Re: Housing different species together.

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Posted by Jonathan Crowe on March 07, 2000 at 06:29:56:

In Reply to: Housing different species together. posted by David H. Desoer on March 06, 2000 at 20:54:29:

In general, the practice of housing different species together is not recommended, though I'm sure there could be exceptions. Here are some potential problems:

Different species have different care requirements—a Baird's rat snake, for example, would not need as high a humidity as a Deckert's rat snake.

Species from different continents may have pathogens foreign to each other, which might pose health risks to both snakes if, for example, a Taiwan beautry snake and a Deckert's rat snake were kept together.

Each snake kept together may be stressed by the presence of another snake, whether or not they are from the same species (some don't mind, though). A "dominant" snake may hog all the good basking spots. Snakes kept together will always have to be separated for feeding, to avoid mishaps. Males of some species, if kept together, may fight.

Keeping members of the opposite sex and of different (but related) species may result in inadvertent hybridization, and mutt offspring you may find very difficult to get rid of.

Hope that helps. For all I know it may be possible to keep two different species together, but they would have to be captive-bred animals, be from the same area (i.e. a corn snake and a yellow rat snake), and both be females. But even then, I could be wrong.

: Hello,

: My Deckert's has moved into his 4x2x2 cage now, which means I have a small cage just waiting to be filled with a new snake. The question is, when the new guy grows big enough to require larger quarters, can I move him in with Cadmus (my Deckert's)? I would be looking at getting another ratsnake, though not necessarily E.obsoleta. I was thinking Baird's ratsnake or Green ratsnake -- maybe even a Taiwan beauty or something.
: Would the species difference likely cause problems? Would the difference in size (Cadmus would be over 1 by then, the new guy 6 months) cause problems? Everything I have read so far suggests that it should work out fine. I just wanted to find out whether there is potential for problems from those with experience?

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: In general, the practice of housing different species together is not recommended, though I'm sure there could be exceptions. Here are some potential problems: : Different species have different care requirements—a Baird's rat snake, for example, would not need as high a humidity as a Deckert's rat snake. : Species from different continents may have pathogens foreign to each other, which might pose health risks to both snakes if, for example, a Taiwan beautry snake and a Deckert's rat snake were kept together. : Each snake kept together may be stressed by the presence of another snake, whether or not they are from the same species (some don't mind, though). A "dominant" snake may hog all the good basking spots. Snakes kept together will always have to be separated for feeding, to avoid mishaps. Males of some species, if kept together, may fight. : Keeping members of the opposite sex and of different (but related) species may result in inadvertent hybridization, and mutt offspring you may find very difficult to get rid of. : Hope that helps. For all I know it may be possible to keep two different species together, but they would have to be captive-bred animals, be from the same area (i.e. a corn snake and a yellow rat snake), and both be females. But even then, I could be wrong. : : : Hello, : : My Deckert's has moved into his 4x2x2 cage now, which means I have a small cage just waiting to be filled with a new snake. The question is, when the new guy grows big enough to require larger quarters, can I move him in with Cadmus (my Deckert's)? I would be looking at getting another ratsnake, though not necessarily E.obsoleta. I was thinking Baird's ratsnake or Green ratsnake -- maybe even a Taiwan beauty or something. : : Would the species difference likely cause problems? Would the difference in size (Cadmus would be over 1 by then, the new guy 6 months) cause problems? Everything I have read so far suggests that it should work out fine. I just wanted to find out whether there is potential for problems from those with experience?

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