and listened to the store. Education starts with a conversation and reading a book. His father might be receptive to reading a book on boas and pythons, and he might appreciate you helping him out.
It might make the difference of him keeping his snakes for a few years to its full life span. I have bought and given friends books on animals and fish over the years. i have also done this for people over the internet as well.
 
just to throw more wood on the fire, i co hab my snakes (why i dont know) had them since they were hatchlings, and so far 6 months later i havnt had any problems, not saying that you wont, they havnt eaten each other, eat regularly, and seem to be happy, or atleast content, as they get bigger, i am going to move them to a larger tank but keep them together. Its all about personal choices, do what you feel is right.
 
and what happens if one of your snakes was mis-sexed and they breed too young? It's really hard on the females, they could die. And it's not like the give warnings before they eat each other. Also if one regurges or gets an impaction, you don't know who; if one gets sick (infection, parasites, whatever) you'll need a separate tank anyway...so might as well just always have them separate.

most people here (myself included) view co-habbing as selfish, as it had no benefits and many risks. Well, it does have benefits but only to the keeper and not the snakes.
 
why does everyone get so vicious on this topic? lol ive read past post and seen people get ripped new ones on there own personal decisions, if everyone really cared about the well being of the snake we wouldnt breed them to place them in a tank for our personal pleasure...the most passionate thing to do IMO is not have wild animals as pets which will cut the demand and cut down the amount of snakes taken from the wild. but thats a totaly different topic :) but i love having pets and giving them whats best and trying to give the best environment i can provide. i have decided to seperate my snake once im done fixing up the second tank. i also think its pretty funny how some can say it stresses the animal to keep them together yet when someone says there snake is depressed they get drilled about how the pet owner came to that conclusion concidering the snake has no emotions...depressed...stressed...same difference. right now my guys are too small and new to know exactly how they are feeling. they sometimes sleep together or are seperated...my albino seems to think he is some type of tree snake and likes to hang out in the high points of the tank. and they have yet to eat anything though which worries me but ive had them for less then a week. ive tried frozen and i ended up flushing the poor little pinkies. and right now i have them seperated in there own little container with a live pinkie with no luck. the chick at the pet store said to try slicing open the top of the frozen pinkie to release the smell of it or something...so if i dont have luck with these live pinkies they will go to my whites tree frogs as a treat :D another great idea giving to me by the chick at the pet store hehe i got my snakes at petco which is where i go to get my animals but they are always wrong with there info...at petco the sign says that you can have up to 3 or 4 in the same tank as long as they are the same size which i really was unsure and is why i asked for info on here...and i really do appreciate everyones help and info that was provided :D

ooooh another quick petco story, about a year ago i went in for a green tree frog and they were selling baby whites tree frogs as green tree frogs so i told the manager and he insisted that they were green tree frogs. so i took a book off the shelf and showed him the whites and he still thought he was right...so i bought 2 for 5 bucks a peice and they are oh so very awesome!!! and fat !
 
Your 2 new snakes are really cute (nice amel zig-zag and ghost?)... and people get heated because it's not good husbandry and there are many risks. It's for the snake's sake ;). I've done it before and the end result wasn't the best-- they didn't eat each other but they escaped together...
You should NEVER trust what people tell you at pet stores; they just want to sell the animals.. nothing more.
And I just want to say one thing... I don't think you can say that snakes don't feel emotion and all. I mean, maybe they do and we don't know about it? Maybe they do feel.. something? Have there been tests done to prove this? If so, I'd love to see..
 
SnakesRule1234 said:
Your 2 new snakes are really cute (nice amel zig-zag and ghost?)... and people get heated because it's not good husbandry and there are many risks. It's for the snake's sake ;). I've done it before and the end result wasn't the best-- they didn't eat each other but they escaped together...
You should NEVER trust what people tell you at pet stores; they just want to sell the animals.. nothing more.
And I just want to say one thing... I don't think you can say that snakes don't feel emotion and all. I mean, maybe they do and we don't know about it? Maybe they do feel.. something? Have there been tests done to prove this? If so, I'd love to see..
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i would not say NEVER trust pet store people, i work at one and i dont get commission so i could care less if you buy our stuff, if i think the person is too lazy to take care of something i'll tell them how much work it is and completely put them off, i will be completely honest with you. Example, just sunday some girl said she was going to college but would be home on the weekends but really wanted a pet, she wanted a crested gecko and i told her how you really cant leave something like that alone for 5 days, you cant just put a bunch of crickets or anything in there and hope thats enough for 5 days so i suggested a snake because even though they should get more attention then 2 days a week she wanted something and i didnt wanna just say... umm you shouldnt buy a pet lol. I told her how often you needed to feed and how they are pretty low maintenance but i personally change the water everyday, that would be my only worry is that if the snake defecates in the water then theres no one there to change it so if it defecates in it monday... its drinking dirty water till friday night, so she said she'd think about it and come back.

^^ thats kind of a pointless story that im telling because i doubt anyone cares but im just saying that you can trust some pet store people, just not places where they get commission
 
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