Housing snakes together?

[Baby_Garter2]

Originally Posted by Hornets23

Yeah, I have a radix and a similis together and they do seem to like being near each other. It is really just the size difference that makes me feel cautious about adding the new baby.

Ya, if the older snakes are bigger or look big enough to hurt the baby then it is best to seperate the baby from them. Because i had a friend who put in a baby Garter snake with a 5 month old garter and the older one attacked the little one near feeding time and the baby ended up dying. very sad. Just wanted to let you know.

[Hornets23]

Ok thanks for the advice. I was thinking about letting the little one grow a bit and then trying to introduce them.

[Raina]

Why is it recommended that the same species of snakes not be housed together, when in the wild there are often hundreds of snakes sharing the same snake den..
BTW mine that are housed together are on different feeding,pooping,and sheding cycles so I can keep up with that information. plus like I said in another forum, I have tried to separate them and they do not eat or act the same as when they are together .
-----------------------
Raina

[jitami]

Originally Posted by Raina

Why is it recommended that the same species of snakes not be housed together, when in the wild there are often hundreds of snakes sharing the same snake den..
BTW mine that are housed together are on different feeding,pooping,and sheding cycles so I can keep up with that information. plus like I said in another forum, I have tried to separate them and they do not eat or act the same as when they are together .
-----------------------
Raina

Welcome Raina I'm a little confused here. I don't think I've ever heard anyone here recommend totally individual housing unless the snake was ill, gravid, or in quarantine. The only time group housing would be an issue is if they are vastly different sizes(chance of cannibalism) or they are opposite sexes and one does not want them to reproduce. Most here have snakes housed communally

[dekaybrown]

Hibernation season is an entirely different issue.

Just prior to brumation ("Hibernation") snakes go off feed, they stop eating until spring arrives.

So a six foot milk snake that would otherwise eat a small garter without hesitation will completely ignore the same snake over the winter.

This is how communal dens are possible.

Never house mixed species if one is pregnant (Gravid) for instance an adult garter snake will not eat a Dekayi or red belly of similar size. however that same garter will consume a whole litter of these at birth and not think twice.

Mixing corn snakes / milk snakes / and other Colubrids with garters is not something I would chose to do and will always have a bad ending.

However mixing sub species of same sex garters is common, and works fine.. in other words it is OK to keep a radix with a sirtalis of similar size.

Small male garters seem to get along fine with larger Dekayi snakes in the same tank, We have one 30 gallon with 2 small male eastern (Sirtalis) garter snakes and 3 large female Dekayi snakes, and they have lived just fine like that for years.