Co-habitating snakes...

[Shiari]

Good luck with the females when they breed too young.

[jemma1986d]

we only have 1 male so its easy to take him out and leave all 5 females together

[Shiari]

You can't confirm a female IS a female until she lays eggs. The *father* of my clutch last year was sold to me as a female. Another 'female' I bought as a yearling also appears to be a male. A baby that was popped by a very experienced breeder as female later probed male.

[eeji]

i had a project pair of corns that I had raised from being small and was really looking forward to seeing some nice babies hatch out but they never mated - the reason being the 'female' was male

[XxAlLyTxX]

I too can speak from experience about this. I thought that it wouldn't matter keeping a couple together so I got them probed and both were 'male' so they went into a viv together and were very happy for a little while, after a couple of months I noticed them acting a bit weird, jerking and twitching, at this point I went down to the shop and got myself another viv to split them up, well you know what's coming, one of them ended up being a female, she got egg bound because she was too young, had several visits to the vets, and one very stressed out snake. I'm lucky that she made it!
I learnt from that experience and haven't had any snakes together since, it was a hard and horrible way to learn and it is NOT worth taking the risk!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If your keeping them together because you haven't got the space then you shouldn't have the amount that you do, for the safety and health of the snakes, split them up.
When they're in their own space it's easier to know who has shed and if they regurgitate you don't have to worry about which snake it is!

[Jill]

We've had these conversations so many times on the forum, and the conclusion each time is - keep them apart!

[fizzyizzy11]

wow, i'm glad i didnt listen to my dad telling me i can keep my snakes( baby snow, juvenile normal, corns) together.

[Musharaf]

:o wow, i'm glad i didnt listen to my dad telling me i can keep my snakes( baby snow, juvenile normal, corns) together.

Good for you

[SimonMc]

I've just installed an LED strip (self adhesive, 12v, cool) on the ceiling of one of my vivs. It's possibly a bit bright but a much more "daylight" colour than a bulb. I favour the natural cycle. My viv is their ecosystem; and in a natural ecosytem they'd have day and night. I imagine they'd come out at dusk and dawn, and hide during the day and middle of the night. That's pretty much what they do in their vivs. The light comes on at 9am and goes off at 5.30pm which means they get the benefit of the natural brightening light at dawn and fade at dusk. I put plenty of shades and hides in my vivs, bark shelters, branches, resin hides, plant pots, plastic plants, rocks, etc, so the residents have plenty of options.

I think virtually all animals need light. Perhaps not direct sun on their skins, but the presence of light, and the day/night cycle plays a part in many physiological functions. I think that vivs should have a cyclical day/night light, whether natural light or artificial. My house is so dim that I use artificial lights in the vivs, cos otherwise I'd never see the residents and they'd never see me!

SimonMc

[TABsGirl]

At the moment I do not have enough room for my hatchling baby. So she is in the same tank as my 4 month old male. I have had them together for about two weeks now and they have been fine. I'm planning On putting the male with Ares my nine year old very soon since they should be able to cohabitate. The soonest I can get the males in the same tank is early this summer when I leave campus. I watch the babies every day to make sure they are nice and so far they are fine. I guessed that since the hatchling is dwarfed in size by the 4 month old the baby doesn't try to eat the male. XD And he hasn't gone after her as food or wanting to mate. So I think I'm good until summer when I can get them seperated. Then I will have the two males in one tank and the two baby females in their own tanks.

[Wyldrose]

Could you go out and buy a rubbermaid bin for your hatchling baby? All you need to do is get a soder gun or fine drill and put some ventulation holes in it and a small heat pad will keep the temps right. I know this is about cohabiting, but there is another important issue, when you get a new snake it should be quarantined away from any other snake in your home for atleast 4 weeks. You can buy what looks like a perfectly healthy baby and a week later it could develop a nasty respitory infection and there is also the issue with parasites. It's much cheeper and easier to take one snake to the Vet and treat it then it is too take multipul snakes in.

I have seen the pictures of snakes eating others many times and even if it's a small chance I would not ever risk co-habiting my snakes.

[TABsGirl]

Yeah I just placed her into another tank. Hehehe.. After reading this post through I got all nervous and seperated them immediately. Thanks guys.

[FionaB]

here is a question..... if you DO cohabit snakes, why? cos the only reason i can see is to have more snakes in less room, my opinion only mind you but if you cohabit to have the amount of snakes you want then you have too many. like i said just my opinion.

[TABsGirl]

I actually have extra tanks with nobody in them home now. I just had to cohabitate mine for a few months wile I was at school. Now that they are home they all get their own tanks. It's easier to keep them seperated cause then you can tell whose having problems pooping or who threw up their meal and ect... I have my biggest corn Ares in a 55 gallon tank long and I have to say he's got too much room. He never goes to the other side of the tank. I'm thinking I might put a glass seperator right in the middle and house my two males in the tank (seperated of course) by the glass. Would that be okay?

[FionaB]

i dont think there is any such thing as to much space, the snake may make use of it in the middle of the night when you are unaware of it