Snake seperation problems?

Cornsnakemomma · 02-12-13, 04:59 PM

A month or so back, I purchased a young corn snake hatchling, and a few weeks ago, I purchased another.
I've kept them in the same enclosure ever since buying the younger one because I was building a custom one for my older snake and it was taking a lot of time and money.
But the project went haywire because I messed it up, so I just bought a large 20 gallon and added the heater, aspen, hide, ect. All the things my darling would need.
So around 6 days ago, I moved him into the cage, and 2 days ago I tried feeding him /It was his feeding day/, and he -refused- to eat, or even be handled. He wouldn't come out of his hide. It was almost as if he was depressed. So I moved my younger snake back in with him, and today, he happily ate and was back to being social and loving like he was before.

So it seems my albino corn snake, Salazar, has separation issues when I separate him from my younger corn, Malik.

They're both males, so no accidental breeding could happen. Plus Salazar is barely 2 months old.

But I don't want him to grow to be 5 or so feet and have to get a huge custom tank because he wants to be in the same cage as a 3-4 foot snake.

Any advice, fellow snake lovers? This snake mom is very worried for her darlings. : (

rmfsnakes32 · 02-12-13, 05:12 PM

Ok so the most likely reason he didnt eat was being in a new enclosure not being apart. They need separated soon.

dinosaurdammit · 02-12-13, 05:16 PM

first, there is no evidence that snakes have emotions.

second, there is no reason to house two snakes together, unless you want one eaten possibly.

third, you may not want him to grow 5 foot, but he may, and its selfish to try and keep him a small size based on feeding or cramping him in an unsuitable cage.

fourthly, snakes dont bond like mammals do, and there is only one lizard (skink) that is known to actually form a pair bond.

fifthly, your snake doesnt have separation anxiety, its a snake- it could just have had a bad scale day and gotten into a mood and you took it as a sign of something higher than it really is.

SpOoKy · 02-12-13, 05:27 PM

Didn't eat due to stress of moving enclosures.

Lankyrob · 02-12-13, 06:03 PM

What everyone else said, separate them now before one gets VERY attached to the other

**lady_bug87** · 02-12-13, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinosaurdammit

first, there is no evidence that snakes have emotions.

second, there is no reason to house two snakes together, unless you want one eaten possibly.

third, you may not want him to grow 5 foot, but he may, and its selfish to try and keep him a small size based on feeding or cramping him in an unsuitable cage.

fourthly, snakes dont bond like mammals do, and there is only one lizard (skink) that is known to actually form a pair bond.

fifthly, your snake doesnt have separation anxiety, its a snake- it could just have had a bad scale day and gotten into a mood and you took it as a sign of something higher than it really is.

I would argue that my lacertas being a mated pair have bonded to each other. If I remove my female, my male goes crazy looking for her and refuses food.

I had them in separate tubs and she tried to dig through the bottom of hers to get to him.

erichillkeast · 02-12-13, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinosaurdammit

third, you may not want him to grow 5 foot, but he may, and its selfish to try and keep him a small size based on feeding or cramping him in an unsuitable cage.

I agree with everything you said, except I think you may have misinterpreted that point. I read it as if it gets to five feet, and is living with a 3-4 ft snake it would need a very large enclosure. Not that she didn't want a 5 foot snake.

Cornsnakemomma · 02-12-13, 07:53 PM

I would NEVER keep my babies in a cramped cage. Both of them aren't even a foot right now.

I already ordered a huge 40 gal to move them into, and I'm expecting it to arrive in a few weeks.

Corn snakes aren't cannibalistic. So no eating eachother. Plus they're taught if they're getting food, it's in a separate tubberware container with tongs.

I'm one that believes that snakes have emotions, but that's just me.

And when I had last moved him into a large cage, he adapted within 2 days and happily took food.

There was no change in this new cage except that Malik wasn't in it.

Salazar is at max 9 inches, and Malik 4.

erichillkeast · 02-12-13, 07:58 PM

They may not normally be cannibalistic, but it does happen.
Here is a picture of a corn that ate another corn. I'm sure someone else will have a more graphic picture as well.

If I recall there was a post about a corn starting to eat a cobra, I'll see if I can find the link.

*Edit: It's in >>This<< thread.

Swany · 02-12-13, 08:05 PM

Cornsnakemomma. The accepted thinking is snakes should not cohabit (garter snakes not included) im sure you're going to see lots of pics of snakes eating snakes, it can happen so it's not worth taking the chance. I understand you getting a large tank to give them room to grow, but to be safe they should have seperate vivs :-)

Cornsnakemomma · 02-12-13, 08:14 PM

Huh, guess the breeders where wrong then.
I'll definitly do so, and guess I'll have to tube feed my babies if they stop eating due to it. Thank you everyone for being so kind and sweet about your responses, and so educated too! : ) I was kind of scared to post, as I got trashed in my last snake forum!

**lady_bug87** · 02-12-13, 08:16 PM

I wouldn't rush into tube feeding unless they haven't eaten in a looong time and they are losing a ton of weight. Tube feeding can cause way more problems than it solves

Cornsnakemomma · 02-12-13, 08:18 PM

I understand that fully, trust me. I've only tube-fed twice in all of my years of reptile ownership, and they usually start eating a week or so later. I know it's last priority. Thank you!

Swany · 02-12-13, 08:19 PM

If you take the advice offered people won't trash you. Glad to hear you're going to separate them. I'm sure once they get used to their new homes they'll feed just fine. Give them a week to settle try not to handle them and then offer em some supper :-)

SKYlord · 02-12-13, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cornsnakemomma

.

I already ordered a huge 40 gal to move them into, and I'm expecting it to arrive in a few weeks.

Corn snakes aren't cannibalistic. So no eating eachother. Plus they're taught if they're getting food, it's in a separate tubberware container with tongs.

Salazar is at max 9 inches, and Malik 4.

First off a forty gallon aquarium isn't really all that big. even for a corn snake.

Secondly corn snakes are cannibalistic when housed together. I had 8 babies this year a friend gave me because he got out of the hobby ( his wife hated snakes). All he had left was a five bin rack and he brought all eight them over in it. Twice I heard thrashing and opened a bin to find a corn latched on to its litter mate.

Also 4" seems really small for a corn snake.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cornsnakemomma

Huh, guess the breeders where wrong then.
I'll definitly do so, and guess I'll have to tube feed my babies if they stop eating due to it. Thank you everyone for being so kind and sweet about your responses, and so educated too! : ) I was kind of scared to post, as I got trashed in my last snake forum!

Please don't tube feed them. I have know people that have killed several of their herp by tube or force feeding.