How many? Also friendly w/ others?

Hey everyone!
well as u can see by my sig. i only have 1 snake in a 10gl.! :sidestep:
so i was thinking (as a Chrismas present! :santa: ) lol from my dad to get a 20gl. AND another cornsnake...possabiliy?(sorry for bad spelling)

I also want to know if the are social with other snakes...? i think that is really interesting...
I am still not sure whether Nemo is a boy or girl, you can check out my other post in the breeding section on that question...

THANK YOU EVERYONE SOO MUCH! :wavey:

~Nemo~

Your snake will outgrow the 10 gallon

in about a year if it's a baby now, so it would be good to get a 20. How big is he? If you get another snake it would be good to get another tank for that one, although some people do keep them together but if you search this forum with the keyword 'cannibalism' you will see that can be dangerous. Hope that helps.

thank you

thanks! well he/she is about a little over a foot, i feel alittle bad about the small tank...but that will soon be changed! lol

thanks!

I would be cautious about keeping more together and get a different tank Here's my story....

I have 4 cornsnakes left now. I started out with 3 of them together b/c they were all very close in age. Then someone gave me an adult corn that they didn't want anymore. I found out quickly why they didn't want it...it bite me all the time!!
Anyway at the time, I only had 2 tanks. So, that snake went in with my candy cane corn. A few days passed with no probelms until I came home and the new one was eating my candy cane. I felt horrible and mad but it was my fault for putting them together. I was also very new to snakes and hadn't found this forum. Needless to say, I sold that corn shortly after that.

My other 3 were great and shared the tank until one ended up being a female(the youngest and much smaller) and laid eggs. While looking stuff up, I found this site. Someone here said I needed to seperate them or they would breed again and keep doing so until she died. It was too late when I found out and she ended up laying a 2nd clutch. We thought we were going to loose her b/c she had lost half her body weight laying eggs back to back. She looked terrible and it took awhile for her to recover. So, then she got moved to a tank by herself.
Before long the 2 males started to not like eachother and got seperated. The 4th cornsnake I have is from her last clutch. I had kept 2 of them but the one that's left ate the other one.
After all the heartache, I learn a good lesson...one snake per tank.

If you decided keeping 2 snakes together there a few things you must keep in mind.

1. First put the new snake in quirantane. Do a parasite check as well. You wouldn't want your own snake to become infected by the old snake.
2. Same size. Otherwise the smaller one will become very stressed. Stress is very bad for snakes
3. Seperate hides for the both of them. If there coiled together, fine. But they should have the option to not share their hides together. Again to avoid stress. Place at least 2 in the warm, and 2 in the cold side of the viv.
4. Feed seperately. *always*. Most cases of canibalism occures when they both snag the same mouse, and the one eating the quickest will also eat the other.
5. Wait a bit before re-introducing them after feeding. One may still be in 'feeding mode' and attack the other, mistaking him for a mouse.
6. Sexes. Never ever keep a male and female togheter.
7. Make sure there is plenty of room for both of them. If there growing you may consider buying a bigger viv sooner then if you house one alone.

Jicin covered many good points. To add to a few of those:
5. Also the scent of prey on one snake may elicit a feeding response from the other. Time is necessary for this to wear off.
7. Shed'n covered that one corn will outgrow the 10, and IMHO a 20L is not big enough to house 2 adult corns.
Personally, I couldn't survive with just one, but I would never house more than one to an enclosure!
Just my .02!

My opinion is if your going to spend money for a snake you should spend the money to have another viv for your snake. Its not worth taking a risk to me.

Good luck on your new snake.

Thanks everyone!

i re-thought it, and hopefully i can get ANOTHER 20gl. for a new corn! YAY! lol the local petstore just got a new batch...omg sooo cute and small! they are like less than a foot long! thanks again everyone!

~Nemo~

Welcome to the forum! There is a lot of great info on this site! I have learned soo much.

Yes I too was told at first you could house two together, when I bought my two at the show. I separated them soon after finding this site. 1) canniblism and 2) breeding. I had the arguement with my hubby and my step son, who didn't think they needed separate tanks. You know they don't read a darn thing but know it all. Dj soon saw the light when I said "Well, why should I worry, Mine is bigger then yours and we know that the big one always eats the small one" He quickly said "Ok I agree with you" lol! And why they cared I don't know, I got a free tank from my mother and I work and pay for the stuff myself. Plus I'm the one who cares for them anyway. Ok enough venting. lol! Hee hee while looking in her attic found that she has 2 or 3 10 gal tanks up there. Hee heee.. these guys are very addicting and I'm slowly pushing for a candy cane or creamcicle. lol! Just have to figure out where to put it.

I have one of my guys in a 20 gal long and one in a 29 gal. It was a little big for hatchlings but I put in lots of hides, had silk plants coving the bottom and a paper towel tube. That way they could go from one side to the other under cover, if they chose too. So if you have a 10 gal, you can keep the new snake in that for a year and put he larger one in the 20 gal tank, with lots of hides. Then next christmas ask for a 20 gal tank or larger one. Just an idea. From what I've read a 20 gal Long or 29 gal can house an adult corn snake for life. But its the minumun requirement. Me when my guys get bigger I'm going to up them up, either two larger tanks or one very very large one split in two.

Good luck!!

Jean