# Uhh, tarantula and snake cohabitation?!



## fttwinmomma (Mar 5, 2013)

Ok maybe I'm missing something here. But I checked out Craigslist today(since I've seen so many posts from people hitting it big with tarantulas) and the only ad I found was some woman trying to sell her husband's snake and tarantula that live in the same tank! From the bad quality pics it looks like a Rosie I'm guessing. But just had to post and see if anyone has come across this before??


----------



## spiderengineer (Mar 5, 2013)

fttwinmomma said:


> Ok maybe I'm missing something here. But I checked out Craigslist today(since I've seen so many posts from people hitting it big with tarantulas) and the only ad I found was some woman trying to sell her husband's snake and tarantula that live in the same tank! From the bad quality pics it looks like a Rosie I'm guessing. But just had to post and see if anyone has come across this before??


thats is very interesting indeed. can you post the link I am would like to see this ad


----------



## fttwinmomma (Mar 5, 2013)

Sure can! 
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/for/3641376721.html
Although this totally gives away my secret location now :sarcasm:


----------



## freedumbdclxvi (Mar 5, 2013)

Nah, it doesn't.  There are all kinds of places in and around KC you could be!   (I was born in Independence and lived in quite a few different spot in the area before moving south.)

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## catfishrod69 (Mar 5, 2013)

That is some crazy stuff. Hey if it works... I bet eventually though that tarantula becomes food. Id love to have that orange corn snake, you should buy it and ship it to me


----------



## fttwinmomma (Mar 5, 2013)

catfishrod69 said:


> That is some crazy stuff. Hey if it works... I bet eventually though that tarantula becomes food. Id love to have that orange corn snake, you should buy it and ship it to me


Ha! Sure! I actually have no idea where knob noster is though. .


----------



## catfishrod69 (Mar 5, 2013)

Works for me lol. Although your probably alot closer than me (ohio) lol.





fttwinmomma said:


> Ha! Sure! I actually have no idea where knob noster is though. .


----------



## spiderengineer (Mar 5, 2013)

I suppose since they both has slow metabolism and well fed then I guess it worked out. I really want to know what the guys reasoning for this.


----------



## scavare (Mar 5, 2013)

What on earth would possess that guy to put the two in the same tank... that poor tarantula will probably become food if the snake ever gets hungry.


----------



## cmack91 (Mar 5, 2013)

There is no way that corn snake is going to eat the tarantula. Corns are strictly carnivorous. They could definitly kill eachother though if one or both felt the need to act defensively.

Its kind of mind boggling that the guy thought to put them together. I dont understand how that idea could ever make sense.


----------



## freedumbdclxvi (Mar 5, 2013)

fttwinmomma said:


> Ha! Sure! I actually have no idea where knob noster is though. .


it is by Whitman AFB.  East -southeast of KC on Highway 50.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## nolan (Mar 5, 2013)

I am assuming the only way it works is that the snake doesn't realize the T is there due to the fact that it senses no heat from therefore not trigger a feeding response


----------



## bravesfan (Mar 5, 2013)

nolan said:


> I am assuming the only way it works is that the snake doesn't realize the T is there due to the fact that it senses no heat from therefore not trigger a feeding response


Yeah that is was I was thinking. I have owned a few snakes and have always been under the impression they will only eat warm blooded prey because their primary way of hunting is thru sensing heat.


----------



## Anonymity82 (Mar 5, 2013)

Good thought nolan! Roses tend to be pretty shy so it probably just avoids the snake. Some corns are shy while others are aggressive. Maybe the snake just doesn't care at all about the spider. It's not food nor a competitor for food. The spider isn't a snake so you can throw out any territorial problems too. Since roses usually just sit there... and sit there... and sit there and a fat healthy snake doesn't do much more than that either I can see how it works. That tank's not tiny or anything either. There's multiple hiding spots as well. I don't think the snake will kill the spider. If it was going to to out of aggression or defensiveness I'd imagine it would already be dead. I'd like to take that tank myself and see what happens.


----------



## spiderengineer (Mar 5, 2013)

njnolan1 said:


> Good thought nolan! Roses tend to be pretty shy so it probably just avoids the snake. Some corns are shy while others are aggressive. Maybe the snake just doesn't care at all about the spider. It's not food nor a competitor for food. The spider isn't a snake so you can throw out any territorial problems too. Since roses usually just sit there... and sit there... and sit there and a fat healthy snake doesn't do much more than that either I can see how it works. That tank's not tiny or anything either. There's multiple hiding spots as well. I don't think the snake will kill the spider. If it was going to to out of aggression or defensiveness I'd imagine it would already be dead. I'd like to take that tank myself and see what happens.


thats what I was wondering everybody was surprise the snake hadn't eaten it yet, but I was thinking would the rose ever try and eat the snake. if it was a theraphosa or an lp then I wouldn't be a suprise, but what about a rose


----------



## Anonymity82 (Mar 5, 2013)

catfishrod69 said:


> Works for me lol. Although your probably alot closer than me (ohio) lol.


It's a beaut! I can't afford to but I'd love to keep some corns/kings/milk snakes. Mainly corns. So many beautiful colors and patterns. We have a tiny baby corn that's pretty much the same color as this one but it's striped and spotted. Mean as hell though so I don't think I'd get it anyway. We get some super calm corns in though sometimes. Unfortunately, besides being poor my mother in law is deathly afraid of snakes so as long as we live here I can't get any!

---------- Post added 03-05-2013 at 11:44 PM ----------




spiderengineer said:


> thats what I was wondering everybody was surprise the snake hadn't eaten it yet, but I was thinking would the rose ever try and eat the snake. if it was a theraphosa or an lp then I wouldn't be a suprise, but what about a rose


Maybe the baby king snake! My rose is scared of large crickets! I think it would crap its pants if it met a decent size corn snake


----------



## Scuttlebutt (Mar 6, 2013)

spiderengineer said:


> thats what I was wondering everybody was surprise the snake hadn't eaten it yet, but I was thinking would the rose ever try and eat the snake. if it was a theraphosa or an lp then I wouldn't be a suprise, but what about a rose


If it were a larger T maybe, but I think the rosie is too small to even try. Thanks to that staircase rock ornament in the third and second to last pictures you can see their comparative sizes well.

An interesting find no doubt. The only thing on craigslist in my area is a rosea for $115!


----------



## nolan (Mar 6, 2013)

Probably 115 cause thats what the pet store charged them for that rare ultra desirable species lol


----------



## Zeezums (Mar 6, 2013)

Just wow lol


----------



## fttwinmomma (Mar 6, 2013)

Zeezums said:


> Just wow lol


Right! That's what I thought when I saw it. They have to be well fed is my thought. I'm not much of a snake person(nothing against them they just seem to hard to care for) but I hope someone knowledgeable gets them. . I would be interested to see what the original owner had to say as well. And I'm hoping the Rosie stays safe


----------



## Scuttlebutt (Mar 6, 2013)

nolan said:


> Probably 115 cause thats what the pet store charged them for that rare ultra desirable species lol


Haha true. Maybe they justify the price because **THE TANK IS INCLUDED!!**


----------



## madamoisele (Mar 6, 2013)

I've seen videos of tarantulas killing or dragging snakes before - I'd be far more concerned for the corn snake's safety.  Fortunately it's a rosie -maybe it's on a fast?


----------



## Anonymity82 (Mar 6, 2013)

fttwinmomma said:


> Right! That's what I thought when I saw it. They have to be well fed is my thought. I'm not much of a snake person(nothing against them they just seem to hard to care for) but I hope someone knowledgeable gets them. . I would be interested to see what the original owner had to say as well. And I'm hoping the Rosie stays safe


Most snakes are almost as easy as tarantulas to care for. Warm side, water dish, weekly or bi-weekly feeding and a couple of hides. Bedding could be paper towels, repticarpet or my favorite aspen (most love to burrow in it IME). The enclosure can be a sterilite tub or a nice aquarium. It doesn't have to be huge or anything either. If you do some research you can get a good idea on sizes for snake enclosures. The hard part is the expense of feeding as frozen thawed (recommended) prey items can be pricey. Unless you have the stomach to start a breeding colony of mice and kill them off to feed to the snake which I don't!

Certain species need higher humidity but you'll know when you see them lying in the water dish. Unlike spiders many enjoy a light misting as well! 

Okay, not as easy as a tarantula but far from hard! Certain tree snakes need UVB  and heat lamps etc... but your average popular/common snake species wont need anymore and possibly less than what I already described. 

Now, I must mention I don't own any snakes but I work with them at work and have spent many hours researching them. I think they're awesome. I love holding them, there's a feeling that I get when holding a snake that I don't get holding any other animals. I love them! But I'm not allowed to get them living here and I can't afford anything right now anyway...


----------



## Leeway337 (Mar 6, 2013)

The Tarantula would more likely eat the snake. I seen it done a long time ago. The snake won't eat it because it has no eye lids and the hairs would mess it up real bad. They stay away from each other because it isn't worth the fight to either one. If they did come into fighting the Tarantula would bite the snake while the snake just try to escape. The Tarantula will eventually eat most of the snake and leave a gross messy partly devoured snake. Rose Hair v.s. Gopher Snake = Rose Hair ate way too much snake. Seen it happen. Oh ya and the snake does see the Tarantula it is just not wanting to die. The former snake was way bigger than the size/weight of the Rose Hair.


----------



## le-thomas (Mar 6, 2013)

The snake is too big to be eaten and probably wouldn't be damaged by the weak venom.
There are so many unintelligent people in this world, though. Nothing surprises me anymore...


----------



## AbraxasComplex (Mar 6, 2013)

Back when I was 16-18 I used to keep day geckos, frogs, and tailless whip scorpions in the same 80 gallon tank with no issues. Even had a caecilian living in my substrate. My day geckos and amblypygids both bred multiple times and I never witnessed one eating the others offspring.

Of course this is before I knew a bit better and felt like testing more boundaries without caution. In my case it worked and in this case of the snake and tarantula it worked as well.


----------



## Shrike (Mar 6, 2013)

njnolan1 said:


> I'd like to take that tank myself and see what happens.


I'd like to take that tank, remove the inhabitants, set them up individually, and care for them properly.

Contrary to what some have suggested, a corn snake is not going to eat a tarantula. That said, I'm assuming the person that posted this ad has no clue how to care for either animal. Why anybody would do this is beyond me. These are different animals with different care requirements, the snake could accidentally injure the tarantula simply moving around, the tarantula could bite the snake, the T could could drown in the snakes water dish, both animals could be perpetually stressed...this is just the beginning of a long list of reasons why you wouldn't keep them together.


----------



## Kazaam (Mar 6, 2013)

What the actual $#&^Q#$


----------



## Alltheworld601 (Mar 6, 2013)

I've seen geckos and scorpions cohabitate....why not snakes and Ts?  I wouldn't try it myself, but it doesn't seem to be too far fetched.  They're in a huge tank, it appears they probably don't run into each other very much.  They eat different types of food...its a little ecosystem in there.  Neat experiment. I'd be more worried about the urticating hairs affecting the snake than either of them ever eating the other.


----------



## Moonfall (Mar 6, 2013)

More likely the snake would be food than the spider. Corn snakes are not a species that eat insects or inverts, but a T who gets hungry enough will try to eat anything.

Either way it is not something I would do at all. I've seen some great cohab tanks using frogs and fish and such but a spider and a snake? Not a great idea, IMO.


----------



## Shrike (Mar 6, 2013)

Alltheworld601 said:


> I've seen geckos and scorpions cohabitate....why not snakes and Ts?  I wouldn't try it myself, but it doesn't seem to be too far fetched.  They're in a huge tank, it appears they probably don't run into each other very much.  They eat different types of food...its a little ecosystem in there.  Neat experiment. I'd be more worried about the urticating hairs affecting the snake than either of them ever eating the other.


But it's not an ecosystem. It's very far from it. Can we at least acknowledge that the ideal captive husbandry conditions for these animals don't match up at all? I'm not saying different species can't successfully cohabitate...but a G. Rosea and a corn snake? Since one species is native to the Southeast US and the other to the Atacama Desert, what exactly would be the point? Lets say they don't harm or kill one another. That doesn't mean either one is thriving.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## spiderengineer (Mar 6, 2013)

Shrike said:


> But it's not an ecosystem. It's very far from it. Can we at least acknowledge that the ideal captive husbandry conditions for these animals don't match up at all? I'm not saying different species can't successfully cohabitate...but a G. Rosea and a corn snake? Since one species is native to the Southeast US and the other to the Atacama Desert, what exactly would be the point? Lets say they don't harm or kill one another. That doesn't mean either one is thriving.


very valid point


----------



## fttwinmomma (Mar 6, 2013)

I kinda wish I could get it myself and separate them. I'd want to keep the Rosie myself, the snake would need another owner. . Damn I wish taxes would get here soon lol!


----------



## Shrike (Mar 6, 2013)

spiderengineer said:


> very valid point


Thanks.  I don't mean to discount what I believe was a valid point from njnolan, alltheworld, etc, in that its very possible these two animals might not hurt each other.  But would housing them together be caring for them properly? No.


----------



## nolan (Mar 6, 2013)

Leeway337 said:


> The Tarantula would more likely eat the snake. I seen it done a long time ago. The snake won't eat it because it has no eye lids and the hairs would mess it up real bad. They stay away from each other because it isn't worth the fight to either one. If they did come into fighting the Tarantula would bite the snake while the snake just try to escape. The Tarantula will eventually eat most of the snake and leave a gross messy partly devoured snake. Rose Hair v.s. Gopher Snake = Rose Hair ate way too much snake. Seen it happen. Oh ya and the snake does see the Tarantula it is just not wanting to die. The former snake was way bigger than the size/weight of the Rose Hair.


 not saying the snake does not see the tarantula I am saying the tarantula isn't warm blooded therefore wouldn't invoke a feeding response. I know with corn snakes and rat snakes they only eat warm blooded prey thats why pre killed mice have to be sat in warm water for awhile to get the body temp up to get the feeding response. If the snake decided to eat the T it could no problem being bigger and stronger and an ambush predator T would never see it coming on the same page if T decided it wants to eat the snake given the snake has very few natural defense mechanisms it couldn't fight back and would be lunch quickly my prediction is snake is not gonna try to eat the rose hair but the rose hair might get sick of it's presence and kill the snake

---------- Post added 03-06-2013 at 11:34 PM ----------

Also T venom is weak to humans that doesn't mean it wouldn't kill a snake that weighs less then a pound from my understanding T venom is very capable of killing small mammals like house cats


----------



## Oreo (Mar 7, 2013)

Hmm, the TKG never mentioned this setup. I better get each of my Ts their own pet snake.


----------



## MarkmD (Mar 7, 2013)

That's mad, I would never think of doing that myself, but it seems to work in this instance, I would get worried if the T started molting and the snake is wandering around, as spiderengineer said if it was an LP or T,blondi/stirmi the snake probably have a fight on its hands.


----------



## Palespider (Mar 7, 2013)

This. Idk why T venom potency is always brought up, as if their effectiveness against humans means their venom won't affect anything else. A LP's venom can put an adult mouse out in only a few seconds, I should think it could have pretty strong impact on a snake as well.




nolan said:


> Also T venom is weak to humans that doesn't mean it wouldn't kill a snake that weighs less then a pound from my understanding T venom is very capable of killing small mammals like house cats


----------



## spiderengineer (Mar 7, 2013)

T venom potency is always relative to what is getting injected with it. smaller dosage can have more damaging effects to a small animal or child than a small dosage of the same venom to a much larger animal human. not to mention a mouse or small animal is not just getting injected with venom. the fangs are also lethal in a sense. to us they are pin prick, but to a mouse if stab in the right place I would imagine it would be comparable to be stabbed for us


----------



## Palespider (Mar 7, 2013)

A very strange thing no doubt. I suspect he got sick of one, and thought that one would eat the other. Must to his surprise they became Milo and Otis.

---------- Post added 03-07-2013 at 06:28 PM ----------

I think there may be a little species sensitivity as well, and size doesn't always mean the venom will make short work of the prey. For instance T. blondi venom has a very strong impact on rodents. While as small as some roaches are, being fed to the same T. blondi, they're still kicking 30 minutes later.



spiderengineer said:


> T venom potency is always relative to what is getting injected with it. smaller dosage can have more damaging effects to a small animal or child than a small dosage of the same venom to a much larger animal human. not to mention a mouse or small animal is not just getting injected with venom. the fangs are also lethal in a sense. to us they are pin prick, but to a mouse if stab in the right place I would imagine it would be comparable to be stabbed for us


----------



## spiderengineer (Mar 7, 2013)

Palespider said:


> I think there may be a little species sensitivity as well, and size doesn't always mean the venom will make short work of the prey. For instance T. blondi venom has a very strong impact on rodents. While as small as some roaches are, being fed to the same T. blondi, they're still kicking 30 minutes later.


absolutely true and their are many different types of venom that attack the subject differently

---------- Post added 03-07-2013 at 07:39 PM ----------

their is neurotoxin and hemotoxin


----------



## cmack91 (Mar 7, 2013)

Leeway337 said:


> The snake won't eat it because it has no eye lids


Your right that the snake doesnt have eyelids. But what they do have is a thick cap covering the eye made of keratin. The hairs wouldnt do anything to hurt the snakes eyes.



nolan said:


> I am assuming the only way it works is that the snake doesn't realize the T is there due to the fact that it senses no heat from therefore not trigger a feeding response


Not true. Corn snakes have no heat receptors. They hunt primarily by chemoreception through the tongue and jacobsons organ while using eyesight as a strong but secondary aid. So the fact that tarantulas produce no body heat has nothing to do with it. The reason they react stronger to warm rodents is because heat dispels scent particles at a higher volume than cold, causing a stronger smell. Corn snakes will gladly eat cold dead mice both in captivity and the wild. If you leave a cold rodent in with the snake it will eventually trigger a scavenging type of feeding response where the snake will either go up and start eating or will sometimes trigger a strike and constrict feeding response.


----------



## fttwinmomma (Mar 7, 2013)

So then I go back to they both must be well fed and the cage spacious enough. Although I would worry about the T molting as well. And I think depends on the two personalities as well. .


----------



## freedumbdclxvi (Mar 7, 2013)

Yep, my corn is fed on f/t mice almost exclusively, and they can be at room temperature.  And it always triggers a strike/constrict response.


----------



## Leeway337 (Mar 8, 2013)

le-thomas said:


> The snake is too big to be eaten and probably wouldn't be damaged by the weak venom.
> There are so many unintelligent people in this world, though. Nothing surprises me anymore...


I watched a Rose Hair Tarantula Kill and eat a Gopher Snake that was way bigger than it. Weak venom or not it will kill and eat a snake way bigger than itself. This is a fact I watched it happen. The snake was dead very shortly after being bitten and was at least half eaten. Be surprised.

---------- Post added 03-07-2013 at 09:56 PM ----------

Did a search for snake eats Tarantula and instead of finding snakes eat a tarantula you find all kinds of spiders not just tarantulas eating snakes. Looks like snakes are regularly eaten by spiders but snakes don't seem to eat spiders.


----------

