Any beauty snake owners?

[Sylphie]

Hi,
I would love to see some of yours chinese, taiwanese, blue, cave-dwellers and all other "beauty" rat snakes (Orthriophis).
I am a big fan of them, but have not enough space to buy one :(

[SSSSnakes]

I keep both Taiwanese and a Blue Beauty snake. The Taiwanese is very docile, but the Blue is nasty.

[PsychoSnake]

I have a Taiwanese and she is docile as well, although flighty.

[IW17]

I have a male Tai. Love him. My favorite snake.

[Minkness]

Pretty =)

How big do they get?

[Sylphie]

IW17 wow, he's really cool :D

SSSSnakes and PsychoSnake yeah, I heard that Blues and Cave-dwellers are rather "bad", but they are sooo nice looking :D

Minkness something between 6 to 9 feet (yeah I was holding Tai that was 9 feet, and it was really amazing) :D

[IW17]

Yeah 6-9 is about right. Depends on which species. Tai will get right in that range. Caves will stay smaller, around 5-6. Blues get longer than Tai, 8-10+ but stay slimmer. Mine in the pics is about 15 months old and is over 6'.

[JustMeNmySnakes]

There's a Taiwanese for adoption here in central Cali. Seeing your pics IW17 tempts me to get her.

[trailblazer295]

Out of curiosity what size enclosures are you giving adults?

[IW17]

4x2x2. But you could go as big as you want. These snakes are constantly on the go.

[trailblazer295]

That's what I've read. The biggest cage I have right now is 48x24x16 with no funds to setup another larger one. Just looking at possible options.

[UwabamiReptiles]

I have a pair of calico Chinese beauties. They are still youngsters since they are 2014s. The chinese are the smallest of the beauty snakes and tend to be more shy. I'm planning on them being in at 3x2 foot cages when they get bigger but I may give them 4ft cages, I haven't decided yet. They are in tubs right now to keep maintenance easier. I'd go with at least a 4x2x2 for any the the bigger species like taiwans, blues, or caves. Id even try to go bigger if I could for those bigger species since they are semi arboreal and pretty active.

[trailblazer295]

I think they look really cool but I wouldn't get one now. Don't have a large enough cage for one properly. They are snake on my list of "be nice to have one day". I'd probably order a custom 4x2x4 PVC.

[IW17]

4x2x16" would work for Chinese beauties, cave racers, and some smaller tai beauties. Some females stay around 6 feet.

[trailblazer295]

How would I know which is a smaller tai and which is going to double their size? Seen 5ft taiwan beauties at my local reptile store today. It's the colour and pattern that attracted my attention.

[jjhill001]

How would I know which is a smaller tai and which is going to double their size? Seen 5ft taiwan beauties at my local reptile store today. It's the colour and pattern that attracted my attention.

They are really impressive animals when they hit that 8 foot range that's for sure. I think it's a combination of genetics, feeding schedules and other things like that. The Bartletts recommended a 30 gallon aquarium turned on end to give extra vertical space in their rat snake book. I would say this would work for some of the smaller species/individuals but I wouldn't keep a 9 foot active snake in something that small. I would shoot for something in the 55-75 gallon range if we are measuring by standard aquarium sizes. For a really impressive display try for something in the 125 gallon dimension range.

[IW17]

55 gallon for a tai would be tight. Mine is just over 6' and had to be put in a larger enclosure. These are very active snakes.

[jossh27]

Very neat snake. I like how you keep mentioning that they are very active. What temperatures and humidity do they need?could you build a wooden frame and screen enclosure?

[jjhill001]

55 gallon for a tai would be tight. Mine is just over 6' and had to be put in a larger enclosure. These are very active snakes.

I wouldn't either but I'd at least go bigger than what that book recommends.

[IW17]

Very neat snake. I like how you keep mentioning that they are very active. What temperatures and humidity do they need?could you build a wooden frame and screen enclosure?

I keep mine low eighties warm side, room temp cool side. Humidity 70-80%. You could build as large of an enclosure as you like. They'll use every inch.

[Klinger]

I picked up a Vietnamese Blue last August, and it is close to four feet now. I'm revamping a basilisk setup into a 5x3x4 enclosure, but have to pull the carpeting up in the room first. He's living in a 55gal for the moment, mostly under a flowerpot. Lots of scent practice and handling, this one has never bitten but looks defensive.

[Klinger]

Could anyone who owns a Blue Beauty tell me when the blue/gray really starts to show? I see traces on my youngster, but he is still more green than anything.

[reptiledude987]

Could anyone who owns a Blue Beauty tell me when the blue/gray really starts to show? I see traces on my youngster, but he is still more green than anything.
How old is it? Most snakes that go thru a colour change have their final colouration show when theyre adults.

[Klinger]

Sorry about that, he's only nine months. I've seen pics of them at one year with quite a bit of blue, but there is so little reliable info on the internet.

[IW17]

Could anyone who owns a Blue Beauty tell me when the blue/gray really starts to show? I see traces on my youngster, but he is still more green than anything.

If you're referring to the beauty snake in your post it depends. These animals do have minor color changes as they grow. That being said based solely on the pics you provided it almost looks like a cross. Obviously I can only comment based on what I've seen. But tai beauty/vbb crosses are common. I've just never seen a pure Vietnamese blue beauty with so much green and yellow at that age. But again I'm no expert and pics can vary a great deal from reality. Could you post a few more in different lighting? Either way it's a beautiful snake. Beauty snakes are my favorite.

[Klinger]

Here's a close shot of the head, where you can see the blue coming in. I bought him from a dealer on another forum, it's just that there are so few images of these snakes at various ages. (I'll have to fix that!!!)

I've also heard a rumor that there is a Burmese variant which is more blue than the Vietnamese, but have seen no solid evidence of such. All the young VBB's I see online look like mine, but I never see transitions from green to blue.

(The forum won't let me post a link, not sure why)

thevietnamesebluebeautysnake dot blogspot dot com
This site had the best info so far, but seems to have died off. They claim it takes about a year, so, I guess it's wait and see! Determining how much to feeds has been fun, as well. That hyperlink author used an app to measure her snake, and it was nowhere near accurate, so her science is a bit lacking. All the fun of a rarely seen snake, I suppose!