• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

co housing snakes

do you agree with co housing snakes?

  • Total voters
    266
HaisseM said:
I'm probably the wrong person :) to ask,.
Click to expand...


LOL..... :), ummm.... thanks! (still think you're great HaisseM!)


Actually, I have been watching them for months at the petstore and they do seem to have a connection..... I think it is best to seperate, but these two make me think a little.... :sidestep:
 
hartsock said:
LOL..... :), ummm.... thanks! (still think you're great HaisseM!)


Actually, I have been watching them for months at the petstore and they do seem to have a connection..... I think it is best to seperate, but these two make me think a little.... :sidestep:
Click to expand...

Hey..think about buying the two and but them out in your back yard on a warm sunny day and see the connection.
Not trying to be a smart a** but I just don't think (My opinion) that they will hang out together. I just don't. :shrugs:
 
hartsock said:
LOL..... :), ummm.... thanks! (still think you're great HaisseM!)


Actually, I have been watching them for months at the petstore and they do seem to have a connection..... I think it is best to seperate, but these two make me think a little.... :sidestep:
Click to expand...


I've converted another --- JUST KIDDING :)
 
Lennycorn said:
Hey..think about buying the two and but them out in your back yard on a warm sunny day and see the connection.
Not trying to be a smart a** but I just don't think (My opinion) that they will hang out together. I just don't. :shrugs:
Click to expand...

Did I say they were inseperatable? Did I say they were life long partners looking to go on adventures in the wild together? Did I say that he even called her after their night together? Sheesh...you know I am usually being the one who is the smart aleck, but at least I own up to it and not try to cop out by saying "not trying to be a smart..." (nice use of censorship there, I had no idea what you were saying....unlike any 5th grader, :rolleyes:)

The thing is with these two is that they are not in the wild, they are captive bred snakes who both have been mistreated in one way or another. Just like saying feeding live is natural because of what they do in the wild isn't an arguement because they are trapped in the tank with the prey, they are not in a natural setting with being in a tank together..so possibly bonds could form, who knows? I certainly don't and that is why I am not advocating co-hab. There are 1,001 reasons not to co-hab, but maybe there are a few that could be legit. I don't think it applies to these two and I don't believe I have ever, EVER stated that I was planning on keeping them together if I got them both. All I said is that it got me thinking.... maybe there can be bonds formed that we know nothing about. I know different snakes seem to have different personalities, so maybe there is more there than alot of people give them credit for.
 
cohabbing?

I have only been into the snake family for a little over a year. We currently have 9 snakes. 7 were rescues. The first 2 we started out with, came from different places and are kept in seperate tanks. The next 2 we took in were 6 months old and were in a tank together when we took them in, so we have left them together. We have a seperate feeding tank, and so far, feeding has not been an issue. I would not consider placing 2 new snakes together but as some of mine grew up that way, it seems to work for them. They curl up together sometimes and sometimes they lay on opposite sides of the tank.
My newest 3 rescues all came in a tank together but they are supposed to be males and I worry that they may not get along as well as my females do together. Sexual maturity may cause territorial issues. So far no problems but I will be watching them closely. I dont have room for 9 30-55 gallon tanks but if I have to seperate them I will do so and go to the less attractive tupperware/rubbermaid system. That just doesnt seem as natural to me. I try to make my tanks as natural a setting for them as possible. Long as they are happy and healthy, I am happy.
So yes I cohabit, but only certain ones. And that may change as they mature.
 
Thats dedication for you.....Watching your snakes every second of every hour every day. And the moment one snake suddenly strikes out, your in that viv like a flash...Very admirable.....
I haven't got that level of dedication, so unfortunately I can only have as many snakes as I can house seperately....
 
Sorry

snakewispera snr said:
Thats dedication for you.....Watching your snakes every second of every hour every day. And the moment one snake suddenly strikes out, your in that viv like a flash...Very admirable.....
I haven't got that level of dedication, so unfortunately I can only have as many snakes as I can house seperately....
Click to expand...

I am sorry. I didnt mean to imply that I watch them every second of every day. All of my snakes were taken in from bad situations or were abandened, etc.
The ones who are together, were together when I got them. Upon observation, they appear to get along fine. So I have left them together for now. If they begin to show signs off aggression, or they seem to avoid each other, I will seperate them. The females I have together, just turned 1 this month. They show zero signs of stress, are healthy, eat great, and get plenty of exercise. They sleep together sometimes and sleep seperate sometimes. The 3 males were in a 50 gallon together when we rescued them the other night. I have returned 2 of them back to the original 50 gallon tank. They seems to get along fine, but it is also a large tank and they are weak and under sized for their age. The smallest, weakest, male is being kept seperate from the other 2 only because I am trying to keep him calm and quiet while we attempt to get him back to health.
I am no pro. Dont claim to be. Got into snakes purely by chance. We take in rescues. All types of rescues. When I wound up with a rescued snake about 1 1/2 yrs ago, I had to do alot of research quickly. I am doing my best with the space and knowledge that I have. They all appear happy and healthy, thats much better than what they had. I will continue to cohab the ones already cohabbing for the time being. I will not cohab new snakes who weren't brought up that way. As my rescued collection seems to be steadily growing, I plan to build something better to house them all seperately later on. Hopefully I can have them all in their own habitat later this summer. Regardless, I will not place them all in rubbermaid containers to live just so they arent together. How natural is that? The tanks they are in are large. 30-55 gallon depending on the size of the snakes. So at least they have lots of space, branches to climb, plants to hide in or climb thru, they each have a water bowl and seperate hiddey caves. Right now I think thats better than a rubbermaid container with a water bowl and bedding. Thats just "my" opinion. I do have plastic containers which I dont mind using for short periods of time. Like with this weakest male. He is being kept in a plastic container. But once he is healthy, he will go in a tank. After being alone for so long, he will get his own tank. If I am keeping them, they are pets, part of the family. They will get as natural a setting as I can provide them and I will have them out where we can enjoy them as well. We take them all out and hold them individually during the week. They all get attention and exercise. I am not into this for breeding purposes and seeing how many snakes I can house. I have no intension in having so many that I would have to make them all live out their lives in storage boxes. Thats fine for breeders but not for me. I take them in because they needed a home. All of my snakes were rescues. None were bought. As long as I have room and can afford to feed them I will keep them. If not, I will take them in, get them healthy and find them good homes. If you do not agree with my methods. I am sorry. I am doing the best that I can for them.
 
TripleMoonsExotic said:
The excuse that you don't have room for nine 30-50g tanks is a poor one. I can house eleven adult cornsnakes in the floor space that one 40g tank takes up. It's called a rack.
Click to expand...



I could make a rack of plastic containers and fit piles of them in a small space, but I choose not to do that. I want the snakes to have room and a natural habitat. I want them to be happy and I want to enjoy watching them as well. I like having them in tanks so we can sit around and watch them sometimes. I have 1 snake who seems to like tv. LOL She comes out at night and watches it with us. When I run out of room for tanks, I will come up with something else. I just dont want to make them live out their lives in tupperware. I have a dog. I dont make her live her life in a crate just because I have one. She is out with us most of the time. We enjoy playing with her and watching her play with her toys. My snakes are family too. I want them out with us as well. I enoy watching them in as natural a setting as possible.
I wasnt making an excuse that I dont have room for 9 tanks. Yes it is getting tight, but thats my choice. I choose not to do a rack of plastic containers.
 
Here we go again! :bang: With all the excellent reasons not to cohabitate that have been documented on this forum, I have yet to find one good reason for the cohabitation of corn snakes. People insist that they want to do everything possible to properly care for their snakes. And yet, they persist in housing their snakes together saying the snakes "like to be together". That's okay. We thoroughly enjoy the steady stream of threads about how one snake ate the other, how a 2 year old 150 gram female just laid eggs and is on death's door, how snakes are sick because there was no quarantine or due to the constant stress of being in the same viv as another snake, and of course, these lovely (and ancient - I really love the threads where the original start date is 2 years old) threads about cohabitation itself.

7Dseven - Cohab your snakes if you want to, but I can't promise that sometime in the future we won't be forced to say "We told you so!"

All other CS.com members - It's been hashed too many times, we aren't going to change his mind, he has to find out the hard way, so don't even waste your time and move on to another thread.
 
My snake rack faces the tv in my front room, right now 4 of my snakes are at the front of their tubs looking out. My tubs are large, have substrate for the snakes to burrow in, plenty of hides and artificial plants for them to climb through.
I've seen someone with a co-hab collection in large vivs, an experienced keeper who was happy with his set-up. I prefer to keep my snakes separate to avoid any of the known drawbacks.
As Susan said, there really isn't much of a case for co-habbing in the eyes of most members here and plenty of evidence against it. Ultimately though, they're your snakes, it's your choice how you keep them. Having rescued them, maybe large separate vivs would be more acceptable than a rack system for you. Without the facilities to provide separate vivs though, maybe they'd be better rescued by someone else:shrugs:
 
7Dseven said:
I could make a rack of plastic containers and fit piles of them in a small space, but I choose not to do that. I want the snakes to have room and a natural habitat. I want them to be happy and I want to enjoy watching them as well.
Click to expand...

You're snakes are "happy," huh? How exactly do you know that? How exactly are you allowing your snakes room and a natural habitat when you're sticking two in the same confined space? :shrugs:

Not all racks are made with 32qt tubs (which are more then sufficient for the average adult cornsnake). Nanci has two racks that are made up of 66qt tubs. I would guess they're the size of a 30g, and the two racks looks to me like they take up the floor space of one 55g tank.
 
Reading through this extensive thread and many others just like it, I get the idea that the case against co-hab is long and well thought out. What about the case in favor of ch-hab?

I don't have room for more vivs.
I like the way it looks to have several together.
My snakes are best friends.
I don't want her to be lonely.
How would you like to live in a plastic tub all by yourself.
I've always done it this way.
The guy at Wal-Mart said it would be OK. (sorry)
It is the way God intended.


I'm sure I missed some but I can't think of any other good reasons. Can the co-habbers help me with ideas?
 
Last edited:
cohabbing king snakes is a no no

snakewispera snr said:
Cor blighme.......Who would of thought that would happen....You live and learn......
Does the co-hab threat only happen with corns as I've just put my King snakes together. Though, I will be watching them like a hawk, just as soon as I get home... ;)
Click to expand...

King snakes eat other snakes. If you put them together, one will eat the other. Only put them together for bredding and dont leave them. Keep a close watch and seperate them asap. My friend breeds kings and he has lost several, when he had to leave them together longer than he normally does. The latest was a new 4 ft male. He put it in with his 5 ft female over night. Next morning he had a very fat female.
 
7Dseven said:
King snakes eat other snakes. If you put them together, one will eat the other. Only put them together for bredding and dont leave them. Keep a close watch and seperate them asap. My friend breeds kings and he has lost several, when he had to leave them together longer than he normally does. The latest was a new 4 ft male. He put it in with his 5 ft female over night. Next morning he had a very fat female.
Click to expand...
Are you sure.....The guy at petsmart said it was fine..And when I put them together they all looked pleased to see each other.
I'll check on them as soon as I get home from work...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top