Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently sold my pair of adult Indigos. I bought this guy to make up for it. I absolutely love this guy. He's flighty but never bites. After I have him out for about an hour he is very calm. His size and feeding response is very comparable, different but equally interesting. I think these ratsnakes are very underrated and pretty inexpensive. We all know Indigos are in a class all their own, but adult taiwans are very impressive to me. Temperament, color, size, feeding response, and awareness are all great aspects of this snake. Im excited to watch him grow. Please post pics of your Taiwans if you have them, thanks.

That's an outstanding animal you've got there. I really like those Taiwans.

Can I ask why you sold your indigos? I realize it may be none of my business, and if so I understand completely. It's just that I read the indigo forum, and those guys seem ultra-dedicated. Also, I would think an adult pair, which I'm assuming are also a breeding pair, would be a money maker.

Either way, welcome to the rat snake forum. Most often people reply to posts faster than this. Usually I just read without posting, but I didn't want to leave you hanging there. The Asian rat snake posters will see your post eventually and start posting their pics, I'm sure.

I bought them and bred them...all 8 eggs ended up being infertile, bummer.My plan was to sell the adults and keep a pair of hatchlings, don't count your chickens.
At first I had them in my bedroom, that didnt last long, the smell was too much in my small space. I then moved them to an empty room which worked out better, but not good enough. I got too many complaints from the other people I live with. Keep in mind I clean cages at least 1-2 times a week. Then we are now in the process of selling our house so soon there will be no extra bedroom, no big garage either. In order to keep my girlfriend and mother happy I have had to buy a rack system and now keep all my snakes in the garage. Im really enjoying the rack, but have had to get interested in smaller snakes. Most of my snakes will be fine in the rack except for the Taiwan. Im thinking of building a cage for him, thats probably what would work the best. If I can create something vertical and good size with lighting I will probably keep him outside. Fortunately he is still fairly small and so that buys me SOME time. When I used to keep boas in the house I never heard a peep from anyone about the smell. When my adult bullsnake used to take a crap there were complaints. To be honest I really like having everything outside. Since i was forced to keep everything in my small room and of course i can't just have one snake...things got a little out of hand.
Anyhow...about 6 months ago I held a friends adult Taiwan and was just blown away. I held another 8 foot monster recently and that sealed the deal. They have a lot of qualities i like in a big colubrid. While i had my indigos I encountered a lot of people that said "oh yeah i used to have some but i just got tired of the smell and constant cage cleaning". In the Indigo keepers defense they are really worth every bit of the effort, I believe I will have some again in the future. They are pretty unbeatable. It was a hard decision. I go through periods of burn out and seel things sometimes. I enjoying things more now with the rack. Its organized and easy to clean. I think my interests are moving a little in to working on my car now too. I miss boas a little but the smaller snakes are kind of a pleasure, more manageable for my situation for the time being. Wow i got pretty carried away, I guess im avoiding studying for finals... Kngsnake is good for that sort of thing

Welcome to the board! I am new here myself. Man, that Indigo is awesome I've always wanted a pair. Too bad they had to go. The rat snake is beautiful as well. What other species do you keep? Tom

Cal kings

Bull snake

San Diego Gopher

hognose

one rescue retic

Im sure more will come.. Im wanting to get some Rosy Boas.