Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi, i cant seem to find any care sheets on blue beauty snakes so i came here to ask my ?'s. what would be the appropriate size tank for a 7' blue beauty and what should the hottest tempeture in the tank be? also do they musk alot like other ratsnakes,kings and milks? thank you

Yeah, there's not much information out there about the blue beauties... but I have found that the information found on most elaphe taeniura can be used for the blue beauty. Right now I have mine in a tank that is 4' long, 1' deep and 1 1/2' high. I wouldn't nessessarily call this the best enclosure for them, but I am in the process of building cages for them that are 4' long, 2' deep, and 2' high--which should give each of them ample room. Their temp should range from about 75-80 . Hottest being 85. They like the cooler temperatures. My pair have never musked, but they do BITE. But I have heard that other's do musk... Hope this helps some...

ok that has helped alot because im looking into a 7 foot blue beauty from someone but i wouldnt know what size enclosure to put it in. i was thinking putting it in a 5' long 3' wide rubbermaid but i cant seem to figure out how you get lighting in the rubbermaid if it has a lid on it so if you know how i could do that could you please tell me. thanks again

Don't worry about lighting.... just use heat with an undertank heater/heating pad... make sure your temps are fine and you'll be good to go...
I wouldn't worry about actual lighting for them. As long as the rubbermaid isn't opaque...
....is it opaque? If it is, you could cut a rectangle hole the size for an appropriate strip light and use flouresent lighting... no need for a basking/heat lighting... a heating pad should be more than enough...

sorry--I guess I should ad that you cut it in the top and get some screen and place it over the hole... put your strip light with your flouresent light right on top...

Your tupperware may meet the minimum size for your snake however it may be missing other "necessities". I quote this because it's debatable. Many breeders swear by the minimal requirements because it works to produce babies and is minimal work. I have to add that you should consider a more naturalistic enclosure. Research vivarium design (REPTILES mag.is great and there are a lot of books on the topic) and decide if it's right for you. I believe it's the difference between keeping pets and having flourishing animals in your home.
The blue's that I've seen are also semi-aboreal so a taller cage with some thick plants or climbing structures will greatly enrich the snakes environment.
In addition to a happy snake, a large beautifull vivarium furniture peice creates a whole new plane of herp keeping. The cost of such an enclosure setup is obviously more than your tupperware. No doubt that will influence your decision, but I've found that slowly collecting the materials you need and having your enclosure slowly evolve into what you eventually want works well on any budget. Also keep in mind that you have a fairly large snake so you will be using larger and sturdier pieces. Lots of the finer materials will be uneccesary as your snake will crush them anyway.
So that's my 2bits, hope you enjoy your new snake!

I never found any care sheets on blue beauty's either. However, it was easy enough to find care sheets on for example, their close cousins, the taiwan beauty.. A temperature range of 70 at the low end to 80 at the high end seems to keep ours fairly happy. Occasional light misting also helps them a lot, especially when shedding.

Anyway, enjoy your blue beauty! We love ours.

I forgot to add, ours is in a 4'x18"x14" tank with a mesh lid. Climbing seems to make them happy, we have logs for ours which get a lot of use every day. Our big male is 8'7", and he is happy with his enclosure size.

Have no clue if they musk, ours never have, nor have they shown any inclination to bite. They will put on quite a show for you though, and typically move a lot with their necks in a seemingly permenant s-curve.

I do not know if ours are typical, or an exception in this species, but on the whole, they seem very alert, inquisitive and interactive. I already know they learn faster than our cat. LOL.

Take care, and enjoy ..

Yours are an exception ;^)

My juveniles bit like crazy but only the ones from a particular breeder. No fault of his, I imagine. They apparently came from feisty parents but once they got older and most LARGER, this behavior pretty much ground to a halt.

My Ridley Cave Rats however musk every time I handle them. I don't like it but I'm getting used to the wet corn-chip smell.
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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