Ive always believed that its possible for snakes to bond with each other just as i believe its possible for them to ......... maybe "bond" with is the wrong word......... but enjoy a relationship with people.
Im really glad to see this is being investigated by a renowned herpetologist and i hope this will give other herpetologists a push in that direction to investigate this phenomenon further. There is so little known about snake relationships and behaviour, and untill now the general belief is that snakes are solitary creatures and prefer their own company at all times., But infact if they happen to rely on a community at odd times such as winter isnt it a possibility that they may infact form bonds that last their whole lives?
Garters are greatly known to winter together, and Austin stevens actually had an episode in one of his television series for Animal Planet where he ended up inside a mountain documenting Rattlesnakes coming together to hibernate. I do think that if snakes are so solitary then it would stand to reason that they wouldnt come together just to hibernate. Maybe the reason they are not often seen together during the rest of the year is so they can preserve food sources and not eradicate it and therefore starve themselves, not because they dislike their own kind