Cohabitation

[gwb8568]

If you can't find a place for the other snake, let me know. We can figure out a way to get it shipped to me. I'll pay the shipping costs for an over-night FedEx delivery and any shipping supplies you might need to get the job done, such as a sturdy box and heat pads, etc. I'm sure some of the breeders on board here will help us figure out a way to ship it safely from Washington to California.

I have never shipped nor recieved a live animal before, but I know it can be done. I'm sure that between the folks at FedEx and the breeders here that ship regularly, we could get it done.

Obviously, it would be better if you found someone near you that wanted it. But as a last resort, I will pay all shipping costs and take it.

Let me know...

.......and the addiction begins to rear it's ugly head. LOL :sidestep:
nice of you to offer the help

 

[tyflier]

I just want to see the snakes well and properly cared for. If she can't do it and can't find someone near her, I would be happy to have another snake...

 

[Rocky Raccoon]

That cost will be peanuts if Tara has a male & female and end up with hatchlings that won't eat or a female that is egg-bound that needs to go to a vet's or ends up dead because they can't afford to take it to the vet. Even if the babies are healthy, she's going to need a set-up for the eggs to hatch them out and another cage for the babies that she's obviously not ready to support.

Pets are a luxury and aren't cheap. Do right by them. Either put them in separate cages or find a home for one.

Well I guess she'd have to deal with that later. But for now at the moment which she is worried about, one cage is maybe all she can do right now... thats what I was trying to make a point out of. I know when I started out I had little money and went a couple months w/out a temp gauge only a stick on one.

 

[Weebonilass]

Well I guess she'd have to deal with that later. But for now at the moment which she is worried about, one cage is maybe all she can do right now... thats what I was trying to make a point out of. I know when I started out I had little money and went a couple months w/out a temp gauge only a stick on one.

Considering that breeding season is almost upon us, she may be dealing with it sooner than later if she, in fact, has a male & female. As some one else suggested, a plastic tub would be better than nothing. Personally, my last place was basically three rooms and so small a full-size couch wouldn't even fit in the living room and I still had made enough room for separate tanks for my two snakes.

 

[snakemom1961]

It could be another 100 easily, thats kinda expensive dude.

Right now Petco has a snake starter kit with hide, water bowl, UTH,snake manual,hand sanitizer,aspen bedding. all for 50 bucks. All she would have to buy would be an aquarium which she could get at walmart for about 25 bucks.

 

[snakemom1961]

Considering that breeding season is almost upon us, she may be dealing with it sooner than later if she, in fact, has a male & female. As some one else suggested, a plastic tub would be better than nothing. Personally, my last place was basically three rooms and so small a full-size couch wouldn't even fit in the living room and I still had made enough room for separate tanks for my two snakes.

I was thinking of sterilites. How much room could 2 of those take up? Ditch the tank get 2 sterilite sweater boxes and UTH's. I think even if her place is really small she could find room for those. I also can't fit a full size couch in my living room and you can see by my signature we have plenty of critters here...and I'm thinking of goin to the reptile show next weekend and maybe even aquire another family member..heheheheh

 

[Rocky Raccoon]

You guys say 25 bucks , 50 bucks, but when you are poor you are poor. there is no way around it, she has the snakes and has to make do at the moment.

 

[tricksterpup]

You guys say 25 bucks , 50 bucks, but when you are poor you are poor. there is no way around it, she has the snakes and has to make do at the moment.

When you take on the responsibility of a pet; you must meet the demands of that pet with no short cuts. This is a reality, no pity, no excuses. It is the animal health that matters. If you are poor, then you should never ever get a pet you can not afford.

Tara,
if you need help as well with the snake, try this website. These links should be able to give you a hand with finding a new home for the other snake or atleast fellow members of a local herp society.
http://www.anapsid.org/societies/washington.html

 

[gwb8568]

one more thing..............try kingsnake.com in the classifieds and look under the adoption link. people are always dealing with animals there, either for a adoption fee or just plain free. more than likely you will get someone experienced as they would already know about the website and you can make sure you do by putting the requirements in the listing.
that's quite a few options............i don't think you could go wrong with any of them (and tyflier is a member on this forum that has offered to help). nothing left to do now but take action. :shrugs:

 

[TaraRose]

Thank you for all the suggestions and tyflier I really appreciate your willingness to give the snake a great home. I may be contacting you here in the near future. I do have to say that it sucks you guys are insinuating that I am not being responsible with these snakes. I got them under the impression that they would be able to live together forever, and that the only expense I would incure would possibly be getting a larger tank in 6 months to a year. Right now I live in a 1 bdrm apartment with 4 cats, 2 large parrots (with BIG cages and lots of toys!), a fishtank and now this 20 gallon snake house. Strangely (and this surprised even me!) I think I actually DO care about these darn snakes, and I am really killing myself trying to decide what the best possible outcome is for this situation. Honestly I am really stressing about seperating them, but I absolutely don't have the money or the room for another set up. So my options are keep the snakes together and see how it goes, or find another home for one of the snakes. I am barely making ends meet right now..and when I got these snakes I was told that I had to feed them every 2-3 weeks, which is not expensive.

I know that you all just want whats best for the snakes, and I am not asking you for pity or trying to make excuses. But please do not chastise me for being an irresponsible pet owner when I am trying to educate myself and do the right thing...

 

[Weebonilass]

Just for the record Tara. I have to say you got a lot of bad advice. Those yearlings should be feed every 7-10 days, not every 14-21. Adults can go 14 days, although most I think on here feed every 10 days. My 5 yr old gets feed every 7 days to keep weight on him.

I can understand that you care about your animals, but I am concerned that you've stretched yourself so thin. Just one vet visit for any of those animals sounds like it could wipe you out.

There was a member on here just recently that had gotten a female that had been accidently bred. She lost the snake because she was became egg-bound.

I don't think anyone answered you about the 7 yr old. I don't think the 7 yr old would be that bad a choice as long as the parent was the one doing the majority of the handling. Sammi Snake on here I believe owns a very young hooman, but the little hooman has a parental type that does the work and supervises all the handling

 

[Rocky Raccoon]

When you take on the responsibility of a pet; you must meet the demands of that pet with no short cuts. This is a reality, no pity, no excuses. It is the animal health that matters. If you are poor, then you should never ever get a pet you can not afford.
http://www.anapsid.org/societies/washington.html

Well since they have lived together for two years and she has a cage Id pretty much say she has the responsibility covered until she can get another cage or find another home. The animals are healthy, and if you can afford to feed and house the pet, poor or not then you SHOULD own the pet you want.

 

[Weebonilass]

Well since they have lived together for two years and she has a cage Id pretty much say she has the responsibility covered until she can get another cage or find another home. The animals are healthy, and if you can afford to feed and house the pet, poor or not then you SHOULD own the pet you want.

Rocky,

Tell me are you prepared to pay the vet bill if that snake becomes egg-bound because it is now reaching sexual maturity???? The fact that they managed to survive living together this far doesn't mean squat if they are, in fact male and female and she becomes pregnant.

I had a $250 vet bill when my daughter's snake became ill and we still lost her. That's just one visit, one treatment and one overnight stay as that's how long she lasted. The neocraspy was done for free. Didn't prove anything and I chose not to have an complete autospy done as she would still be dead and the vet could pretty much tell me that it wasn't anything I did or didn't do, saving myself $100.

When I brought the same snake home as a hatchling, I had a $350 bill for three treatments and four visits, when she was discovered to have internal parasites and refused to eat. And that was prices 5 years ago.

If you can't afford a $25 tank, how can you afford a $200+ vet visit if the animal gets sick?

Personally, I would love to have more animals. I've been very lucky with the horse, I know that if he ever got sick, it would be very expensive. So I limited myself, even though my daughter would love to have another horse, a cat or a dog, but I'm always conscience of the costs if something happens.

As others have said, pet ownership come with responsibilities. There are no ER rooms that will take you whether you can pay or not like people. If you don't have money, the vet will refuse to see your animal and it will rest on your shoulders that you allowed it to die.

When I had big birds, they were very healthy and never needed care, but I found them homes with people who had more time for them. On the other hand, I know a woman who has seven or eight big birds and when one got a Upper Respiratory infection, it was a very expensive time for her to save the poor bird.

Tara Rose, as a vet tech, the costs may be a little less, but meds are expensive and all the meds in the world may not save an egg-bound female.

 

[Rocky Raccoon]

Actually Id probably leave the snake to her eggs and feed her accordingly. Ya know what snakes do, take care of the eggs.

 

[tricksterpup]

Actually Id probably leave the snake to her eggs and feed her accordingly. Ya know what snakes do, take care of the eggs.

ok, I have to say this.. WTF are you talking about??? That made no sense what so ever. I think you need to go re-read the FAQ section here and buy Kathy Love's Book on Corn Snakes and read it.

 

[Rocky Raccoon]

Such as the snake lays the eggs and let her take care of them or perhaps build an incubator. Is that clear enough?

 

[Weebonilass]

Such as the snake lays the eggs and let her take care of them or perhaps build an incubator. Is that clear enough?

If she's not big enough and she become egg-bound she WILL die without vet care and she may die with it. Is that clear enough to you? There is a reason breeders wait until their females are 3 yrs old or a minimum of 300grams.

And suppose she does get pregnant, survives, hatches out saaaaay 16 eggs or could be 30.... are you proposing that it's okay to keep 18 or 32 snakes in one 20 gallon tank??? As for food costs... those are a lot of mouths to feed and they won't be eating 1 prey every 2-3 weeks, but one for each of those mouths every five days!

As far as I know, there is no neutering or spaying available for snakes, so pure and simple they must be separated when they reach sexual maturity unless you are prepared to go into the breeding business. And that's not cheap.

 

[tyflier]

Rocky Raccoon-

Yes...in the wild, snakes mate when they are ready and take care of their eggs. And they also suffer and die from predation, illness, disease, and untold other activities both of their own and of other animals. When they are kept as captive pets, it is our responsibility as owners to ensure the longest, happiest, and healthiest of lives for these animals. NOT to take them in and say, "Well, I don't need to care for it, because in the wild it would survive." That's simply ludicrous.

TaraRose-

I don't think anyone is really chastising you. I think that we are all giving you options for the best solution. Ultimately, the decision will be yours, and given your track record with rescued animals, I have no doubt that you will make the right choices and take proper care of the snakes, whether yourself or through someone else. I have no doubt that you will provide excellent care for the animals to the best of your abilities, and I can tell from your posts that the decision is a hard one for you to make. We just want you to be well aware of what it really is to have 2 snakes housed together. It's not healthy. Nobody is saying you NEED to give one away. We are saying that it s definately in the best interests of the snakes, and ultimately your financial situation, to seperate their housing. However that needs to be done. There are plenty of options.

I have a spare UTH. Go buy a cheap sterilite container with lockable lid from Wall-mart and a $20 thermostat from reptilesupplies.com. I'll send you my UTH. I'll even pay the shipping. Use some of the bedding you have or a newspaper that's lying around and a couple of paper towel roll tubes for hides, and viola...you have seperate enclosures. And it doesn't take up a whole lot of space. And it cost you less than $50.

There are options. And any option is better than risking the health and well-being of the snakes. Good Luck with whatever you decide to do.

And for the record...yes...Sammi Snake owns a VERY young human. Sammi Snake actually belongs to my 2 1/2 year old daughter. However, I am the one that does all the work, and pays all the bills. Being young and having a snake is a very positive experience. You merely need to ensure that the adult in the situation is aware that the majority of responsibility will fall on their shoulders. We have another snake member named Cloudy Sky that owns a young boy of I believe about 7, and they make a great team. It is not only possible for young kids to have snakes, it can be a very positive experience for everyone involved, including the snake and the adult thatcleans the cage.

 

[Joolz68]

I agree with tyflier: we all just want the best for the snakes.

Point of the story being that I am determined and do not give up easily on animals. This is exactly why I am doing my research here..to make sure I am going to be able to give these beautiful snakes a loving forever home

I know how it is to not be able to provide for your pets due to finances. (I'm the DIY Queen when it comes to making inexpensive decorations for Nibblet. But I digress...)

The biggest expense may be the tank. You can check with pet stores for any "damaged" glass tanks (where it leaks) that they might be returning to the maker. 2nd, the UTH (around $10-$15). Get some TP rolls and a plastic tub (Cool Whip?:shrugs: ) for water.

If you won't be keeping both snakes, at least separate them. How about a divider- $7.42/UTH combo for the time being? (Stop using the existing UTH. Place new UTH in center of tank, so both snakes have warm side, with cool sides on the ends. Just but don't glue it down, since it's only temporary!) Or if that won't provide enough distance for a temp variance, use a DIY Divider- $3.52 (with a piece of plexiglass or plywood or cardboard) the long way (so both snakes have access to the existing warm and cool sides). It may be a bit cramped, but it's only for a short time (until you find a new home, or get a 2nd setup).
But whatever you choose, I know you'll do what's right.:cheers:

 

[tyflier]

See...you have PLETY of options, and any of them will be beneficial. I know you'll do right by the animals, and by your own feelings.

Let me know if you want that UTH I have just sitting around in my room. It's yours for the asking.