Keeping ratsnakes....beauties......

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Posted by Terry on May 14, 2000 at 06:07:55:

In Reply to: Re: Why do we keep ratsnakes (question revisited)??? posted by kris on May 13, 2000 at 11:22:38:

Yes, that's true, Kris, we keep them because we love them, but I think there's more to it than that for some people. The question is also meant to be suggestive. In my case, I love the ratsnakes so much, I over extend myself every year. This is to the extent that I can't provide the best possible care to some of my charges. It is then that I say we need to cut back. I find out what my limitations are, and this sets the size of my collection. Thus I am constantly faced with this question, like so many other herpers. Many newcomers don't feel the need to delve into this because they only have a few herps to care for. Caretaking is an art, isn't it? We shouldn't make it a production line.

You have a very nice ratsnake to care for in the blue beauty. They make terribly interesting pets and taeniura is one of the most important species taxonomically in the genus. Also they can be very beautiful (hence the name) and reach an impressive size. I learned a long time ago that I could only keep one subspecies of beauty snake and still have the rest of my collection. I decided to keep the Chinese beauty, E. t. taeniura.

I wish you all the luck with yours, and hope we will hear many stories and anecdotes about them through the years. Even though I'm not able to keep the blues myself, I'd like to know everything about them. Don't forget to tell us about the Russians too, one of my favorite ratsnake species, that I talk about a lot.

Thanks for your response,
TC

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: Yes, that's true, Kris, we keep them because we love them, but I think there's more to it than that for some people. The question is also meant to be suggestive. In my case, I love the ratsnakes so much, I over extend myself every year. This is to the extent that I can't provide the best possible care to some of my charges. It is then that I say we need to cut back. I find out what my limitations are, and this sets the size of my collection. Thus I am constantly faced with this question, like so many other herpers. Many newcomers don't feel the need to delve into this because they only have a few herps to care for. Caretaking is an art, isn't it? We shouldn't make it a production line. : You have a very nice ratsnake to care for in the blue beauty. They make terribly interesting pets and taeniura is one of the most important species taxonomically in the genus. Also they can be very beautiful (hence the name) and reach an impressive size. I learned a long time ago that I could only keep one subspecies of beauty snake and still have the rest of my collection. I decided to keep the Chinese beauty, E. t. taeniura. : I wish you all the luck with yours, and hope we will hear many stories and anecdotes about them through the years. Even though I'm not able to keep the blues myself, I'd like to know everything about them. Don't forget to tell us about the Russians too, one of my favorite ratsnake species, that I talk about a lot. : Thanks for your response, : TC

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