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For those of you who house your snakes together... question!

Lestette

Lestette

New member
Ok, first of all, I have questions for people who house or who have housed their snakes together before. I do NOT want people bashing here, if you don't house your snakes together, don't want to, or don't agree with it, please don't post here!

I was just wondering, how old are your snakes that you house together? What size tank do you keep them in? How do you feed them?

Thank you very much!
 
I did have a pair of corns that I house together a while back. They were hatchlings, and right about the same age. I housed them together for almost a year, actually. They were in a 10g viv. I also blame this for their small size, now. They were fed once a week, and they were fed by being separated, and staying separated for at least 4 hours to avoid any feeding responses.
Now just for the record, I also did lose a different snake to cohabbing and do not recommend it in the least.
 
I have kept clutches of hatchlings together temporarily until I had enough shoe boxes freed up. I had every instance on cannibalism I have ever experienced (excluding Lampropeltis), by doing so. A corn that has eaten a sibling is an amazing thing to see! The stomach is SO engorged it looks almost cartoonish! And a couple didn't regurge!
The only other time that comes to mind was in college ('88). I did work study in the science lab and put a yellow rat, black rat, corn (red rat they called them at Glades), and a green rat snake. We removed them to feed, and never had problems until the yellow and green began fighting. It was pretty vicious so we had to remove the larger green. My guess is they were males, but we never saw any breeding behavior or got any eggs. Of course, they were kept warm year round, so may not have got the "lovin' feelin'".
Obviously, I wouldn't recommend it long term. I do brumate my adult female hogs together, though. But it's only two, and roughly the same size.
 
Thanks for the info!
I was just curious by this because I've never owned snakes before these... When I first brought my anerys home, I had them housed together for a few days and they spent all of their time twined up together... I didn't really know what that meant, I figured maybe it was for warmth or something... There were plenty of hiding places other than that one. Has anyone else experienced this?
I had talked to a gentleman who breeds snakes and he had some of his yearlings together and some of his 6 month olds together. The yearlings had been together the whole time (and from what I saw they stayed relatively close together) and the 6 month olds were huddled together... Is this common?

Any help is appreciated. :D
 
Lestette said:
Thanks for the info!
I was just curious by this because I've never owned snakes before these... When I first brought my anerys home, I had them housed together for a few days and they spent all of their time twined up together... I didn't really know what that meant, I figured maybe it was for warmth or something... There were plenty of hiding places other than that one. Has anyone else experienced this?
I had talked to a gentleman who breeds snakes and he had some of his yearlings together and some of his 6 month olds together. The yearlings had been together the whole time (and from what I saw they stayed relatively close together) and the 6 month olds were huddled together... Is this common?

Any help is appreciated. :D
Click to expand...


If they were twined together, they could have been fighting. If they were "cuddling" in the same hide, they just both happen to like the conditions in there.
 
No, they definitely weren't fighting... It appeared to be more of "cuddling". I tried putting another hide right beside it, the exact same hide, and they seemed to like it right where they were. The fact that they were "cuddling" had me wondering if maybe they didn't enjoy it... Is that not a possibility?

I'm sorry, I know I sound like a total noob... my curiosity is just getting the best of me. :p
 
Well that makes sense! They didn't really seem disturbed by each other... but it definitely makes sense.
I'm curious then... are there any benefits to keeping snakes together besides saving a bit of space? How can you tell that they are struggling for dominance? I know that there are some signs when they are in "defensive" position, but are there any other signs that they might show to another snake?
 
Lestette said:
Well that makes sense! They didn't really seem disturbed by each other... but it definitely makes sense.
I'm curious then... are there any benefits to keeping snakes together besides saving a bit of space? How can you tell that they are struggling for dominance? I know that there are some signs when they are in "defensive" position, but are there any other signs that they might show to another snake?
Click to expand...

If there's usually one that's on top of the other, that one is the dominant one. There's really no way to tell exactly, but the dominant one might also be a bit larger than the other. That's the way it was with mine. The snow female was always on top. Here's a picture from way back when.

l_eff28ec3ccbf8b42351ae3d7d6ae89e8.jpg


It wasn't until the male amel started having regurge issues that I even thought to separate them. I realized that he was getting overly stressed out from the female competing with him for the hide. She'd occasionally succeed in kicking him out, and he'd be wandering around the tank looking for another place to hide.
 
Oh dear... I would freak if one of mine had a regurge. :S
Mine weren't ever on top of one another, they were kind of side by side. What it looked like to me was they were "huddling", I'm not sure how else to describe it... (I will say that they have been in seperate tanks for a while now, only the first few days were they together).

I want to thank you again, you're definitely satiated my curiosity!! :D Thanks. :)
 
i got one cornsnake and one hybride cornsnake X cali kingsnake (or jungle cornsnake) they are both housed together when they where a few monts old. i've never had problems with it and they do'nt eat eachother or something like that. i seperate them to feed them and leave them seperated for 1 hour after feeding (for the smell of the rodent) in the beginning they where scared of each other but now they are doing wel and don't show any signs of stress or something (this is going well for a few months already) excuse me for my english i'm from belgium :)
 
Tommy, they might not show signs of stress, but most snakes are not naturally social animals and, contrary to behavior they may exhibit, they do not like the company. I would be especially careful housing any snake with a hybrid king of any kind. Kings are notorious for eating other snakes.
 
i know they will never like eachother. and they will never be friends but they do eventually accept the company of eachother and ignore the other one. ones they accepted the other normally there will be no more probleme. i know it can always happen en i watch them allot. but if they wanted to eat eachother they already have had a chance and they don't do. they got enough food and will never be to hungry so i don't know why they would eat the other one after this monts
 
They are not social animals.
By forcing them to live together you are subjecting them to constant stress that they can't ever escape from.
Snakes don't travel in herds.

By willfully exposing your animals to constant inescapable stress, you are not doing what is best for them. You are not putting their needs first.

And yes, they CAN eat each other, even now, months later. Maybe while you're asleep. One of them is part KING, for crying out loud! GEEZ!
 
Thank you all for your opinion... but I did ask that there were no bashing here. This is a topic merely for my curiosity and want to learn more about snakes.
I wanted information on the behaviors of snakes living together, not why you feel others shouldn't. First hand experience (I find) is better than any book you will ever read. Thus why I asked for those of you who have housed them together to give me some insight.

Thank you.
 
the fact that one of them is part king has nothing to do with it cause the genetics of the cornsnake are more dominant and they haven't got any of the behavior of the kingsnake i know they can even kill rattle snakes and other snakes but the hybrides don't do this and they wouldn't be able to kill such snakes as the rattlesnake. but i be carefull and sometimes wach them for over 3 hours to watch the behavior of them and i already learned a lot of it, i read alot books of snakes and any reptiles and go to forums like this from diverent countries to learn as much as possible. but i do think you are right that this is not natural to put 2 snakes together. but i do want the best for my snakes and for any other animals. in the future i will try to put them in seperated viv's (if i have the room) i only putted them together because i went to some reptile events and they all told me it would be no probleme. in that time i didn't knew allot about the snakes because these are my first ones so i believed them. now i know better but this is not for ever.
 
Lestette said:
Thank you all for your opinion... but I did ask that there were no bashing here. This is a topic merely for my curiosity and want to learn more about snakes.
I wanted information on the behaviors of snakes living together, not why you feel others shouldn't. First hand experience (I find) is better than any book you will ever read. Thus why I asked for those of you who have housed them together to give me some insight.

Thank you.
Click to expand...
Respectfully, you cannot post this type of controversial topic and then lay down rules on what can or cannot be discussed. It's a public forum first of all, and secondly, many of these keepers here have been keeping snakes for as long as or even longer than you've been alive. It's like asking the advantages of dog fighting. There really aren't any.
 
I posted this topic in a quest to gain more information. I didn't want people to fear posting their experiences because of what others might say. And I think that is what is happening here already.
I respect opinions, but I was hoping this would stay controlled. Controversial or not, I was hoping we could all be respectful of other peoples choices and the way they do things.
I have never kept snakes together for more than a few days out of necessity, but, being the fact that I've heard so many opinions opposing this, I was curious as to what the other side thought.
And that's great that people have been keeping snakes for longer than I've been alive, great! Hence why I'm asking for help on this topic.
Thanks for you opinion.
 
I'm sorry but I cannot respect ANYONE who chooses to house their snakes together. To me, it's akin to animal cruelty to force solitary species to live like that. And it's one of my major pet peeves (along with UNECCESSARY live feedings and people using the word "poisonous" to describe a species of snake).
I have NEVER advocated co-habbing snakes, but I had to once. It was 3 weeks in March 2005. One of my rack units malfunctioned, nearly starting a fire. I had no space and had to house 2 corns together for 3 weeks. I SHOULD have run to Walmart and gotten a tub, but didn't think of it. One DIED as a result. I blame myself...

Lestette said:
I posted this topic in a quest to gain more information. I didn't want people to fear posting their experiences because of what others might say. And I think that is what is happening here already.
I respect opinions, but I was hoping this would stay controlled. Controversial or not, I was hoping we could all be respectful of other peoples choices and the way they do things.
I have never kept snakes together for more than a few days out of necessity, but, being the fact that I've heard so many opinions opposing this, I was curious as to what the other side thought.
And that's great that people have been keeping snakes for longer than I've been alive, great! Hence why I'm asking for help on this topic.
Thanks for you opinion.
Click to expand...
 
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tommymamba said:
the fact that one of them is part king has nothing to do with it cause the genetics of the cornsnake are more dominant and they haven't got any of the behavior of the kingsnake i know they can even kill rattle snakes and other snakes but the hybrides don't do this and they wouldn't be able to kill such snakes as the rattlesnake. but i be carefull and sometimes wach them for over 3 hours to watch the behavior of them and i already learned a lot of it, i read alot books of snakes and any reptiles and go to forums like this from diverent countries to learn as much as possible. but i do think you are right that this is not natural to put 2 snakes together. but i do want the best for my snakes and for any other animals. in the future i will try to put them in seperated viv's (if i have the room) i only putted them together because i went to some reptile events and they all told me it would be no probleme. in that time i didn't knew allot about the snakes because these are my first ones so i believed them. now i know better but this is not for ever.
Click to expand...

There's a very simple solution. If you don't have the room, don't get more. Granted, my snake room is running a bit small at the moment, but I found ways to get everyone their own separate tank/tub. For the record, my snake room is an 11x11 bedroom. There's two dressers, a computer desk, and a large table. AND 31 snakes. There will always be room for another tank. It's just a matter of creative decorating! The only animals together right now are that way for breeding purposes (my ball pythons atm, and my Dumerils boas later today).
 
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