• 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.

Corns & Cats

kloe2008

kloe2008

Newbie Member...
Recently, my 5 month Maine Coon kitten has taken a shine to lounging on top of my viv. The viv that holds my youngest corn - and he's so tiny he makes me worry all the time lol so I dont let him chill there and he gets shouted at to keep away from the tanks. I usually keep my door shut, but there are 4 cats in the house and they do like running around in my room.... my question is (sorry to beat around the bush) but is this of any detriment to my snakes if i let him chill on top of the viv? I just worry cus he could be carrying diseases or something in his fur, he's wormed and doesnt have fleas or anything, mum a veterinary nurse and im sure her cats are the healthiest, most spoilt animals walking but i just dont really trust them getting too near my snakies!! Whats your opinion? Can cats carry infections and stuff that snakes cant handle? I dont want them ever to get too close but the cats do love a nice run round my room lol.... Thanks for any help.... sorry im sure there are other similar threads actually...
 
Pretty sure that diseases and pests won't transfer from cat to snake so you should be safe there.

The only risk I can think of would be if you treat the cat with an anti-flea spray or dust - fumes or residue from those chemicals could be poisonous to snakes. I guess that'd just be a matter of keeping them apart for a week or so.

Keep an eye on the snake to make sure that it isn't spooked by the cat sitting on the viv. It would be natural for the snake to see the cat as a predator (in the wild, it would be) and you don't need regurges or feeding refusals to deal with. Also make sure that there's no risk of escape or the cat being able to barge the viv doors open (a simple rubber door bung will do the trick for less than a pound). Cats just love "playing" with animals they've caught.

However, when I had a cat my (adult) Corns were as fascinated by the cat, as the cat was with them. They used to follow each other up and down either side of the viv glass, which would forever be covered with whiffly nose smears from the cat! The snakes showed no signs of stress.
 
My cats hang out on top of the few screen vivs I have and the snakes don't mind at all, they come out and look at the cats. So if your snake is not showing any distress it's probably fine, unless the lid might fail & let the cat into the viv.
 
I live in a small-ish apartment, and the snakes are housed in my bedroom... so it's difficult to keep the furred critters (3 cats & 1 dog) away! My snakes don't seem to notice them, with the exception of Coraline the amel - who absolutely HATES when the cats get too close. Once I was filling her water and had the tub cracked open, when my cat decided to stroll past... Coraline flung herself out and bit kitty on the cheek, then retreated back into her hide. Nobody was hurt, but Cor got a mouth full of fur (kitty just shook her head and walked away). Taught me to be more careful, though. :cool:

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about parasites & such, since most are species-specific. I agree about the flea meds being toxic, but chances are slim they'd come in direct contact with those. So unless you notice a snake is particularly stressed by them, I think cats & corns can co-exist peacefully.
 
The only thing I got to say is put a 1/2 inch hardware cloth cover over the top of the tank. My wifes cats like to sit on top of my 20 gal long tank and their weight ripped the screen top, so I repaired the screen top and added a 1/2 inch hardware cloth top to stop the cats from falling threw the top.

Love the Fatman
 
I don't know how it works with snakes, but with macaws, simply the saliva from a cat's mouth can be deadly, even if a bite is superficial. If it was my snake and my cat, I think I'd ask my vet just to make sure. You never know what might happen if the cat fell through the screen lid into the snake tank.

I don't have cats, though, 'cause I don't like them in the house, so I haven't researched it.
 
One of my cats and my green snake, Prize, tend to try to do battle through the glass of Prize's cage. And this particular cat also severely unnerved Whisper, my nervy subadult snow, by sitting on her cage. So, tragically, the kitties are currently barred from the bedroom. This sucks for me and the cats, especially the troublemaker, as he and I LOVE the cuddle-naps. He crawls in under the covers with me and wriggles his way between my arms so I can hold him like a stuffed animal. But it's better for the snakes, and my husband prefers to keep the cats out of the bedroom anyway (he's jealous when I cuddle them instead of him). So in my case I do have to keep them separated, but I have a couple of particularly spooky rescue corns to consider.
 
Cats for some reason like to lay on the screen lid. Just the lid. try buying a separate lid and put it on the floor where the cat can get to it. It might stop the cat from getting on top of the viv.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top