>>What probably happened is that the Cave Rats [Elaphe taeniura ridleyi], probably require cooler temperatures because of their unique habitat choice - extrapolate and you get someone, somewhere taking this information and saying all Elaphe taeniura spp. need to be kept cooler than North American Ratsnakes.

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Matt, I don't want to be in conflict with you on this idea, but in my opinion, this concept above applies to all the ssps. of taeniura. They are not pythons and even in their tropical habitats they still have "colubrid" adaptations. I don't keep blue beauties, and my Chinese ssp. is not tropical, but here's some things I know about the blue beauty.



Schulz ('96) said the three recorded specimens, at that time, came from the mtns of n. Thailand and Burma. That in itself is a cooler ecosystem than lowland tropical. I have kept moellendorffi (red-headed rats) through the yrs, and they avoid the hot/humid tropical conditions by staying underground, or using limestone caves, most of the time. They are active mainly in the early morning, as are the taeniura ssps. In fact, taeniura ssps. are often called, "morning snakes". From this info I would keep the blues at a range from 70 to 85, maybe with a hotspot around 85, but definitely with the option of a cooler end around 80, or less, in daytime, and cooler at night.



I reluntantly posted this time because I'll be going out of town for awhile, so won't be able to respond further for now, and I hope you don't take this the wrong way. Sometimes different opinions lead to discovery and hopefully good, updated info on these very interesting snakes. Later...TC.

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