Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay, i've decided what i'm getting. Blue Beauties. I saw the picture Conrad posted and fell in love with their markings. I've already contacted an individual from the classifieds here about buying a pair (male and female) of blue beauties from him, they were born in the fall of 03. I have a few questions now.

Will a 55 gallon tank be large enough for the two of them to happily live their lives in?

I've read do not get rock heaters, get a heating pad. I was looking around drsfostersmith.com and found under-tank heaters, will these work as well as a heating pad? Or should I just go with a pad, considering i'd expect it to be cheaper?

I've been told to have a hiding place. I was thinking of possibly puting a piece of driftwood in one corner, good idea, bad idea? Any comments on that idea? What would be a good "hiding place" for them? I have used a flower pot turned upside down with a hole cut in it for my fish before, but i'd like something that looks a little better.

Basking light - I have one right now for my turtles, which I am going to have to let go (growing too large), giving to a friend. It is a 75 watt light. Is this sufficent, or do I need a stronger one for that size tank?

Substrate - What, personally, works well for everyone? I've been told wood chips, astroturf, sand (but that was an unreliable source). What's good?

Top of the tank - It comes with a regular fish tank lid, and I was wondering, could I take some screen door stuff and make a tight fitting top over the top, using a wood frame?

I really appreciate all of everyone's help here. -Chris

Blue beauties are pretty cool snakes, but they do get rather long. They average appx 7 feet, but have been known to get to 9ft. That's 14-18 feet of snake in a 55 gallon tank. Could they live in a 55 gallon tank? I'm sure they could, and a lot of breeders use tupperware racks on their colubrids and boids. But could they live happily in a 55 gallon tank for the rest of their lives?

Heating.. Well, I've used several methods of heating, from heat rocks, heating pads, heat tapes, heat lamps, and even heating up a whole room for the reptiles. I like to use a combination of heat tape (or pads) and lighting. Give them one heated side, and one cool side. The lighting is turned off in late evening, until the next morning.

Hides... Hideboxes can be just about anything, from cut up bowls to commercially made hide boxes. If you want something that's going to look good, buy something commercially available. If you don't care, just clean out a margarine container, cut or drill a hole in the top, large enough for the snakes to enter, and then place it in the cool side of the cage.
As they outgrow their hide boxes, you'll just have to find something bigger.

Substrate... This is probably one of the most debated issues around. There are a lot of things out there. I use newspaper or aspen, and occasionally cypress mulch. Cypress mulch will give it the rainforesty look, if you're going to be decorating the cage a bit. There should be two types at places like walmart, one is a treated, toxic form, and the other is not treated. Some breeders think that even the not treated form can be toxic to reptiles. I haven't had any problems with it before myself, but I'm letting ya know incase. It's about $2 for a huge bag.

And then there's calcisand, playground sand, reptibark, sani chips (another type of aspen bedding). I personally wouldn't go with sand on these. Lots of breeders use sani chips.

Aquarium Top... I'd say an aquarium top is unusable for a reptile, but they do make reptile tops for 55 gallon tanks. I don't know how much they are now, but I bought one about 8 years ago for $59 at a local pet shop.

A cheaper alternative, if you know how to build stuff, is to just build a top, and it just may be a better method, for a few reasons. For one, these premade tops you buy don't really have a basking/heating light spot. You can place one on it, directly on the plastic, and eventually the plastic will warp/melt, and look pretty terrible.

Just be careful that you don't put a weak mesh wire in the top, something that the beauty snakes will eventually be able to break through and escape.

Hope this helps

Okay, i've decided what i'm getting. Blue Beauties. I saw the picture Conrad posted and fell in love with their markings. I've already contacted an individual from the classifieds here about buying a pair (male and female) of blue beauties from him, they were born in the fall of 03. I have a few questions now.

Will a 55 gallon tank be large enough for the two of them to happily live their lives in?

I've read do not get rock heaters, get a heating pad. I was looking around drsfostersmith.com and found under-tank heaters, will these work as well as a heating pad? Or should I just go with a pad, considering i'd expect it to be cheaper?

I've been told to have a hiding place. I was thinking of possibly puting a piece of driftwood in one corner, good idea, bad idea? Any comments on that idea? What would be a good "hiding place" for them? I have used a flower pot turned upside down with a hole cut in it for my fish before, but i'd like something that looks a little better.

Basking light - I have one right now for my turtles, which I am going to have to let go (growing too large), giving to a friend. It is a 75 watt light. Is this sufficent, or do I need a stronger one for that size tank?

Substrate - What, personally, works well for everyone? I've been told wood chips, astroturf, sand (but that was an unreliable source). What's good?

Top of the tank - It comes with a regular fish tank lid, and I was wondering, could I take some screen door stuff and make a tight fitting top over the top, using a wood frame?

I really appreciate all of everyone's help here. -Chris

How fast do these guys grow? Around how many years would it take them to reach the 7 foot mark? Could I probably get at least another 2-3 years out of this 55 gal? If so i'd be happy. On the heating, should the pad be underneat the substrate or where tehy can directly lay on it? Is driftwood okay to use in the tank? I was thinking it may be something for them to climb on, however i'm unsure if they would even want that or not. I've seen on drsfostersmith.com and petco.com some type of wood chips to use for reptiles. how often would I have to change this? I'm definately going to lose the aquairum top, i'm just planning right now on building my own out of some wire screen for a screen door and some wood, drsfostersmith.com has a 55 gallon lid for $17 plus shipping. However, it's plastic also.

I just found out also that i'm not "supposed" to have reptiles in my apartment, but he said the reason for that is a couple years ago this guy had a bunch of snakes, and he bred mice also...and they got out and freaked out a bunch of people, but he said as long as I stayed with frozen mice it'd be fine. So this just means i'll have to keep the tank in my bedroom, with somewhat less traffic around it...will that still be ok?

One thing i've been wondering about....biting. I know i'll get bitten sooner or later. First off, do I have to have any type of special medication or just regular neosporin? Also, how should I handle the snake when he does bite me?

Honestly, i've always had a somewhat fear of snakes, and I see this as a way of getting past that....by putting them in my bedroom and living with them day in and day out, making them part of my family. (this is whats causing one of my big concerns on the biting part, lol) However, i'm borderline arachnophobic, so no freakin spiders for me!

oh and also, how soon do i need to take them to the vet to get their parasite stuff taken care of? and how much does this usually run?

Q: How fast do these guys grow? Around how many years would it take them to reach the 7 foot mark?

A: Within three years, but it all depends on how much you feed them.

Q: Could I probably get at least another 2-3 years out of this 55 gal? If so i'd be happy.

A: Like I said before, some breeders use cages smaller than this for grown adult snakes. If you want an awesome display cage, where the snakes aren't cramped up and all, you'd probably want to custom build a nice one, with lots of branches to climb on, several hide spots, maybe some fake plants, etc.

Q: On the heating, should the pad be underneat the substrate or where tehy can directly lay on it?

A: You place the heating pad or tape undeaneath the aquarium itself.

Q: Is driftwood okay to use in the tank?

A: Just make sure it's disinfected. You might want to just soak it in a 5% bleach solution for awhile, then rinse it with clean water, and dry before putting it in the cage. Different types of vines, wood, barks, etc can decorate the cages quite a bit.

I was thinking it may be something for them to climb on, however i'm unsure if they would even want that or not.

Q: I've seen on drsfostersmith.com and petco.com some type of wood chips to use for reptiles. how often would I have to change this?

A: Just scoop out bits and pieces as it gets soiled and such, and maybe 2-3 times a year do a full cleansing and replacement of substrate.

Q: I'm definately going to lose the aquairum top, i'm just planning right now on building my own out of some wire screen for a screen door and some wood, drsfostersmith.com has a 55 gallon lid for $17 plus shipping. However, it's plastic also.

A: Actually, I just looked up the one they have on their site ( CF-11534 ). They actually are steel rims, with a mesh. I use this type of top with 10 gallon aquariums, and they are great. This one is different from the 55 gallon top that I purchased. It is very open, not with plastic running through it, which means you could put a basking light on top of it without having to worry about melting plastic. So, I would recommend getting something like this, with the cover clips ($1.99 extra).

Q: So this just means i'll have to keep the tank in my bedroom, with somewhat less traffic around it...will that still be ok?

A: Yeah, the snakes might prefer less traffic anyway

Q: One thing i've been wondering about....biting. I know i'll get bitten sooner or later. First off, do I have to have any type of special medication or just regular neosporin? Also, how should I handle the snake when he does bite me?

A: One reason that some snakes start becoming aggressive is that they're associating people opening their cage with food. So, you would need to take them out and put into a seperate cage or container to feed them.

Hatchlings or snakes that aren't handled very much can also be aggressive sometimes. If you're getting a snake from a dealer, he or she probably doesn't have time to "tame" 300 snakes (or however many he/she produces) each year.

As far as treating bites is concerned, most people just wash the bitesite with soap. Others may use a little antibiotic cream, but I've never had a problem from being bitten, except from an amazon tree boa, and that didn't get infected, but hurt like hell.

Q: oh and also, how soon do i need to take them to the vet to get their parasite stuff taken care of? and how much does this usually run?

A: If the animals are captive born and appear to be in good condition, you probably won't have to worry about it.

The prices of vets are pretty high now, from what I've heard. Before, you could get a fecal for about $25, but I've been hearing lately that some people are being charged $75-$100 for fecals and treatment.

well I think that really has answere all of my questions at the time being! I really appreciate the time you've taken to write everything. Tomorrow morning after I get off work (i work nights,for the time being, reason why I never post in the middle of the day) i'm going to see my old 7th grade science teacher (she has like a dozen snakes in her classroom), and she said she'd teach me some handling techniques.

I have been thinking, the 55 gallon setup (tank, unusable lid, 2 strip lights) runs $99. The 75 gallon (tank only) runs $99. I have a 24" striplight which I can use, and i've gotta buy the cover anyway, so i'm getting the 75 gal.