Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there:

I have been looking for a large, nasty-tempered snake. I have decided to go with a beauty. I ordered a captive-bred Chinese beauty hatchling, supposedly "just born", that should arrive tomorrow. I am prepared to feed it a lot of rodents, get bitten and provide a large cage. I know exactly what I am getting into here.
The largest cages that I can provide are 40-75 gallons. My Sonoran gopher is currently in a 75-gallon. However, this is about 16 inches long, being a hatchling. This is my tank setup (for now!)

tank size: 10-gallon aquarium with stainless steel lid and cage clips

substate: A layer of cool, washed pea gravel topped with a dry mixture of "reptile jungle mix, aspen, washed "play sand" and Chinese evergreen branches

water: a good-sized naturalistic water basin filled with cooler water

hides: rock ledges and piles siliconed together; arboreal caves stuffed with leaves

climbing" lots and lots of branches and twigs, all of the way up to the top

temperatures: Warmer areas of about 80 degrees; cooler areas more toward 73 degrees. At night it all falls down to about 70 degrees.

lighting: I know a light directly on the cage irs recommended, but this animal is in a really bright room full of cage lights, high above the floor in front of an open window. I do not think the cage needs to be any brighter.

Any other suggestions?
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DAVE

1.0 Western green toad
1.1 green treefrogs
1.0 Florida blue garter snake
1.0 brown Anole
1.0 Mediterranean gecko
1.1 Oriental fire-bellied toads
1.0 American bullfrog
1.0 South American caecilian (Dermophis occidentalis)
1.0 Spanish ribbed newt
1.0 rough-skinned newt
1.1 Eastern ribbon snakes
1.1red-cheeked mud turtles
1.0 dwarf peacock day gecko
1.0 Dubia day gecko
1.0 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 rough green snakes
1.1 giant African black millipedes
1.0 White's treefrog
1.0 Okeetee corn snake
1.0 Albino African clawed frog
1.0 Kenyan sand boa
1.0 Argentine flame-bellied toadlet
1.0 African bullfrog
1.0 yellow * Everglades rat snake intergrade
1.0 Western hognose snake
1.0 fire salamander
1.0 Chinese beauty

wouldn't want to put it in direct sunlight, personally, nor a bright light on top of it. just ambient light from the windows should be enough to keep it on the day/night cycles correctly. sounds like a nice setup, only thing is i wouldn't put any play sand or gravel in it...in fact i just use shredded aspen - my blue beauty loves to burrow. Half the time she's climbing the "trees", half the time she's burrowed in the aspen.

the gravel is not absorbant, and the sand is minimally absorbant. nothing wrong i can see in the moss and jungle mix except the price you'll be paying for it all. your snake is going to want to burrow. I have a blue beauty and she's a spirit, thats for sure! Get youself a 100 ct box of latex gloves from home depot or wherever...they learn that when biting the latex it tastes nasty so theyll stop doing it.

Personally, I think beauties have a bum wrap...they're all made out to be these terible nasty snakes - but in all reality they're not that bad with enough handling.
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Caligula)... coming soon

Dave,
I would agree with chris and just ad one more thing. By a steel top I assume you mean one with a screen. They need humidity a little on the higher side than many other ratsnake species so I would suggest you cover about 75% of the top, leaving an area on each end open for ventilation. If you do this and also make sure your water bowl is a large one it will keep up the humidity in the cage. This is especially important with hatchlings as they are to afraid sometimes to come out in the open and soak if they need to when they are about to shed. Good choice and enjoy. Randy W.

Hi there:

Yes, the lid is a screen one. I will find a way to cover the large part of the lid. I want to find an attractive way. I know that I may have some trouble keeping the cage clean with the gravel and sand, but I really like natural setups, and all of my exhibits are more natural. I wanted a snake that did not require lots and lots of electrical things to plug in, so I thought that a beauty would be a good choice.
I was also wondering if these guys could also take other prey items, such as large crickets, feeder fish or wax worms? How about beef? I was just wondering. If not, mice are not a problem. Is two larger mice a week good enough, or should I feed it more often?
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DAVE

1.0 Western green toad
1.1 green treefrogs
1.0 Florida blue garter snake
1.0 brown Anole
1.0 Mediterranean gecko
1.1 Oriental fire-bellied toads
1.0 American bullfrog
1.0 South American caecilian (Dermophis occidentalis)
1.0 Spanish ribbed newt
1.0 rough-skinned newt
1.1 Eastern ribbon snakes
1.1red-cheeked mud turtles
1.0 dwarf peacock day gecko
1.0 Dubia day gecko
1.0 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 rough green snakes
1.1 giant African black millipedes
1.0 White's treefrog
1.0 Okeetee corn snake
1.0 Albino African clawed frog
1.0 Kenyan sand boa
1.0 Argentine flame-bellied toadlet
1.0 African bullfrog
1.0 yellow * Everglades rat snake intergrade
1.0 Western hognose snake
1.0 fire salamander
1.0 Chinese beauty

I keep a Taiwan Beauty, which are larger than the Chinese Beauties. It's eaten mice and rats for the past 11 years or so; I never tried feeding it any other prey items. I don't know that a hatchling Beauty would be too interested in insect prey, save those for your other herps. Depending on the size of hatchling, pinkies or mouse fuzzies would probably be the best bet for a meal. Once your snake reaches 3 feet or so, I'd step up to mice then if your snake gets over 6 feet, rats. Feed enough to see a visible lump in the snake and repeat once the snake has passed the last meal. Try to avoid handling the snake for about 48 hours after it eats. They need to rest and digest a weeks worth of food. I fed my Taiwan about once a week while he was growing and now, since he's slowed down, I feed him every 10- 14 days so he doesn't get too chunky. He's an aggressive feeder, so I always use tongs to present the prey to him.
I suggest starting your snake off early on frozen/thawed pinkies or fuzzies. Live adult mice and rats can really put a hurting on a snake and that's an accident easily avoided by always feeding dead prey.
Good luck with your new snake! Post some pics when you get the chance.
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Lora

Hi there:

Thanks for the information. I am really excited about the beauty coming! I feel like a football fan the night before the superbowl. I am so excited that I haven't even been able to sleep! I was wondering... Would a big, and I mean BIG, beauty snake, take a "python" prey item, such as a hamster or small rabbit? I mean like the smallest rabbit available? I was thinking of varrying its diet a little bit. Chinese beauties seem harder to find than blues or Taiwans. In my personal opinion, Taiwans are by far the most popular.
Including shipping, I am paying $85 for this snake. Its too bad that I wasn't planning to get a beauty at my last local reptile show. They had Taiwans there for $10! Thanks again for your help.
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DAVE

1.0 Western green toad
1.1 green treefrogs
1.0 Florida blue garter snake
1.0 brown Anole
1.0 Mediterranean gecko
1.1 Oriental fire-bellied toads
1.0 American bullfrog
1.0 South American caecilian (Dermophis occidentalis)
1.0 Spanish ribbed newt
1.0 rough-skinned newt
1.1 Eastern ribbon snakes
1.1red-cheeked mud turtles
1.0 dwarf peacock day gecko
1.0 Dubia day gecko
1.0 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 rough green snakes
1.1 giant African black millipedes
1.0 White's treefrog
1.0 Okeetee corn snake
1.0 Albino African clawed frog
1.0 Kenyan sand boa
1.0 Argentine flame-bellied toadlet
1.0 African bullfrog
1.0 yellow * Everglades rat snake intergrade
1.0 Western hognose snake
1.0 fire salamander
1.0 Chinese beauty