Rats, Ferrets and snake in the same room.

[Pudge7]

Would it be possible for me to keep my rats, ferrets and snakes in the same room? I want to get a snake but I have seen some disagreement on this and I only have one room I could keep the animals in. If not, what are some reptiles, amphibians or arachnids that would be okay in my room?

[phenyx]

Oh my, that's quite a menagerie. Welcome to the group. As for keeping them all in the same room, I'd be very hesitant. Snakes eat rats. Rats and ferrets can and will kill snakes. You'd have to ensure that every cage is VERY secure and even then it's likely that someone would eventually get eaten.

[Neon Aurora]

Hmm. I don't really think anyone would get eaten if caging is secure. My cats could kill my geckos and my anaconda is probably big enough to eat my cats. No one has been eaten. Secure caging and making sure they never make contact. I wonder, though, if a snake constantly having the scent of food (rats) would make it kind of aggressive.

Cages with locks are good.

[DJC Reptiles]

Yes it’s possible, be sure to clean and wash your hands when moving from cage to cage. The ferret smell might be hard to get off your hands, so take extra precautions when dealing with a snake after. I’ve never heard about someone feeding ferrets to snakes, but it’s best to be careful. I really wouldn’t worry about someone getting eaten, it’s not too hard to have a secure tank, and if you do it right, your in good shape. Actual locks are not necessary, but most cages come with a type of turning lock mechanism, which is perfectly fine. One extra point I thought I should have is, you don’t have to get a snake big enough to down a large rat, or a ferret. Snakes like western hognose, and sandboas, will never get big enough, and probably would not even attempt to tackle prey so much larger than themselves.

[craigafrechette]

Yes it's very possible, as ling as all the enclosures are properly secured.

I have kept my snakes and ferrets in the same room for over 2 years, they don't even notice each other.

[phenyx]

I’ve never heard about someone feeding ferrets to snakes...you don’t have to get a snake big enough to down a...ferret. I was thinking more of the ferret potentially killing and eating the snake, because weasles and mongooses do eat snakes in the wild, but you're right, either way it's a very remote possibility. I just had a long weekend where a lot of weird remote possibilities came to pass so that's probably why my mind went there.

[DJC Reptiles]

I was thinking more of the ferret potentially killing and eating the snake, because weasles and mongooses do eat snakes in the wild, but you're right, either way it's a very remote possibility. I just had a long weekend where a lot of weird remote possibilities came to pass so that's probably why my mind went there.

Makes sense, but captive ferrets are pretty docile, I’ve never heard of such an accident happening. I just don’t think it’s very likely. Additionally, As long as the cage is secure, there is nothing to worry about.