I know they should have their own enclosure. And technically they do have their own enclosure, but the separator that I am using on a 20L is just a bit too small. So every morning I wake up to 2 snakes cuddled on one side of the enclosure. They have exactly the same hides, heat, water bowl and substrate. Every day I put the renegade back on his/her own side and the next day there cuddling again. I'm thinking that since they are hatchlings, they are seeking out each other for comfort. Probably would change when they get of breeding age. I will be separating them in their own enclosures once my delivery of Visionarium comes in next week.
i have 2 hatchlings one amel and one amber that at present live in the same viv, they too can be found huddled together. this is only a temporary measure as the amel is sold and should be off to its new home soon
Well, the snuggling is over for my guys too. I bought a bunch of Vivariums and everyone gets their own enclosure. The last day while we were switching tanks, I put everyone together and when it was time to move, everyone was cuddled together. Must be a hatchling thing.
FYI, it's not snuggling, it's finding the best place in the tank to stay. You may think the conditions are exactly the same but snakes are sensitive and what you think is the same may not be. Even if the thermometer and hygrometer read the same and you're sure the air currents are the exact same chances are the hiding spots are not identical and your snakes are both seeking the best spot in the tank.
While I accept your explanation, it is still weird to me. One 20gl tank split down the middle with too short seperator. Heat pad in the middle of tank to service both sides. Exact same hides and water bowls positioned in the same place on both sides. One day they will all be on one side under the water bowl, the next day the other side, another day just under the substrate. And I watched them one day after feeding. They seemed to wander until they found another snake and then hid with the other snake. Perhaps thinking there may be safety in numbers? Trying to move in on the "safe" or "best" spot that the other snake chose? I don't know. It's just weird. lol
Yeah I hear ya'. It does seem kinda wierd but if it were true that they were staying close to each other for safety or they enjoyed the companionship chances are you'd see it happen in the wild and almost all snakes are completely solitary except when mating.
I've seen a lot of snakes that were housed together huddle like that. I really think it's just competition or "sharing" of the best basking/hiding spot. If one snake feels secure somewhere, chances are the others will too and in a cage environment, there are very few choices of "prime" spots. In the wild there are a million places that serve the purpose and that's why they can spread themselves out more.
It can be difficult to accept this but I think when we apply human emotions to an animal's behavior its best to assume there's an alternat reason for that behavior and look at all aspects of why that behavior is occuring. If an alternate reason seems logical and is more geared towards pure survival I think most of the time that is going to be the correct choice.
