beauty snake help

hunter · 03-26-05, 01:29 PM

just wondering if anyone has any info that might help me with my new beauty snake, or stories or anything thanks...does anyone keep this type of snake if so drop me a line! thanks

Bram · 03-26-05, 06:51 PM

well beauty snake is a large definition! a latin name would clear things up much better!

Bram, the dutchman

gonesnakee · 03-26-05, 08:35 PM

Check out Joe Birch's site I think its slithering serpents or something. He is on this site anyhow & has a really good caresheet on his site (can't find the stupid link LOL) Also try running a search of this forum on Beauty Snakes & you find lots of old thread discussing them & their care. Mark

EDIT thats Burch BTW whoops & its http://www.slitheringserpents.com/bluebeautycare.htm

Similar husbandry for most all types of Beauty snakes

hunter · 03-27-05, 12:27 AM

sorry about that i made about 4 posts with all the details but my internet kept messing up so this was sort of a test post...any ways i have an (Elaphe Taeniura taeniura) was sold to me as a taiwanese beauty, i believe that scientific name translates to chinese beauty however. she is great. thx

Bram · 03-27-05, 04:41 AM

Well taeniura taeniura is one of the smaller beauty snakes... 1.5 meters or 5 feet max. while there quite active animals they need some space, so a large vivarium is needed! like almost all asian ratsnakes they prefer more smaller prey than 1 large prey. Many climbing possibilities and hiding spaces at different temperatures.

occasionally spraying with water is good for shedding and a moistbox is very welcome!

Hope this helpes... this is what I know about beauty snakes and asian snakes... I've got radiata and a couple helena helena. Still I'm searching for genaticly clean taeniura taeniura!

Bram, the dutchman

hunter · 03-27-05, 08:52 AM

i must have wrong info, the breeder i got her from has 3 full grown beauties and i have one of their babies and his female is almost 7 feet. i must have another genus species. the one i have is supposedly the biggest rat snake out there (again sold to me as a taiwanese beauty snake). thank you for the info, she is doing amazing so far. i was more or less curious if anyone has been struck by one.. i found one french website (as i couldnt find a whole lot of info at all on these guys, a few german sites as well) that said they could be quite sketchy, but i geuss even corns can be sketchy. thanks again guys/girls

hunter · 03-27-05, 08:56 AM

as well the breeder was telling me he has seen the same genus i have get as big as 10 feet in captivity, he saw a few 10 foot monsters at a southern us reptile show (i forget where exactley) again thanks alot

Bram · 03-27-05, 02:25 PM

well then it aint taeniura taeniura but taeniura freisi! those are huge but taeniura taeniura surtenly not!

Bram

lolaophidia · 03-27-05, 11:00 PM

Does your snake look like this?

This is my Taiwan Beauty, a taeniura friesi. He's about 12 years old and close to 8 foot long. Great snake, was a little squirmy as a hatchling, but once he got over 3 feet he calmed down somewhat.

He eats f/t large rats and is a voracious feeder- tongs are a must. The only time I've ever been bitten by him was during a stupid feeding accident where I was throwing a p/k mouse in his cage and he missed. He would rush the top of the tank during feeding and after the bite, I started using hemostats to offer the prey item. It's helped a lot, and I haven't been bitten since (knock on wood). He gets very excited when he smells food, so I just have to be extra slow when placing the prey and watch for the lunge...

I keep the largest size water bowl in his cage over the under tank heat source to maintain humidity at around 60-70% and this keeps his sheds perfect. Temps on the cage run 82 for the hot side and 73 on the cool side. He spends most of his time on the cool side other than during digestion.

They are very inquisitive snakes and mine constantly watches me when I'm in the room (hoping that I have a fat rat for him I guess). He will tail rattle and strike if startled, so I use a hook to manuver him out of the cage. Once out, he's a big, strong, snake but not agressive in the least.

Hope that helps. Here's a care sheet with more information for you also.

friesi care sheet

hunter · 03-28-05, 08:34 AM

that helps an unbeliveable ammount thank you soo much. the pic didnt work for me but the caresheet link did work and my snake is the same as the one pictured there as far as i can tell, check back later today ill try and post a pic of her...im feeding her today so i will have to see how she does before i will take pics. thanks again.

gonesnakee · 03-28-05, 03:50 PM

I used to have a big Taiwan male that would be as gentle as can be until he was hungry. When he was hungry he would bite the crap outta me thinking I was food. They are usually pretty good otherwise & are usually bitey as babies if at all. I used to breed Vietnamese Blue Beauties & find them to be more agressive & have dealt with extremely aggressive adult specimens of them on more than one occassion, Mark

hunter · 03-28-05, 05:57 PM

what is an adults bite like???
i imagine quite strong eh!!

lolaophidia · 03-28-05, 09:34 PM

When my snake bit me (it was probably 7 or 8 years ago) he broke off two teeth in the knuckle of my right middle finger. It was pretty bloody, but he didn't chew or bite repeatedly, nor did he try to wrap my arm or any of that. It's not like getting hit by a large boa- they tend to bruise due to the force of the strike. It was one of those- oh you're not a rat, where's the rat you were holding- sort of bites, not defensive at all. With the broken teeth, I did check his mouth to make sure I hadn't injured him by pulling his teeth when I jerked away (he was fine) and I only found one tooth in my hand at the time.

The bite healed relatively quickly with the help of neosporin but I still had a small lump at the joint. A year later I'm at work, an notice my knuckle is red and really itching. So I scratch it and lo and behold out comes another centimeter long tooth. My co-worker thought I was nuts trying to show him this tooth that just came out of my hand (I worked in a call center at the time and no one there shared my interest in snakes). Kind of silly story...
See if these pics work for you- hosted on a different site.

Invictus · 03-28-05, 11:50 PM

This is by far my favorite colubrid. I have like... a whole bunch of them.

I won't say how many right now, but suffice it to say that I've only ever been bitten once, and that was by an adult. As described above, he embedded a tooth in my knuckle. My babies have yet to nail me. Even as adults, these snakes seem VERY timid. Keep them cooler than most other colubrids - I find anything over about 81-82 degrees, and they are trying their best to stay cool, even if it means soaking. Their cool end should be room temp. Vietnamese blues seem to like much higher humidity and cooler temps than Taiwans. Other than that, ENJOY.. this species is just plain incredible to work with.

hunter · 03-29-05, 05:12 PM

thanks guys i just took pics of mine today, i hope i dont get bit any time soon, i just love her and im thinking about getting another.....we'll see hahah.

i took it with the stick to try and show her size she is still less than a year old i think, im getting more info about her tonight, i am so pleased i cant wait till she gets bigger!!