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Friends for the snakies

1K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  Carl 
#1 ·
I have two corn snakes in a 5foot viv, plenty more space..

:lol2:

Any ideas if there can be any other reptiles that can live happily with corns?
 
#2 · (Edited)
more corns...
its a touchy subject really....there are animals that share the same areas like ratsnakes and other snakes but theres the contamination/temperature difference and hybridising isn't too popular within reptilekeeping unless you count creamisicle,copper,harvest,jungle and the other cornsnakes availiable
 
#5 ·
A corn snake is likely to eat any lizard you put in with them that isn't big enough to eat the corn snake; any lizard you put in that is big enough to eat the corn snake probably will. In the wild, corns eat anoles, fence lizards and other small to medium sized reptiles, as well as rodents and birds.

To be perfectly honest, it's not entirely 'safe' to keep a pair of corns together (cannibalism, breeding too young and losing female to egg-binding or post-lay stress, dominance and territory issues) and adding another snake of ANY species other than a corn snake is not particularly a good idea for exactly the same reasons.

Besides, your corns don't want "friends" - what they want is their own space where they do not have to compete with anyone else for food, shelter or the spot with the best temperature.
 
#4 ·
Sorry to hijack the thread, but what are copper and harvest corns hybridised with? I know jungles and creamsicles, but never heard of the others.
 
#6 ·
A "Copper" is the same as a "Rootbeer" - and the not-amelanistic form of the Creamsicle (i.e. it's a 'normal' morph Corn X Great Plains Rat.)

For that matter, so is a Harvest - it's a sunglow Amel Corn crossed into a Creamsicle (which, in my not-at-all-humble opinion, makes it a "Creamsicle" really.)

"Frosted" or "Fantasy" corns are Corn X Grey Rat Snake.

"Turbo" corns are crossed with Bull or Gopher snakes.
"Sinacorns" are Sinaloan Milk X Corn.
"Pueblacorn" are Pueblan X Corn
"Jungle" corns are king snake X Corn - but before anyone thinks it's a good idea to house kings with corns, I ought to mention that in order to get this cross you have to trick the king snake into NOT eating the corn and mating with it instead. Usually by getting a little male king going with a female king - then swapping the ladies.
 
#7 ·
You cannot keep corns with any species of lizard. You can keep them with other corns - and some people recommend against even that. It is clearly possible to keep them with rat snakes as there are hybrids, and they are very closely related.

Any snake considerabley larger than a corn snake may eat it. Anything smaller, may get eaten. It is extremely unwise to put hatchlings in with adults so if you are getting more corns try and get them a similar size as your existing ones, or you will need to keep a hatchling seperate until it's grown on.

Please reconsider introducing any other species other than corn snakes.

Please think very carefully about the welfare of the snakes, everyone wants to see a nice active community tank with loads of different stuff but it can amount to selfishness at the cost of quality of life - or even life full stop, for the animals.

Consider
a) Almost all reptiles have some degrees of cannibalistic tendancies. They are opportunists, and most snakes will eat a lizard in the wild if hungry, or even a smaller snake.
b) Some species of snake such as king snakes are cannibalistic to the point where they will quite happily munch their own species if they can fit it into their mouths.
c) Different species come from different parts of the world. They need different temperatures, humidities, viv sizes, etc. You cannot have a South African Desert creature in with an amazon rainforest creature and provide adequate husbandry for both to survive with high quality of life.
d) Different parasites, mites, etc. live in different species. Cross contamination can lead to problems, high vet bills and sick animals.

I really cannot stress I suppose how important it is that unless you are specific trying to breed a hybrid corn with one of the suitable species, you do not put different species of snake in with each other. Adding any lizard to a snake enclosure is quite frankly, adding livefood. If you specifically wanted to breed a hybrid you would introduce the 2 species purely for mating, ideally in a breeding enclosure, not in either of their vivs, and seperate them after the job is done.

Please.. don't take my word on it, ask other people, read caresheets, talk to your local reptile shop, assuming it's reputable and knowledgeable, and then don't risk it if you care about the animals you have.
 
#8 ·
If you did get something to add you would need to quarantine it first to be safe anyway. So you would still need a seperate viv.

So as you need a seperate viv anyway you might as well buy something you like rather then something that might be ok to live with your corns and keep it in that viv :)
 
#9 ·
Do you know what is better than one corn? ...


A very full corn:



I'm sure one of your corns will be very happy with you for giving it a "friend"...I can't see the friend being so happy with you though, but then again it will be dead so I doubt it will mind too much. What will you have lost...oh, only £40+ or so :smile: .

The take home message: snakes are solitary animals and so should be kept alone. They shouldn't be kept with members of their own species and they definitely shouldn't be kept with any other species. I am sorry if that is being harsh and I understand that some owners don't know this and so harm their snakes by accident but now that you know, if you still go and house more than one animal together then you don't care about your snakes...you are greedy and cruel. People shouldn't be able to keep an animal if they can't house it properly.

More pictures can be seen on this thread: *Graphic* Why NOT to house your snakes together. - General Chit-Chat Forum
 
#11 ·
Yes - one snake - one enclosure - ALWAYS the best option except at breeding time.

I have an adult female hognose - before she lived with us she was kept in the same viv as her "partner" - she then commenced eating that partner but fortunately the crap staff in the shop noticed him being sucked in and got him out. Had they not it would have been fatal for both snakes.

Nerys - time for your graphic pics ...
 
G
#12 ·
only time i kept two together was when i bought 2 boas....it was a quick buy off my neighbour....didnt have a spare viv...at the time..

but unless in extreme circumstances never keep more than one together(and im talking about same species and size)

never keep diffrent species together under any circumstances!
 
#13 ·
Thanks to everyone.. I have taken it all into consideration.

Cheers, i'm not gonna get anything else for them. They are happy enough together, they get fed together out of the viv so there's no competition and they've both got enough room to be able to be in the same area at the same time. They spend most of the time coiled up together somewhere.

Cheers again.
 
#14 ·
...so there's no competition and they've both got enough room to be able to be in the same area at the same time. They spend most of the time coiled up together somewhere.
You do realise that if Animal A is in 'the best spot' and Animal B wants to be in 'the best spot' and that best spot happens to be the same place for both animals at the same time... then that "friendly" looking "coiled up together somewhere" is actually competition for the best place in the vivarium?

They're not cuddling up because they like each other.

Think of it this way:

You have a house with one room. There's one toilet, one couch, one bathtub, one television.

Put yourself and some stranger - because that's what snakes are to each other - into that room. Even if there isn't outright fighting, you will both be competing for who gets to sleep on the couch (and who has to sleep on the floor or TOLERATE sleeping next to that stranger on the couch), you'll be competing for use of the facilities, the only time you ever get away from is when you both go out to eat - but that's at a set schedule and not necessarily when you want or need to be away from THE OTHER ONE... and all of that stress can build up gradually.

Snakes probably don't have enough going on inside those skulls to eventually 'make friends' with the other guy - they just get used to having to fight over who gets the couch or they get used to "Bob gets the couch and if I want to use it I've got to scrunch over here, or I have to let Bob lie on me"...
 
#16 · (Edited)
So do you all house each baby corn seperatly???

even if you've got 50-100 of them?

I keep my Leopard geckos in groups of 5 with no problems, and also have kept baby boas together with no problems.

I have 2 corns in the same tank with also no problems, you just have to think in that you feed them seperatly, and make sure there both well feed, plently of hides.

The chances of them eating each other is very rare, unless its something like kings or cross bred corns (jungles).
 
#17 ·
i agree with carl

my 2 young equadoran live very well together, but i would only consider mixing 2 lil ones never a snake that has had its tank to itself all its live...unless for breeding
 
#18 ·
please don't EVER keep two young snakes together!

i do know of rainbow boas who ate each other as it happens... happened to someone in essex last summer

also.. they can breed too young - which can kill them..

So do you all house each baby corn seperatly???

even if you've got 50-100 of them?
YES !!!!

i do know one big breeder who does not.. he houses several in one tub.. every year he loses a few who eat each other.. but he breeds so many, that losing a few means nothing in the long run..

i cannot stress enough how important it is to keep baby and yearling snakes ALONE

(unless you WANT to risk their lives that is?)











any more for any more? i have more pics if anyone wants..

N
 
#19 ·
I wouldn't really keep any other species together other than corns in my opinion. I have two boys who share the same tank, and they're quite happy together, though I think it would create conflict if there were any more than two together, so probably best just to keep the two together in the big Viv and leave it at that ^^
 
#20 ·
even with two male corns... you need to take care.. it has been known for one male to rape his cage mate during breeding season..

and even with two males, never when they are young, as you run the risk of canibalisation..

young snakes should be kept solo.. period..

N
 
#21 ·
even with two male corns... you need to take care.. it has been known for one male to rape his cage mate during breeding season..

and even with two males, never when they are young, as you run the risk of canibalisation..

young snakes should be kept solo.. period..

N
The boys are nearly a year now and they've been housed together for a little under a year also. I've never had any problems =o If anything, they get annoyed when I seperate them and they're happy again when together X3
 
#22 ·
*bites tongue*

(snakes are solitary and don't require "friends")

but anyway..

just keep an eye on them next spring. male corns who want a shag (for want of a better way of saying it) are not choosy.. and often try and mate their cages mates, regardless of them being male or female..

having a hemipene stuck up your backside.. can cause some damage.. so.. be aware, and keep a close eye on their behaviour.

corns do not need to be cycled, cooled, brumated, or anything to breed, so even if you are not planning on your male getting horny - he might very well have other ideas..

N
 
#23 ·
*bites tongue*

(snakes are solitary and don't require "friends")

but anyway..

just keep an eye on them next spring. male corns who want a shag (for want of a better way of saying it) are not choosy.. and often try and mate their cages mates, regardless of them being male or female..

having a hemipene stuck up your backside.. can cause some damage.. so.. be aware, and keep a close eye on their behaviour.

corns do not need to be cycled, cooled, brumated, or anything to breed, so even if you are not planning on your male getting horny - he might very well have other ideas..

N
Ok ^^ I will be sure to keep and eye on them over the spring. Thanks for the heads up!
 
#24 ·
I'm not going to argue, but I have NEVER had any problems keeping corns in the same tank, I'm no pro but I'm no beginner neither.

Have you thought why they eat each other???

If the owner is doing his job correctly and feeding them the correct amounts, then they should'nt eat each other. Also I bet half those photos, were feeding acidents were the owners put food in with both animals.

Both strike at the same food and one ends up getting eaten.

I have housed the same snake speices in groups, and know many many people that do this, with NO problems.
 
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