Got a couple of relatively uneducated questions for you all. I am thinking of getting a couple of corns somewhat soon. Can they live together harmoniously (given that they have enough hide boxes to take shelter from each other)? Any sex limitations of males not getting along with other males, etc? If they come from the same pet store (and thus breeder), but aren't from the same litter, do you still quarantine them? If they are both babies or juveniles, how do you "introduce" them? Thanks guys!

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0.1 jungle/coastal carpet python: Sheila
1.0 anerythristic boa constrictor imperator: Severus Snake
1.1 rats: Eowyn, Gandalf
1.0 ferret: Walker Texas Ranger
0.0.1 gold fish: Tiger
3.0 dogs: Strider (Aussie/husky), Zoso (Belgian Malinois), Buck (husky/Rottweiler)

I had two of mine together for a while, but I started getting nervous about it and separated them. Saw and heard one too many horror stories of one snake eating another, and then one day Sally was way too interested in how Jack smelled after I put them back in their tank from their feeding tubs. He had wrapped his body around his fuzzy while he ate, and I guess Sally thought he might be an oddly shaped mouse. Anyway, it made me too nervous, so they live apart now.

Initially though, when we wanted to introduce Sally to Jack, I held the two of them in my hands together for a while, which is what the corn snake breeder at the Expo told me to do. They didn't seem to have any problems with each other at all when we decided to let them live together.

Keep in mind if you do keep snakes together, they should be from the same species and roughly the same size. You don't want to put in a large one with an itty bitty one.

As far as quarantine, I would tend to think if they were in the same enclosure in the pet store, it would be too late to quarantine them from each other, but if they were from different enclosures, I'd probably do a quarantine to be safe.

I was told once that it didn't matter about males being with males, but I don't know if I was told correctly. Also, I have no personal experience with whether or not they compete...anyone out there know for sure?

I hope all goes well for you with your new snakes

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~Juliane~

I agree, snakes are not social animals in the wild (with a few exceptions like a rattlesnake den). Unless you are going to breed keeping them seperate makes it easier to monitor health issues as well. Shedding, stool conditions and so on.

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Answers are great. But I prefer questions!

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There are many advantages to keeping snakes separately, however we have always kept our corns together with no problems, so in my experience it has been ok - this isn't to say you can't have problems though.

Males can live together. When they reach sexual maturity they may wrestle, especially if there are females close by, but they don't do each other any harm and will push each other about, intertwining with each other, until one "wins". If they did cause each other any stress, for example if one went off its food for a lengthy period due to the stress of the other snake (although mature males often go off their food for breeding reasons), then you would need to be able to separate them.

As for quarantine, if they have been in the same enclosure at the pet shop then what's the point - but you would still need to quarantine them from your other animals.

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

My breeder told me that cannibalism only occurs with no snake-eating snakes when they are not kept propely and fed normal! I also read about a ball python eating a smaller bp! But that really is a question of looking after the snakes properly!I will only seperate mine if they would be boy and girl,otherwise I'll keep them together in a large enough terrarium.