mixing snakes

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Nic

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Oct 8, 2005
15,800
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outside philly
ok im trying to free up some room in my room so i wanna keep my baby apricot pueblan milk with my 5 ft bcc when i got the boa he was kept in a 20 gal with a ball python till i gave the ball to a friend i need the space plus i wanna save the electricity the milk like to bury himself and if i seperate for feeding i dont see a problem happening well any help greatly appreciated thanx in advance
Nic :)
 
the only problem i ever had with mixing snakes was with a couple of Cali kings. Kingsnakes also prey upon other snakes. Milksnakes are from the same family, but as long the snakes it is with are much larger, it shouldn't be a problem. i used to have a 55g set up with one 6' black rat, three 3' 1/2 to 4' corns, one 3' gopher snake, one 4' everglades rat and a 2'1/2 foot florida king. never had a problem. just keep a close eye on them.
 
I wouldn't reccomend that! They are your snakes, but there are several reasons why I wouldn't do this:

First off, it is like putting a puppy in with a hippo. The hippo wouldn't eat the puppy, but sheer size and clumbyness is a huge issue. There is a very big chance your milk would get injued. If not at first, the boa could hurt it at any time, whether it means to or not.

Second, milks are naturally snake-eaters. Just because the boa is too big doesn't mean that the milk would not be constantly upset though smelling food all of the time. In one of the previous nature centers I worked in, we rescued a california king. It was in a room with several other snakes, although it had its own tank. It would always bite in a feeding response. We adopted him to someone who had no other snakes, and the problem went away. The very smell of food makes the lunatic milk and king snakes really funny when it comes to behavior.

Third, the mixing of different species is not such a good idea. Atleast your boa and the python were similar in size and care (and I, too, might have considered very temporary housing together), but each snake carries its own bacteria and disease resistances. There are some things that a corn snake may be resistant to that could kill the boa, or vice versa. Also, are both of the snakes captive born and eating disease-free prey? Even so, they could be holding a parasite load that could transfer between the animals. What might be okay for one animal might harm another.

Fourth, the care requirements for a milk snake and a boa are very different. The temp is one concern, but have you thought of the humidity requirement? The milk snake, although I haven't reserched much the specific species, I think has a far lower humidity requirement. Exceeding this can cause blisters and other damage to the snake.

Fifth, I tried something similar once when I was younger and just learning the trade of snake keeping. I got a ball, and put her in with my spotted python. I thought they'd be fine. Both were well-fed, but the spotted got very defensive within a few minutes, and grabbed and bit the ball. It wasn't a very nice experience, and proves that even similary sized pythons can have issues. However, i now keep the same ball in with another ball, and they are fine. I would always keep it to the same species with snakes.

If you are looking for a way to conserve heat, why not calculate exactly how much your snakes are costing you? Check out this link: http://www.anapsid.org/electricitycost.html That site will show you how to figure out exactly how much the bulbs and/or eating pads are actually costing you down to the cent.
 
Anyone who knowingly keeps Kingsnakes with other snakes is a complete fool. Thats just asking for trouble. Ask any herp keeper worth their salt and they'll say that mixing species is one of the worst husbandry mistakes one could make, especially when dealing with ophidiophagous species.
 
i think this weekend im gonna give it a try see how it goes i know how much every light bulb costs me a month if i can get rid of the lizard(for sale) and combine the snakes ill save atleast 30 a month and with the 90 gallon going back up in a few weeks its gonna be fresh water not salt again so it wont be that much but hey 30 bucks is 30 bucks can buy fish with that money
 
^^^^^i've been keeping snakes for over 15 years, and i know exactly what a kingsnake is capable of doing. i know keeping a king with other snakes wasn't the best idea, but i'm certainly no FOOL. None of my snakes were in any danger. i've kept at least 10 different types of kings over the years.
 
It is highly not recommended to combine snakes of different species and especially sizes. Boa constricters and milsnakes have different habitat requirements. Besides, snakes can get stressed out easily and might not even show it until its to late. The very presence of another snake in their can can cause them to stop eating or have other problems. Mostly I would worry about your milksnake getting squished. Why don't you look into alternative methods of heating? Are you using incandecent bulbs? That is the most costly. Look into under-the-tank heating pads (not human heat pads). The flexwatt heat-tape I use is only 8 watts per foot (4 inches wide) per hour. Much more energy efficient. You can buy already wired reptile heating pads or buy some flexwatt and wire your own if you are handy (order a foot or so online with metal clips, probably cheaper). Just make sure you use some kind of rheostat or light dimmer ($11 at Lowes) to control the amount of heat given off by the heat pad. Maybe you should sell the pueplan and just concentrate on the boa (boa's rock!)?

I buy my flexwatt from www.beanfarm.com
It should come with instructions.
Good luck
 
my friend had a bad experience with heat tape almost burnt down his house maybe ill try a uth just sick of the electric bill being so high cant get rid of the lizard no pet store wants her just wanted to get rid of 1 tank and conserve the space/ electricity its a apricot pueblin ive wanted one for awhile so getting rid of it is not an option i figure something out BTW Welcome to MFK serpentwolf
 
i wouldnt do it i had a king snake and mixed it with a corn and gopher snake it ended up eating the gopher and tried to ecape and died i lost bolth snakes and was really at least i didn't loose my corn snake i would never do it agin unless i knew they where compatable.
 
i would never do it agin unless i knew they where compatable.

The thing is.....none of them are "compatible." Snakes are solitary creatures and keeping them together is one of the biggest husbandry mistakes you can make. I don't even advoctae keeping individuals of the same species together unless they are of breeding age/size and thats your goal. Snakes are not fish....you simply cannot house them together and call yourself a responsible owner.
 
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