Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello, i just got my first pair of rat hatchlings last week. i've been keeping snakes of various types as an amature hobbyist for over 15 yrs. i got a cbb pair of cave dwelling rat snakes. they are great little critters. the adults really caught my eye.

i haven't seen too many people working with them. is there a reason for that? i think the adults are beautifull, obviously since i invested in a pair

they both fed for me today on f/t pinkies, 2 apiece. they both have several meals in them. feeding a week apart.

i was wondering from personal experience the feeding schedule that works best for you. i'm used to pits where i feed twice a week until adulthood and then back of to once a week. would this work for rats as well?

thanks...

jonathan

p.s. i tried posting pics, but they were too large. maybe one of these days i'll figure out how to resize

Jonathan I've never done cave dwellers but I have kept many of the other taeniura which the care is pretty much the same for. You can feed them like you feed your pits. They have a high metabolism and will turn it into length at a amazing rate. I think the reason you don't see more is due to their adult size, higher strung attitude if not held a lot and they are one of the higher end beauties price wise.
Beauties have been one of my favorite snakes for years. They are incredible snakes. Enjoy and post pics when you can.
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Randy Whittington

yes, i will try to keep them on the same feeding schedule. sam also said that they grow very quickly, length wise. should be interesting. nice fresh project for me.
they are actually taming down some, i believe. they first couple days i got tagged a couple times by each. didn't do much at all, but still. i can hold them now and they aren't striking anymore. the female does try to shake her tail though. maybe my pitts are rubbing off on her later...

jonathan

Wait till they grow up and get pissed off. I have and love pits too but when big beauties get mad it's a whole other ball game. LOL

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Randy Whittington

randy,
i love that pick. i have seen that one before. spectacular! once again giving me hope that just because we breed them, they aren't totally domesticated i kind of like them a little fiesty.

i suspected they might be related but hadn't really done any research. anyway, looks like you have done a great job with your beauties and thanks again on the feedback for mine. i'll get pix one of these days. take care...

jonathan

Like Randy I have bred most all of the available Beauty snakes at some time and still breed Cave Rats and what he said is true...these guys love to eat and will do so at a rapid rate due to their high metabolisms.

Scott John Reptiles

very nice. i especially like the one on your site with the high amount of orange on the neck. i'm not really sure what mine will look like once they mature. i kind of think of them like the deppei of the rat world :0) only time will tell.
i'm glad to see that there are others that are doing well working with them. gives me high expectations. as far as high metabolism, that's fine. i have numerous bags of rodents in the freezer that need to be eaten. that last statement would sound pretty bad if you weren't into herps take care...

jonathan