Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey guys, could you offer a comparison and contrast b/n the two species? am stuck on which to get.
Temps, which temps would be needed for both of them, and is there a difference? are they supposedly more heat intolerant?
Are there differences in temper and size?? one more agressive/larger then the other?
i cant seem to find care sheets suitable. help appreciated.

I have kept both blues and ridleyi, but my experiences may differ widely from others. My blues were quite docile (I don't recall ever getting bit), and seemed to be very temperature tolerant. I could either brumate them with the rest of my colubrids, or keep the daytime temps warm and breed them throughout the winter. I'd estimate the length of my adults at just shy of 7 feet. All in all, a very easy species to keep provided you have sufficient room for them.

I currently have four adult ridleyi, and their temperaments vary from quite psychotic to mildly nervous. Their sizes vary from 5-6 feet (Cameroon Highlands locale) to nearly seven feet. They do seem to be more intolerant of high temps and will coil around their water dishes if it gets above the low 80's. They are shy, and spend most of their time in hide boxes (imagine that -- cave dwellers!) They seem to need higher humidity than the blues, otherwise they run into shedding difficulties.

Feel free to email me if you have specific questions. I no longer have blues (kept them for three years or so), but do still keep and enjoy the ridleyi, despite the occasional bite.

Happy Holidays,
Ronda
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Ronda Van Winkle
Northwest Herpetoculture

I agree completely with Ronda. Blues are very forgiving as far as temp is concerned - Ridleys are much less so. The temp in my basement dropped to the upper 60s when a cold front moved through a couple of weeks ago and 2 of my 5 Ridleys developed upper resp sickness while my Blues were not affected at all. In fact my Blues were alert, active, and hungry at 57F last Winter. I wouldn't dare expose the Ridleys to that temp.

As far as temperment goes, I have one psycho (male), 2 nervous types (male & female), and 2 that can be handled like garter snakes (both female).

-Kyle
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Who is like Set...

1.1 Vietnamese Blue Beauties
2.0 Taiwan Beauties
2.3 Cave Beauties
0.1 Bull Snake
1.0.0 Argentine Blk & Wht Tegu
2.5 Box Turtles

thanks for the replys. right, you guys have made up my mind for me, a blue beauty it is then. Mainly because of the temperature factor, it tends to get pretty high ( around mid 80s) here. what would be the cage enclosure needed for say..a 7 ft adult beauty?
3ft X 3ft? how often do you feed them, and how many mice per feeding?

I feed my 8ft boy 2 small rats each feeding. It's rare for him to eat more than that. Bear in mind that a small rat has about the same mass as 2.5 adult mice. My adults are in a 72x24x24 enclosure but they act like it's too small sometimes.

Good luck!
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Who is like Set...

1.1 Vietnamese Blue Beauties
2.0 Taiwan Beauties
2.3 Cave Beauties
0.1 Bull Snake
1.0.0 Argentine Blk & Wht Tegu
2.5 Box Turtles