multiple corns

albinoball · 08-13-04, 04:18 PM

Is it ok to keep multiple cornsnakes in the same enclosure...but separated to eat. Like 2or 3 of them

crazyboy · 08-13-04, 08:31 PM

no. they are cannabalistic snakes. if you keep them together you may end up with 1 snaqke eventually. and if one gets sick they all will get sick. and how can you tell if hey are all going to the bathroom?

Derrick · 08-13-04, 11:47 PM

many people keep them together. But I do remember someone posting a picture of one of thier baby corn who ate one of its siblings. Its your money and your call but I dont think you will find anyone here who will openly say its ok or admit they do it as anyone who does usually gets an earfull.

That said the reasons to hose them seperatly are plenty and seem fairly logical. In the end though the choice is yours. Definatly seperate to eat if you go that wat. I fed my corns together once way back and I ended up having to cut the hopper with a pair of scissors as they attacked it from both ends

thunder · 08-14-04, 01:57 AM

as for the experience of cutting the pinkie in half, it is some inevitable bizarre law of nature that 2 corns, if offered multiple food items, will grab the same one. it has to do with competition for resources. in fact, most cases of cannibalism among corns can be attributed to this phenomenon.

gonesnakee · 08-14-04, 03:35 PM

Better to keep them seperate for reasons of possible cannibalism, unplanned breedings (possibly resulting in eggbound snakes), unable to monitor fecals & regurges correctly, unnessicary stress, crosscontamination etc. etc. Mark
P.S. people have & will keep Corns successfully together irreguardless of these things but why risk them IMHO

Cedille · 08-15-04, 12:35 PM

Oh, they're cannibalistic? neat. so i can feed my non-feeding babies to their mom?

*eyeroll*

Jonathan Crowe · 08-15-04, 12:40 PM

Corn snakes are cannibalistic snakes? That's a new one.

Baby corns are kind of stupid and have been known to eat one another, but adult corns have been kept two, three or even four to a cage successfully -- and safely -- for years at a time. Just feed them separately -- or be prepared to deal with food fights.

Food fights do not mean cannibalism! The snake isn't deliberately trying to eat its cagemate; it's just gotten mixed up. Clearly with serious consequences! So you avoid that by feeding them separately. But quarantining your snakes from one another outside feeding times won't make them any safer at feeding time.

Some herpers hold the opinion that all snakes should be housed separately to eliminate the risks of cannibalism, disease transmission, etc., etc. They're entitled to that opinion, even if I disagree with it. I keep some snakes together and some snakes separately, depending on their age, species, behaviour with their cagemates, overall health, and whether or not I want them to breed. It hasn't been problem-free, but by and large the health problems I've had to deal with in my collection -- roundworm infestations from contaminated fish; snake mites -- would not have been prevented had I kept every snake one to a cage. Or, to put it another way, keeping snakes one to a cage is no guarantee against the spread of disease in your collection -- think viruses and mites.

If your corn snakes are in good health and you pay attention to them, the risks of bad stuff happening are quite low. They're more likely to come to harm by escaping the cage than they are from each other's presence.

And frankly, the only time my corn snakes appear to acknowledge each other's presence is when they're humping.

By the one-snake-to-a-cage logic, no one should have more than one cat or dog -- in case they don't get along or they infect each other. Stuff like that does happen, but it doesn't prevent people from having two cats, and, 95 times out of 100, there aren't any problems.

Considering how often brothers and sisters get into fights, maybe people shouldn't have more than one child, either. Or maybe they should be housed separately too!

marisa · 08-15-04, 12:44 PM

Children, cats and dogs are not snakes. Aside from that, you say the "bad reasons" aren't good enough and can be eliminated...then what exactly are the benefits of housing together?

I would rather have ZERO chance of anything happening, and just buy another cage. IMHO.

Marisa

JR35 · 03-14-05, 05:13 PM

Jonathan Crowe what snakes have you housed together. im thinking of housing 2 corns together

Tyler99 · 03-15-05, 08:19 PM

Personally, I keep two babies in the same cage, feed seperatley in the containers I got thme in and they have been fine. Both of them are in a 20 gallon. After they out grow the 20, Im probaby going to keep one in a nateral looking 40 gallon, and one in a rubbermaid.

I KNOW I have a female candycane but Im really hoping for the other normal colored one to be a male. Ill try and get the other popped. Darn...When I was at the reptile show, I should of asked a dif breeder to pop him.