Re: blue beautie info

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Posted by kris on December 07, 2000 at 08:28:21:

In Reply to: blue beautie info posted by lil dude on December 06, 2000 at 15:09:24:

You should check out the issue of Reptiles magazine from a few months back...Mike Humphrey wrote an excellent article there. He seems to have more experience with these guys than most folks.

I just have one breeding pair & 6 of their offspring. Mine are just over 9' and the pair are kept in a tank 49" X 24" X 18". This is actually a little small in my opinion...they are pretty active snakes, but we try to take them out fairly regularly. They have one hide box, and one laying box (sterlite container w/ moist vermiculite). Both hide boxes are large enough for both snakes to fit in at the same time. This is important for our pair...they are very attached even when not mating & get downright nasty when seperated. The humidity needs to be fairly high or they can develop scale problems. They also need a good sized bath bowl (we use a dish pan) so that they can play in the water...they spend a lot of time 'playing' in it...they swim, blow bubbles, soak, and mate there. Ours also seem to enjoy climbing. In terms of temps, we actually keep a pretty large gradient. Over 90 on the one end, below 70 on the other. They seem to spend equal amounts in both ends & in the middle soooo....
Ours are fed rats (or several mice if we run out of rats). They can be a little moody about their feeding. Usually they prefer to eat very early in the morning (like 5 am...yuck, but we're up for work anyway). Evening & night feeding is much less reliable than early morning.

Same for the youngsters, except everything is smaller. The little ones seem very shy...they like to eat from within their hide boxes. Of course, if I offer food early enough in the morning, they'll eat till they explode.

good luck
-kris

(if you haven't gotten one yet & would like to see some & are in Denver area, let me know)

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: You should check out the issue of Reptiles magazine from a few months back...Mike Humphrey wrote an excellent article there. He seems to have more experience with these guys than most folks. : I just have one breeding pair & 6 of their offspring. Mine are just over 9' and the pair are kept in a tank 49" X 24" X 18". This is actually a little small in my opinion...they are pretty active snakes, but we try to take them out fairly regularly. They have one hide box, and one laying box (sterlite container w/ moist vermiculite). Both hide boxes are large enough for both snakes to fit in at the same time. This is important for our pair...they are very attached even when not mating & get downright nasty when seperated. The humidity needs to be fairly high or they can develop scale problems. They also need a good sized bath bowl (we use a dish pan) so that they can play in the water...they spend a lot of time 'playing' in it...they swim, blow bubbles, soak, and mate there. Ours also seem to enjoy climbing. In terms of temps, we actually keep a pretty large gradient. Over 90 on the one end, below 70 on the other. They seem to spend equal amounts in both ends & in the middle soooo.... : Ours are fed rats (or several mice if we run out of rats). They can be a little moody about their feeding. Usually they prefer to eat very early in the morning (like 5 am...yuck, but we're up for work anyway). Evening & night feeding is much less reliable than early morning. : Same for the youngsters, except everything is smaller. The little ones seem very shy...they like to eat from within their hide boxes. Of course, if I offer food early enough in the morning, they'll eat till they explode. : good luck : -kris : (if you haven't gotten one yet & would like to see some & are in Denver area, let me know)

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