jumping from corns to a taiwanese beauty

I'm a pretty new member to this site and to having a corn snake but i've been hit with the fever for more snakes, specifically rat snakes since then. Today, when waiting on a job interview at Petco, I saw that they had a taiwanese beauty snake for sale for $119. After doing some research, i've learned that the basic care is similar to that for corns, though there is a slight difference in aggression and a major difference in size and growth rate. Since i overbought for my current snake I have enough equipment for a whole new viv set-up, including food. I have a few questions and am looking for some advice.

Is this even a snake to consider buying as a new owner or might its size/aggression be too much?
Is the price ridiculous for a neonate taiwanese beauty?
should i just wait for the next reptile expo, which is in a little over a week? would buying through faunaclassified make more sense?

any advice would be appreciated. like I said, I'm pretty new at this, but I've been learning a lot.

My ex-bf was bitten by the reptile bug after starting to go out with me and his first snakes were Tai's. He was also bitten regularly by them thereafter, but it didn't seem to put him off!

I presume you can get mild-mannered Tais, but in my travels with him we never seemed to come across any. He always insisted on handling them rather than using a snake hook, but as I said, he was bitten often and robust leather gloves were a must. They are also a lot more muscular, bulky and stronger than a Corn. Wrangling them out into their feeding tanks was quite the wrestling match if they didn't fancy the idea. Spot-cleaning with the snake in the tank was simply not an option as they'd go for whatever warm thing entered the viv on the grounds that it might be edible!

A good thing about them was that they were voracious feeders and he never had one refuse a meal. They also seem to climb, so you need to be looking at a large, tall viv rather than a standard tank setup - not easy for a snake which can end up 8-9 feet long. The ex built a custom viv the size of a walk-in wardrobe, that he could stand up inside.

On the whole I'd see them more as display snakes rather than handleable pets as Corns are. It's a bit of a step up from a Corn but I wouldn't discourage you if you think you can cope, as I've seen them as "beginner" snakes.

A Taiwan beauty was actually my first exotic snake (after my "starters" of a few garters and a big bull snake) that I owned as a teenager many, many years ago. I had him for many years and took him to a lot of classrooms to meet kids - enjoyed him a lot over those years.

Later, I had a few more of the species and bred them. I always kept them in my corn snake room and treated them pretty much like really big corns. Although they do get quite large compared to corns, and they are often more aggressive than corns, I had no problem dealing with the adult, wild caught specimen I bought as a relatively inexperienced teen. I would rate the species as similar to large obsoleta rats, such as black or yellow rats. Although they often get even larger than native rats, I feel they are similar enough that if you are not intimidated by a large, wild caught black rat, you will probably be fine with an adult Taiwan,especially if you are raising it from a captive born baby.

Each person is different. I was never very intimidated by moderately large snakes, even when I was young and inexperienced. But I have met adults with a fair amount of snake experience who were totally put off by any snake that acted even slightly nervous or aggressive. You have to judge your own personality and reactions to know if it is a good choice for you.

$100+ seems a bit high for a baby. But shops have more overhead than home breeders. So it depends a lot on what your options are. If you like it and can afford it, and there are no breeders or shows nearby, it may be your best option. But I would not buy from any shop that houses babies together in one cage. They won't know for sure which is feeding, or regurging, or any other individual history. And if one in the cage is sick or has parasites, etc, then they all will likely share it. So hopefully this shop keeps them separately, and can convince you that it is healthy and has been kept appropriately since arriving at their shop.

Good luck!

I just read Bitsy's post. I would pretty much agree with it. I did get bitten a lot more from Taiwans than corns. But their bites were not especially bad - just a little worse than a corn. Nothing I worried about. I never wore gloves with them. And mine did tame down quite well after a while. But they always remained more nervous and alert than most corns. No big deal for me - but maybe would be for some.

And they are strong and more muscular than corns. I really liked that feeling of strength as they moved through my hands. More like a slender boa for strength, but like a colubrid for activity level.

And yes, they were great feeders, too. Babies were generally easier to start on mice than corns.

These are all attributes I liked - but some may feel differently. To each his own, lol!

I never had Tai Beauty snakes, but I had a pair of Vietnamese Blue Beauties. They were large, moderately aggressive, voracious of appetite, and not very easy to handle. My male was pushing 10' in length, and he absolutely HATED human interaction. He was the only in snake in my collection that I would not handle alone due to his size, strength, and attitude.

The sole reason I gave the pair away was to "protect" my daughter. She was very young, and my male beauty was quite capable of opening his cage, no matter how I tried to secure it. He was big enough, and she was small enough, that the idea of the two of them finding each other after an escape became a frightening scenario for me. He was big enough and aggressive enough to hurt my young daughter if he wanted to, so I gave the pair to someone else.

If you can deal with a large, moderately aggressive animal, they can be rewarding to keep. Very similar to corns in their care, but closer to large Coachwhips or Racers in temperment(in my opinion). If you're ready for a large snake that may not be tempered to frequent handling...go for it. You'll probably get bit a few times in the process, but...we all do...

I'll agree with just about everyone on here... I've got a close cousin of the Tai (also a VBB) and had a Tai a few years ago. VERY kewl and beautiful snakes. LOVE them. However, they are a bit more testy than corns and do get much bigger. I've never been bitten by one, but have been snapped at and have had those "I am going to bite you" looks VERY often. Be respectful of them and - even when bitten - you should find lots of enjoyment with your new friend.

They grow like WEEDS! LOL. Mine is a good 6 feet now...

The price you're looking at is about the same that I paid for mine. I couldn't find a local breeder and bought it CB from a local store (which has since closed... BOO!).

I really wanted one and held one at a rep show, a hatchling very cool. Until someone said you have blood running down your arm, sure enough it had tagged me. I wasn't dispelled by this, there is a forum just on beauty snakes very informative. I have to look it up again, but after reading that forum I decided against a beauty snake.

Petco is carrying Beauty snakes now? Wow!

My experience with Taiwans is very limited... I had an adult once, and have a yearling now.

The adult was my second snake ever. She was convinced everything (and I mean everything!) was edible. Not a good beginner snake (keeping in mind I'm factoring in her size and temperament in this statement), but I think she would have been great fun to have had I more experience with large and/or temperamental snakes at the time.

In the case of my yearling, she's actually fairly laid back. I have been bitten numerous times by her--on a few different occasions, she's decided I look very tasty and decided to repeatedly taste test my arm. Beyond that, though, she hasn't shown any defensive behavior.

They do get BIG. The adult I had was a good 6 ft or so, and very active. They are also a joy to keep... Very active and inquisitive snakes, both in and out of the cage. In my limited experience, they haven't seemed too complicated to care for, either--the most difficult thing, really, is the space needs of such a large, active colubrid.

As far as pricing goes... When I was looking at hatchlings last year, they seemed to be going for $75-ish plus shipping (looking at Fauna mainly). I wound up getting my girl for, I believe it was, $40 from a breeder at a local expo; she was the last one left from the previous season.

Probably best to wait for the expo and see what there is. Much better, IMO, to see if you can get one from a good breeder than from a place like Petco. It wouldn't hurt to take that extra time to do some more research and be sure it's what you want, as well.

"Taste-testing." It doesn't hurt... YET!


Soooo, Fred, when are you going to post some new pics of your big lovely lady?

Floof said:

Soooo, Fred, when are you going to post some new pics of your big lovely lady?

Click to expand...

LOL. I'll try to get some up as soon as it cools down here in AZ (STILL in the 100's!!!! The pics I like to take of her are when she's outside... in the grass or in the trees. The thing is, the trees are MUCH higher than they were a couple years ago... With my luck she'd be out of reach before I could get my camera on her. LOL.

PROMISE... this fall, there will be pics.

Geeze! I thought it was bad when we got up to the mid 90s for a day or two up here in the PNW. LOL! Well, those pics make one thing to look forward to this fall, then...

thanks for the advice everyone. I've been thinking a lot about this and think that perhaps this is not the snake for me. i need to learn to manage a large tamer snake before i can manage a large aggressive one. plus i have no space for such a large animal should one grow to the 10ft mark. I'll stick to smaller Rats (up to 8ft) until i've built up some experience.
Now I just have to hope the snake that I fell in love with last time is at the expo again. there's just something about the ones that bite when you interrupt their climbing. it's an almost charming belligerence.

I think you're making a good choice. I enjoyed working with Asian rats for a few years, but even more so I enjoy not having any now! Tell ya what though, you'll never again mind getting bitten by corn snakes. They are big and really aware and I appreciated them, but I had a couple that were downright intimidating, and seemed to attempt facial strikes. Yet another one of the same species would be calm as a black milk. Kind of like a crazy ex, I had some good times, but I don't miss them.