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Housing issues

B

blueroses4u2000

New member
Hello again all you experienced Cornsnake keepers. I posted a thread some time ago about housing corns and got mixed responses. I have a 16 month old male Crimson ( housed singly ) and recently bought 2 babies. A male Creamsicle ( 4 months ) and a female caramel ( 5 1/2 months ) These babies are housed singly in 'baby boxes' and are feeding extremely well. I have the babies boxes inside a viv big enough for 2 adults at the moment. What are everyones thoughts on keeping the babies together in a little while? Some of you will say no no no .. others will say they keep theirs together happily I know. My main question for the latter people is.... how long can I keep a male and a female together before the inevitable might happen? Also for future reference.... can 2 males be kept together or might they fight? A lot of questions but I value your thoughts. Thank you
 

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Corns can be kept together in the sense that they most likely won't fight, but it's recommended that they're kept seperately because they can sometimes be prone to cannibalism. If one wakes up one morning and decides it doesn't feel like waiting for that mouse, you can lose a snake.
 
If the viv you have the baby boxes in is big enough for 2 adults, why don't you put a divider in there and they can each have their own tanks? No risk of cannibalism, and everybody should be happy.
 
Another element that is being overlooked is forcing solitary animals to cohabitate and the stress that can cause for both animals.
 
I've had my pair housed together since I first got them, which was over a year ago and haven't had any problems yet.
 
Well you may never have a problem... but yet definitely is the keyword here. The fact remains that corns ARE prone to cannibalism... even after being housed together for some years.

It's up to you if you're willing to take the risk.
 
Well, when the breeder says it's okay I'm gonna go with what he says. I could understand a cannabilism if the snakes were grossly different in size or some other factor, but they're both the same age, so who knows.

This thread is the first I've ever heard of corns being cannabilistic.
 
Spirit is right Corn's are known Cannibal's that why I have a 9 year old named Hannibal. He is reknown for eating other males. It all depends on the feeding processes and never feed them together. That will cause them to be more likely to have cannibal traits. :bounce:
But that's a risk you have to take with any animal lol. Good luck with which ever choice you make.
 
Well, interesting. They both get fed seperate, in a different tank than the one they both live in. Expo is coming Dec 11th so perhaps I'll get a 20gallon Critter Keeper and section it in half for em.
 
I'm guessing his previous post of housing was about keeping 2 together so he's already heard everyones opinions and preferences about the matter... I'd answer your questions if i could but i don't have experience in double housing...anyone else... :sidestep:
 
Kritter Keepers come in 20 gallon? Wow, didn't know that. Where would you find them other than an expo?
 
Joejr14 said:
I've had my pair housed together since I first got them, which was over a year ago and haven't had any problems yet.
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let me share a little mishap with you. i had kept my 2 females together for 3 years solid, a 2 year age difference but as the older one used to be a problem feeder they were the same size. until one night they were fed separately, and put back, but one felt the mouse wasnt enough and actually struck at the others face right in front of my dad and me, luckily my dad was there to stop the greedy one from getting a grip on the other ones face. i was very lucky there. anyway, my point is it doesnt matter how long your snakes have lived together or how well you think they know each other, there is ALWAYS a chance they could suddenly change, snakes can really never be tamed, they are wild predators, always will be at heart.
just my 2 cents here.
 
Missy said:
let me share a little mishap with you. i had kept my 2 females together for 3 years solid, a 2 year age difference but as the older one used to be a problem feeder they were the same size. until one night they were fed separately, and put back, but one felt the mouse wasnt enough and actually struck at the others face right in front of my dad and me, luckily my dad was there to stop the greedy one from getting a grip on the other ones face. i was very lucky there. anyway, my point is it doesnt matter how long your snakes have lived together or how well you think they know each other, there is ALWAYS a chance they could suddenly change, snakes can really never be tamed, they are wild predators, always will be at heart.
just my 2 cents here.
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I know a lot of people have said on here that corns can be cannabilistic, and while I'm not doubting what you guys are saying, I'm simply saying that I've never heard of that before. After I posted here last night I went ahead and emailed the breeder and asked him about it. He said he's NEVER heard of that happening and he's been doing this for over 15 years. He said the only way he would think that might happen is during feeding, but who knows. It's interesting how two opinions can vary so much. It's about time for them to get into a bigger cage anyway though.
 
The Corn Snake Manual has a useful section, "Number of Snakes Per Enclosure", pages 14-15. There, Kathy and Bill Love describe cannibalism as "extremely rare" and usually associated with feeding two Corns together.

And yes, if you put two freshly-fed Corns back together soon after feeding, they may still be in feeding mode or smell of mice and attacks can happen. They should be left apart for at least half an hour after feeding and watched carefully for half an hour after reintroduction. (Those are my own rules, by the way, not from The Corn Snake Manual).
 
JTGoff69 said:
Kritter Keepers come in 20 gallon? Wow, didn't know that. Where would you find them other than an expo?
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I think we're talking about two different things. I have a feeling you're talking about the plastic cages? I'm talking about a glass aquarium with a sliding lock-top lid. Critter cages or something of that name, not totally sure. They come as big as 40 gallon breeder size, which is huge.

Critter Cages
 
Just to shake it up a bit.... ;) the reason I do not like to house snakes together, is that if you should have health issues, it is sometimes difficult if not impossible to determine which snake is having the problem... which one regurge or which one is not defecating etc, etc....just my 2 cents :)
 
I have housed 2 males together without a problem one winter. I can't say that they enjoyed each others company, but they tolerated each other. This was the only time I've ever kept any of my snakes together, and I don't plan on doing it again (outside introductions for breeding). Aside from risks of cannabilistic corns, stress is a big factor when houseing solitary animals together. If their is not enough free roaming space, if their is not enough SEPARATE hides and SEPARATE basking spots...then stress can and will become and issue. A stress snake will not eat, will loose weight etc. I would think, if you had a 75+ gallon tank, with basking spots on either end and 3 or 4 hides, stress wouldn't be as much of an issue. My thoughts...
 
:cheers: Well thank you all for that. Some food for thought there. One last thing. IF and only IF.... one were to keep a male and a female together from babies..... does anyone know how long before they might be mature enough to want to 'get cosy' together if you know what I mean :shrugs: My babies are both under 5 months old at the moment. A big thank you to all for the helpful replies.
 
I wouldn't keep a male/female pair together at all unless breeding is to be expected, once the female is large enough. You never know when for sure a female can be receptive to a male.
 
Joejr14 said:
After I posted here last night I went ahead and emailed the breeder and asked him about it. He said he's NEVER heard of that happening and he's been doing this for over 15 years.
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What he tells you, may not be the truth (for starters), or it could be that he houses all his seperately and has never had it happen to him. He may also be the only corn snake owner in his circle of friends, and it's possible that he could be uneducated on this particular subject. So he's never heard of it happening. So he's been breeding his own snakes for 15 years. That means nothing to me. One man's opinion means nothing when there's a handful of others telling you otherwise.

Kel said:
There, Kathy and Bill Love describe cannibalism as "extremely rare" and usually associated with feeding two Corns together.
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This is correct. It may be rare, but it DOES happen.

Missy said:
let me share a little mishap with you. i had kept my 2 females together for 3 years solid... but one felt the mouse wasnt enough and actually struck at the others face right in front of my dad and me...
Click to expand...

Proof that it does happen. Had she not been there, she could have (emphasis on could have) lost a snake to cannibalism. And hers were housed together for 3 years.

The bottom line is you just never know, and I for one, am not willing to take that risk by housing two together.

Another thing I've noticed (do some searches) is when two snakes are housed together, the odd time one (or both) can show signs of stress/aggression. Maybe during feeding time or the blue phase, but after a week or so of these snakes being seperated (even after years of being housed together), they suddenly become much more docile, and often more active.

Don't be naive Joe (no offense). Just because your breeder says it's okay, doesn't mean it is. :)
 
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