# Snakes near eachother?



## bodar (Nov 5, 2006)

i have a 3 foot cali kingsnake, im also going to go get this beautiful boa this weekend. i am wondering what will happen if they go near eachother? kingsnakes are snake eaters right? cause i like to handle my snakes and my girlfriend does also, the king is hers now.......


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## Zarathustra (Nov 5, 2006)

I’m not sure, I have never tried it. My guess would be that the kingsnake will do nothing, if it is much smaller than the boa. You’re better off keeping them separated though. Why take chances?


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## Blasphemy (Nov 5, 2006)

As long as you're careful not to let them get within eachother's striking distance, you won't have anything to worry about. I have my jungle carpet and my kingsnake in cages next to eachother and they don't even care to notice eachother, so, just use caution if they are both out at the same time. Better yet, try to just handle one at a time.


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## bodar (Nov 5, 2006)

im not saying i want to hold them together i was just curious if i was handling mine and my g/f was handleing hers then what could happen?

thanx for the speed comments


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## Kriegan (Nov 6, 2006)

I agree with all the posts above. It will all depend on the size, its mood, and how long ago was it fed...but again why take any silly risks like that?:wall:  I don't want to sound mean at all...but have you heard that popular saying curiosity killed the cat? IMO is not even funny to deliberately try something like that. Just my 2 cents


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## iturnrocks (Nov 6, 2006)

bodar said:


> im not saying i want to hold them together i was just curious if i was handling mine and my g/f was handleing hers then what could happen?


I see what youre saying and I completly understand the possible problem.  Here is a clarification.  If I was in a room handling one snake, and a hot babe was handling another, unknowingly we might set down the snakes and start making out.  This would lead to both snakes being together on the floor.  

I dont reccommend handling both snakes at the same time, unless you have been dating for over a year or living together more than 4 months.


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## Kriegan (Nov 6, 2006)

iturnrocks said:


> I dont reccommend handling both snakes at the same time, unless you have been dating for over a year or living together more than 4 months.


 LOL!!!


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## Cirith Ungol (Nov 6, 2006)

Take the king out first (if you wanna handle both) so you don't smell of the otherone while holding the king, who knows, otherwise you might get to test its bite strength on your hands or something.


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## edventurous77 (Nov 6, 2006)

3 foot? your cali king aint full grown right!? i have a cla king and i was really hoping he would get bigger than 3 foot


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## ErikH (Nov 6, 2006)

You should quarantine the boa in a different room for a few weeks prior to putting their enclosures near each other.  I don't know if one will attack the other or not, but it isn't worth the risk of introducing a respiratory infection or worse to your kingsnake.


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## Art Klass (Nov 6, 2006)

Keeping their enclosures in close proximity to each other is fine.  Keep in mind that the boa is a tropical species and has different heating requirements than your king.  I would not handle them near each other to be on the safe side of things and the quarantine comment is an absolute necessity.  Quarantine for at least a month before you introduce your boa near your collection.  Also remember to wash up after handling the boa during the quarantine period.


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## mackids (Nov 6, 2006)

a few things:

first off as stated by edventurous77 the kingsnake might not be full grown. 

Secondly the comment about the differenced and heat/humity are much different.

   And finally I think there is an inherent risk in placing 2 snakes particularly of different species in the same tank. My sister has a dumeril and red tail boa who live in perfect harmony but they are more closely related.
   Although when I was younger I had multiple garder snakes living in a communal environment and one snake was found half swallowed by a fellow garder snake and had to be seperated. 
   Also correct me if I am wrong, but the kingsnake is dubbed as such because of its ability to cannibalize other snakes particularly rattlesnakes. With that said I have a kingsnake and I keep my bullsnake away from it with fear the king might attack.

I hope my two cents helps. best of luck to you


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## ErikH (Nov 6, 2006)

No snakes, regardless of species, should be housed in the same tank.  For the most part, snakes are solitary creatures, and housing them together causes undue stress on the animal.  Canibalism is likely to occur, and even if it doesn't, one snake will try to dominate the other.


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## Tleilaxu (Nov 6, 2006)

I agree with the above statements also one note becareful if you have kings with their prey species like corns, gophers, and others. If they smell the kingsnake it will cause undue stress on them and if you happen to handle one after holding the kingsnake you are going to get bit out of a fear responce, reversal for the king it will be a prey responce. As for keeping nthem near eachother in seperate enclosures I see nothing wrong with this as long as both snakes are healthy. I keep my JCP and cornsake in the same room with no issues.


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## sick4x4 (Nov 6, 2006)

ummmm i tend to agree cali kings are aggressive eaters of other snakes, mine loved the occasional gopher i would feed it, so i would be weary of holding it to close to the python or boa you might get......as far as the keeping of two different species together?? well i keep a ball python and a columbian boa together with no problems...the boa was much bigger. sooo im not sure how accurate the cannibalism thing is????? i've never witnessed it, but that doesnt mean  it doesnt happen..remember the video of the parakeet, mouse and snake all sharing the same set-up....so you never know...lol


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## bodar (Nov 6, 2006)

ok so let me get a couple things strait here, no i never said i was ever even thinking of putting them together in one tank, im not an idiot. and no the king is NOT fully grown not even by a long shot. you see ive been secretly hoarding T's in my upstairs room. and now my G/F wanted a pet, neither of us are really into the whole cats and dogs thing. so i bought her this cali king for her birthday. i never owned a snake B4 so naturally after awhile i learn that i also really like snakes a whole lot. so i got my eye on this female common boa at my local petstore. beautiful snake, great coloration, amazing actually. Although i really want a JCP its a little more advanced, and i need to learn more. i have the aquarium and setup already. just waiting. why do i need to keep the boa seperate from my other enclosures? i will definately put it in a diffrent room than the kali king. but can i keep it in my room with all my T's? cause my spiderz come first here. just so you know..........lol
yeah this is the kingsnake, i love this snake alot


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## Kriegan (Nov 6, 2006)

Very nice! I used to always wash my hands extremely well after handling each snake to avoid them picking up a potential food scent in my hands. I don't see any problem at all if you have the two enclosures close to each other...just ensure the tanks are escape-proof or have some sort of locks for their safety, and of course if you're handling the boa and your girl is handling the king just do it in separate rooms and all of a sudden if you decide you want to make out, LOL just put the snakes back in their tanks and they never have to meet each other if you drop them in the floor for this matter. LOL


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## bodar (Nov 6, 2006)

iturnrocks, your comment i hilarious and will make sure to follow your advise to the T.


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## Mushroom Spore (Nov 6, 2006)

ALL snakes should be kept in seperate rooms for a quarantine for 3-6 months, because they can transmit everything from respiratory infections to the dreaded IBD. Inclusion Body Disease is believed to be a retrovirus, is 100% fatal and highly contagious, and boas in particular take much longer to show the symptoms.

sick4x4: There are so many things wrong with housing a Columbian and a ball python together, I don't even know where to start.


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## Kriegan (Nov 6, 2006)

Mushroom Spore said:


> ALL snakes should be kept in seperate rooms for a quarantine for 3-6 months, because they can transmit everything from respiratory infections to the dreaded IBD. Inclusion Body Disease is believed to be a retrovirus, is 100% fatal and highly contagious, and boas in particular take much longer to show the symptoms.
> 
> sick4x4: There are so many things wrong with housing a Columbian and a ball python together, I don't even know where to start.


Technically you're right...they should be quarantined for 2 months, and this should be done to prevent any diseases, but IME I never had the space to be able to do that with all the snakes I had in my apt. But that's why always ensured the proper temp and humidity at all times for each tank, and I was always keeping their tanks very clean. And while this doesn't guarantee any disease spreading...I was very responsible in taking all the precautions needed and i was lucky i never had any problems because of this.


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## Meaningless End (Nov 7, 2006)

i dont know if anyone has pointed this out to you yet but thats not a cal king, its a mexican black king.  theyre totaly diferent species.

the short answer..

if your boa is smaller or of equal size to the king then you have probloms, if your boa is substantually larger then the king then i wouldent worry about it to much but dont push your luck.


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## Meaningless End (Nov 7, 2006)

Mushroom Spore said:


> ALL snakes should be kept in seperate rooms for a quarantine for 3-6 months, because they can transmit everything from respiratory infections to the dreaded IBD. Inclusion Body Disease is believed to be a retrovirus, is 100% fatal and highly contagious, and boas in particular take much longer to show the symptoms.
> 
> sick4x4: There are so many things wrong with housing a Columbian and a ball python together, I don't even know where to start.


culubrids dont get IBD so its realy not something he's going to have to wory about.


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## iturnrocks (Nov 7, 2006)

Quarantine is for people that have large collections of snakes, where a spread of disease might matter.    Since Ive only every had 1 or 2, Ive never quarantined anything, and never had a problem.  If I kept hundreds of specimens, I would be much more careful.


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## Mushroom Spore (Nov 7, 2006)

Meaningless End said:


> culubrids dont get IBD so its realy not something he's going to have to wory about.


Haha, I totally forgot what species the other snake was, you're right. Even so, there's plenty of other illnesses and germs and parasites that make quarantine a good idea--though if you can't keep their enclosures in seperate rooms, at least be super cautious with washing your hands and any supplies that both snakes might come into contact with. If either specimen seems agitated by being able to see/smell the other snake, then measures will have to be taken somehow. I guess it depends on the individual specimens' personalities and whether being able to smell the other snake will upset them. :? 

I'm not sure why people keep bringing "housing snakes TOGETHER" advice into this thread, the OP has said multiple times that's not even remotely what is being talked about here.


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## bodar (Nov 7, 2006)

yeah its not a mexican king, at first i thought so also. but its not totally black. 
its whole belly is cream colored. its funny cause you only see black till you pick em up and its really more of an extremely dark red. cant tell frum the pic though ill take a couple more in a day or two as today was feeding today, and now he is grumpy.
maybe its the flash on my camera?


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## sick4x4 (Nov 7, 2006)

Mushroom Spore said:


> ALL snakes should be kept in seperate rooms for a quarantine for 3-6 months, because they can transmit everything from respiratory infections to the dreaded IBD. Inclusion Body Disease is believed to be a retrovirus, is 100% fatal and highly contagious, and boas in particular take much longer to show the symptoms.
> 
> sick4x4: There are so many things wrong with housing a Columbian and a ball python together, I don't even know where to start.


they are not housed together now but when i was moving and needed a new home for the ball & it was a necessary evil...it lasted a few months and all turned out well????


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## edventurous77 (Nov 9, 2006)

mexican black kings often have speckles of white and sumtimes white stomachs, so it is a mexican black im pretty certain.


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## bodar (Nov 9, 2006)

kewl i will research that more.......
cool either way


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