How to get started?

[susang]

A little trick you can try, you will need a set of extra hands. Hold the snow above and below vent take a flashlight point it from the back toward you. If it is a male you will see two littlle red threadlike, the hemipenis. Litterally about the size of a thread. If none it could be female. Tail length is not accurate, nor is my method for snows unless it is male, even popping and probing can be false findings unless its a male.
How old are these snakes?

 

[Kokopelli]

month and a half. The other's 2 and a half months old.

 

[susang]

Well I'ld say you have while before breeding them. Seeing as how I am one of the people with a strong opinion on co-habing snakes just when is the appropriate time to seperate them?

 

[Kokopelli]

At around 6 or so months.
I would prefer to prevent a chance of them breeding before the female attains proper size, thus endangering her health.

I cannot say I have noticed a real advantage to holding them in the same terrarium. It only means that if one of them gets sick, there's a good chance that the other will be exposed to it as well.

Yes, to us humans it sometimes would seem that snakes that live alone in a a terrarium are lonely... but it's a human notion which I am trying to avoid when deciding what's best for my snakes.

In the wild they are solitary and have no real understanding of sociality. That does not make them any less amazing, but they are not humans so I do not subject them to my own feelings as a human.

I think that the best opinion is the one which a person holds on to. We cannot truly ask a snake how he feels about it, and if one would venture and claim snakes do think as we do- I imagine some would prefer to be alone and others would like to be with other snakes in the same tanks...

I respect all opinions on the matter. I will reach my own conclusions as I go about raising corns and other snakes.

I haven't been raising snakes long enough to shape an opinion based on experience.

And yes, there's a good while yet.

 

[Kokopelli]

Thank you all for your help, those articles are excellent and I finally got the hang of what you meant.

I have studied Biology in the best and do know the terms and mechanics. I simply had no idea which gene was responsible to which trait et cetra.

Thanks alot!

 

[susang]

My next question would be if you see no advantage to keeping them together why do it? The spread of disease, the fact you may not no which one is sick (if one regurges say), the slim possibility of cannabalism, most important the possibility that one or both could get stressed from being in close proxemity to the other. Stress can make a snake ill, cause regurges and cause a snake to got off feed.
For sure no one would tell you how to raise your snakes, these are just my opinions of corn snakes and their habits. It is my opinion there is no reason to put two snakes together unless you are breeding them. JMHO, susang

 

[Kokopelli]

That's quite correct.
However at the moment I know for a fact that they are healthy, I am a good friend of the breeder and am aware of their full cycle of feed&shed.

As I do not have two separate cages at the moment I decided to give it a try.

For one, snakes that dislike the other's presence will try to avoid it, rather then seek out the same hiding spot and coil around one another.

I keep a strict conduct of feeding and therefore cannibalism is hardly a possibility. They eat separately, when the other is not in the tank.

They are extremely small and I would rather not risk putting them in a cage which isn't designed to hold reptiles.

Since then they ate, and ate well without giving the slightest sign of stress.

Whilst I may be new to corns I have been raising snakes for a few months and have 5 other snakes... I am not an expert but I am not a total novice either.

Stress can be easily seen mostly if you know what to look for and as long as you keep the moisture and heat levels properly, the snake's immunity system will block out the vast majority of possible issues.

Currently, it would do more harm to put them in boxes which do not have proper ventilation/have ventilation holes that are big enough for them to escape through.

I also believe that in general it is best to keep them separated even if they are a breeding couple. They should be housed together only for the mating itself. If they are used to one another it may sometimes effect their attraction to one another when the time comes.

There's no definite yes or no... currently it is the best course of action

 

[Ssthisto]

1- How does one go about creating a type B Anery?
2- Same for lavenders
3- same for bloodreds
4- same for carmels

Essentially, they cannot be "created".

Each of those traits - Anery B "Charcoal", Lavender, Bloodred "Diffuse" and Caramel - require a specific gene in order to appear, the same as Amelanistic and Anerythristic. If you don't have the ingredients for Caramel (mother must carry Caramel and father must carry Caramel) then it is not possible to create Caramel offspring.

To get Caramel genes, you would need either Caramels, het for Caramels, Butter (Amel Caramels) or het for butters, or Amber (Hypo Caramels) or het for Amber snakes. These have the "caramel" ingredient.

To get Charcoal genes, you would need Charcoals (or hets), Blizzards (or hets - these are Amel Charcoals), Phantoms (or hets - these are Hypo Charcoals) or Pewters (or hets - and these are Diffuse Charcoals).

To get Lavender genes, you could use Lavenders (or hets), Opals (or hets - these are Amel Lavenders)... there are not many other 'common' combinations for this yet.

And to get Diffuse genes (which are the basis for "Bloodred" - offspring with two copies of the Diffuse gene, no other colour morph, which have been chosen for the best red colouring) you would need something that carries the Bloodred/Diffuse gene.

Are any of these traits already available in Israel?

Oh - the reason your snakes might both be in the same hiding spot is because it's the best hiding spot to be in, whether or not someone else is already in there. It's not because they like or even tolerate each other - it's because their desire to be in the best spot is more than their desire not to compete with another snake for space or resources. It's a very mild form of competition that can cause stress.

 

[Kokopelli]

It is hardly the best nor only. Snakes have been brought up well and fair in the past by many a breeder.

Whilst I agree that there -can- be complications. -can- and -will be- are two extremely different things.

Too sheltered a life with no competition at all does carry a certain toll as well. The snake's inability to face infections and allow his immune system to create anti-bodies for said infections can contribute to a general weakening of a snake's immune system.

Again, I am not saying I am right, but I am not accepting that I am wrong either. As long as snakes do not consider each other a threat or competitors, no aggression or stress will be caused. Alertness perhaps... but threat is met with aggressiveness mostly.

I for one still believe it is the lesser evil available at the moment, and it has not, by any means, induced stress up to this point.

And no... The morphs mentioned are not commonly available. But with enough effort I believe I will be able to bring in Butters/Caramels and bloodreds.