cuddling corn snakes

No, I wasn't speaking of quarantine, I was saying I would not house them together ever. Not worth the chance. BTW blkkat, it's Jenny, I'm a she! LOL

didn't realise when i read it. I think i read it wrong in that case.

Originally Posted by cornman1979

I should have mentioned that a new snake need's to be quarentined, i quarentine mine for 6 weeks then have a stool sample exampled, just to make sure that their is nothing showing up, and when i get the test result's back, if it's clear (i have had 1 bad one in the last 15 snakes) only then will i put the snake in with another.

Originally Posted by cornman1979

I agree, any new snake needs to be quantined for a minimum of 6 weeks, but i recomend a period of 3 monthes and stool samples taken at the strt and evey 3 weeks after till the quarentine period is up as this is most likey when someting will show up.

From my keen observation this just goes to shows everyone here, that you, yourself quite obviously don't "practice what you preach"!

Perhaps, your faithful followers should be informed of this injustice and deceit you are serving them?

LOL Quigs, that's a little harsh, injustice and deceit?

Quigs why not pay a visit to see what i recomend to my

your faithful followers should be informed of this injustice and deceit you are serving them?

I think you will find out then what my recomendations are.

From my keen observation this just goes to shows everyone here, that you, yourself quite obviously don't "practice what you preach"!

How did you get to that conclusion? I practise what i preach by quarentining for at least 6 weeks and usually for between 10-12 weeks if i have a snae that long when i rehome them, sometimes i only have them for 6 weeks. So what arnt i practicing that i preach about?

Someone posted a link to another forum with picture of a boa with a ball python in its stomach. After seeing the ball python regurgitated, i never want to take the risk of housing snakes together. last thing i need to see is one of my snakes slurping the other one up in its mouth. happy new years all!

Side Note: We're dealing with Brick Wall Syndrome here... stop beating your head against it!

Let me see.... I've housed my corns together and apart. When I was a little child I had a snake ... so going by that I have 29 years of experience! In actual fact I have had snakes continually since 2001 and consider myself a complete and total newbie!

I kept two corns together right from the start. On their third feeding, when I put them back in the tank together, one nabbed the other and started to coil! I was terrified, and separated them best I could. From that moment on they had their own enclosures. Last spring I took four corns, however, and put them together in a very large display aquarium, where they lived in "wedded bliss" for a couple of months. I separated them when the first girl started looking for a place to lay her eggs. No problems there, but I watched them very carefully after putting them together again once they were fed. Once they were done with the business of breeding, I put them back in their own enclosure.

At this point in time I have four corns together, again, in the same large display vivarium. I pretty much regret my decision, because one of the corns (which one?) regurgitated it's first post-brumation meal. What do I do now? Well I can separate them, or they will ALL have to wait ten days before ANY of them get fed. When I do pull them out to feed them they will all go back into their own enclosures, so I can monitor them more closely.

I believe that any newbie should be told the FACT that snakes CAN and WILL eat one another. Not always, perhaps not even very frequently, but it is a FACT not an opinion. Given this FACT newbies should be told that it is HIGHLY DISCOURAGED to house more than one corn per enclosure. To recommend anything different is irresponsible... at least coming from a HIGHLY QUALIFIED and EXPERIENCED keeper of snakes.

Housing corns together is a question that gets asked on every snake forum on many occasions and it has now got to the stage where I just have a stock answer that I copy and paste for each one which is this:

I think this is the most common question I get asked across the board. For many it is considered hugely controversial and many a heated discussion has ensued in forums across the world as some have very black & white views on this. Oftentimes these opinions are based on their own experiences where mishaps or serious instances have happened which were attributed to shared vivariums.

I have to say, I don't personally advocate one way or another directly. I seriously don't believe that we fully understand even a tiny bit of the emotional needs of a snake to be able to judge their needs in a completely informed way and, therefore, make a valid decision one way or another. It is something that I have given a lot of thought to and, as in everything, my thought processes tend to leave me more indecisive than I was before.

However, there are a number of issues which you do need to be aware of before making a decision. The first issue is of health and stress levels is completely right. A single animal is far easier to monitor than a pair. If one were to regurgitate or produce concerning stools, it is much less harrowing when you know exactly which one they came from instead of having to guess. Stress is an unknown quantity which can have an effect which only shows itself after a long period of time. The result of stress is a reduced immune system and the resultant illness/fatality is rarely attributed to multiple-housing where that was actually the initial cause.

The second issue is, unfortunately, a common one. Through no fault of the breeder particularly, a hatchling can be sexed incorrectly. You may think that you have two females when in fact one of them could actually be a male. (and vice versa) If you stick around the forums I guarantee that around February next year you will hear of at least one story of an unplanned preganancy with a female that is far too small with possible disastrous consequences.

The third issue that is often brought about is that they are solitary animals and many believe that they should be kept alone because of this. This is one that leaves me a little unsure. Yes, they are solitary animals but can we be absolutely certain that this means that they wish to go throughout their entire lives in this way? They may not form packs or family units which we associate with other sociable animals but simply because they do not conform to our limited ideas of what a sociable animal is, does not mean that they do not, to some degree, enjoy meeting others in their travels. Of course, this doesn't mean that they necessarily want to spend their lives cooped up with the same snake either............ a hugely muddied area for me I'm afraid. One that definitely needs further investigation as our understanding of these wonderful creatures develops.

The fourth point is regarding cannibalism and is a shocking occurance. It's not very common - in fact, I would go so far as to say that it is rare among corns. However, this does not mean that it couldn't happen to yours. There are photographs to be found of one hatchling corn devouring another and it's a rather sobering photograph to say the least. That said, I have never yet heard of a cannibalistic incidence involving adult corn snakes. It is for this reason as well as a few others that I ALWAYS advocate seperate development in hatchlings. I may be undecided on adults but hatchlings is a no-go area as far as I'm concerned.

If you do decide to buy another snake then a minimum three month quarantine is advised. The three month quarantine is simply good practice. Parasites and disease can be inherited by a new snake into your collection very easily if you don't quarantine any new animal for investigation and monitoring.

One point that I would like to add to all of the above is that corn snakes temperaments DO change during breeding season. This applies to males and females in varying degrees. Two snakes that happily co-exist together for many months can suddenly be found fighting with each other as they become more territorial and their desire for a mate increases. This could result in one of the snakes being bullied and from there various stress issues could abound including a decreased immune-system.

My own personal experiences with my collection have included separate housing and shared vivs. If you do decide to house corn snakes together then you simply HAVE to know those particular snakes very well and be able to read their body language. If one of your snakes was to become stressed then the symptoms and signs can be quite subtle and are easily missed by someone who has not taken the time out to learn about that particular snake.


Cornman, please be careful when bandying around nationalities as a reason for anything. I frequent and moderate and own various reptile sites and forums in the UK (you may well have heard of many of them ) as well and the advice we offer on multiple housing in the UK is, by and large, no different to the advice found in the US. As with all things, all any of us can do is express our own opinions and thoughts on any matter and hope that those who read the advice are intelligent enough to pick through the advice given to choose that which is more applicable and correct. I've taken a look at your website and your two corn snakes (and the one that went missing in October) are not very old. You may well have housed snakes successfully for 15 years but not this pair of corn snakes as they are still too young. We should all only speak from our own experiences but it is only fair that we give an accurate account of that experience so that others have a better ability to judge our words and what they are worth. I'm not having a go at you or anyone else and do not wish to incite an argument here but perhaps it would be better to be able to back-up any "experience" you have.

I've taken a look at your website and your two corn snakes (and the one that went missing in October) are not very old. You may well have housed snakes successfully for 15 years but not this pair of corn snakes as they are still too young

I never said they were over 18 monthes old, but are out of my last 3 cluthches and the web site is about them. I would love to post pics of previous snakes but why should i buy a scanner just to satisfy you or anyone else, but thats just my opinion.

I'm not having a go at you or anyone else and do not wish to incite an argument here but perhaps it would be better to be able to back-up any "experience" you have.

I agree i am sick of this argument, but just a quick note on the abilay to back up my experience's, Anyone who wants to see 20 years worth of my snakes can gladly come and have a tea or coffee of whatever and look through over 4000 photos of my snakes, but i begrudge paying for a scanner just to make the point of putting them on a web site, yeah the 5 on the site are taken with a digital camera i got 1n 2004 but before then all i used was my trusty SLr which i still use.

Anyone who want to call email me first to make sure i am in, and yes that is an open invite to anyone.

my my this is a heated discussion,
let me tell a little story ~
now i kept two girlies together for 3 years solid not once did i have a problem until one night, one decided that a mouse wasnt enough and struck point blank at the others face, luckily my dad was standing there and parted them immediately.
i was always one of these peeps that always said housing more than one snake is okay, i was wrong! luckily both snakes were okay but what if me or my dad wasnt there, the smaller one would have actually ate the larger one and i would have lost both, now im on the side of never to house them together ever again for any resaon, i do not breed them as they are my pets and i do not want to risk egg-binding. i have bred them in the past but all 3 occasions were actually accidential.
anyways my point is, some peeps always say it can never happen to them, believe me, i used to be one, but it can happen to absolute anyone.
some peeps will just have to learn the hard way and find a regurgitated dead snake in their viv one day.