Share cage?

[Auddi01]

would it be ok to keep my corn in the same vivarium with my black rat snake, they are very close in size

[Zoe]

Nope, they have different care, humidity etc requirements, they will stress each other out, and one may eat the other.

So definitely no. Spring for another cage and proper setup, or don't keep 2 snakes.

Zoe

[Auddi01]

that's fine i have the extra cage and room, but aren't they the same snake pretty much... corn snake a.k.a. red rat snake? Just wondering, what different requirements do they have?

[Zoe]

Just because they have similar requirements doesn't mean they can live together. A lion and a antelope may live in the same area of the word, but you wouldn't consider keeping them together...

Zoe

[marisa]

Not to mention there just plain is no reason to keep them together. Not any I can think of that are a benefit to the snake.

Corns are rat snakes but even keeping two Corns together can be risky. You can pass disease, one may be stressed out constantly, you can accidently have early breeding which can result in problems.....none of these things can happen when housed alone.....so the choice is pretty clear when it comes to "safety"

Marisa

[Chris Steele]

Lions and Antelopes are nothing alike besides that they live in the same area of the world...i dont think that comparison will help him any at all

[Zoe]

By that comparison I was stating that they would each other - as a rat/corn just may. Heck, a big corn might eat a small one.

[Chris Steele]

My friend has a boa with a ratsnake and they seem to be fine, in fact, when my friend heard that they shouldnt be together he took them apart. When they were separated they became very stressed, and less tame.

But I am mostly a lizzard person...what would I know?

Since you are educated about snakes Zoe, please tell me wht this means.

[Zoe]

I don't appreciate the sarcasm... but I would guess the snakes were stressed from the move. Studies show that snakes don't have emotional attachements to anything. My snakes don't recognize me, they don't rush to the door to see me - and anyone who says their snakes do are probably exagerating or mistaking behaviour.
But I would never in a million years assume that these two snakes loved each other and were so sad when they were being seperated that they stressed and were agressive? If they did miss each other's attention - they would seak out attention, not become aggressive. If I leave for the weekend, my cat will seek attention from something else, she won't become edgy.

So by that are you saying snakes should be kept together, for the health of the snake?

Zoe

[Chris Steele]

im not sayin anything, just wondering, but one of them stayed in the origional cage. what would it be stressed for?

sorry for my sarcasm, ive just always hated that example.

[Zoe]

It could be stressed by the chance, or perhaps it was going into shed, or perhaps the temps were higher that die. A nippy snake does not, by any means, indicate that it is greatly missing a friend-snake. It could imply that if there weren't so many studies disproving it, which is why I can't see how a boa and ratsnake (Which I am surprised were still alive after been kept together) could form such a strong bond.

Well, sorry you didn't like my example, but I really really don't think that sarcasm was called for.


Oh, your signature should be 4 lines long or less... just letting you know :]

[Vanan]

Sorry but I did have intervene here. I do have and have had snakes which have actually shown proof of recognising me or Katt. Snakes can (I believe) have the capacity of recognition. In the wild, snakes seek out their previously used densites from miles away even though there may be suitable ones nearby. As for captivity, I have an albino caliking (who I raised up from young) who always musks and tail rattles whenever anyone else picks her up, including Katt. This is not based on just one incident but consecutive repeat incidences. Katt also used to own an eastern milk (may he RIP) who wouldn't not shed by himself. He would wait, sometimes for days with his shed skin already seperated from his body but still not peeled off. No rock or branch was good enough for him cept for Katt's hands. He would immediately proceed to shed himself in her hands. And this is not any form of exaggeration too. Neither are we cuckoo! lol

As for your original question Austin, let's put it this way. This one is usually reason enough for people to not keep different species. Snakes carry various bacteria in their gut just like most animals. This bacterial fauna varies within species to species. Some may carry higher levels of one bacteria, than others. When one snake poops it introduces this bacteria into the environment which the other snake shares and increases the chances of the other snake picking up this bacteria, either through substrate ingestion or from the water. This screws up the bacterial fauna in this other snakes gut and can cause many problems such as indigestion, a bacterial infection etc.

As for snakes enjoying others company, I'm still skeptical cos I have noticed a couple of my male boas who are almost inseperable whenevr theyre together but I still haven't had enough concrete evidence to satisfy me enough to say that they enjoy it. But ya know what? Who knows? There's only so little in this world that we know of and snakes are still being studied and understood and will continue to be for a long while more.

Hope you make the right decision and keep your snakes welfare as priority. :)

[Emily-Fisher]

To save you a lot of time, just don't mix any different species together. Hope this is clear enough :p

[Chris Steele]

I like my signature, If i dont put it in a signature then i will just put it at the end of every message instead!

[Auddi01]

Thanks everyone, i will just keep them seperate,i was hoping it would be ok tho... he seems lonely :) thanks alot vanan especially, you were a great help!

[Vanan]

Anytime. There's alot of good info here from many good and responsible herpers.

[killaclown]

Hey man dont give up so soon i think it will work corns live under just about any condition rats and corns are the most adaple snakes thats why there the best beginer snake