That Reptile Blog – Reptile, Amphibian and Exotic Pet Care and Information

Click: The Natural History and Captive Husbandry of the Taiwan Beauty Snake or Chinese Ratsnake, Orthriophis (formerly “Elaphe”) taeniurus friesei to read about the Natural History of the Taiwan Beauty Snake

Captive Husbandry
Space and Physical Requirements
Taiwan beauty snakes are quite active and require a larger cage than other similarly-sized snakes – they do not do well when cramped. A cage with sufficient height for climbing is a must – both for your pleasure in observing the animal, and for the snake’s well-being. A cage with the dimensions 3’(l) x 3’(w) x 5’(h) would be the minimum required by a 5 foot long individual.

The cage should be well perched with stout branches. Taiwan beauty snakes will also utilize vines, moving about them with a speed that leaves little doubt as to their abilities to capture squirrels, birds and other elusive prey. Hagen Bendable Vines interspersed among the branches will allow your pet to show off its natural behaviors to their best effect.

Taiwan beauty snake prefer an arboreal hideaway, and will readily take advantage of a forked branch hidden behind a screen of plants (Hagen Large Hanging Terrarium Plants are ideal). Particularly shy individuals will appreciate a piece of rolled cork bark wedged among the branches.

Light, Heat, Humidity
This species does not require a source of UVB light, but there is increasing evidence that UVA light is important in stimulating natural behavior and possibly in maintaining over-all good health. I suggest equipping your snake’s terrarium with a Coralife Reptile Bright Spotlight, which will supply both heat and UVA radiation.

A temperature of 80 F at the basking site will suffice – Taiwan beauty snakes do not seem to seek out the higher temperatures favored by some other tropical species. The ambient air temperature should fall 74 and 78 F.

Members of this genus favor slightly humid environments, but will suffer fungal and other skin disorders if not able to dry out as well. A light misting once or twice each day should suffice.

One Taiwan beauty snake that I kept invariably came to drink from the hose each morning when I misted her cage, but most will prefer a water bowl. The bowl should be large enough for soaking, as this species is prone to shedding difficulties if kept too dry. Be sure to spray the cage a bit more frequently at shedding time as well.

For arboreal snakes favoring humid environments, I use a substrate that holds moisture for awhile, but which dries out completely within a few hours after being misted. A mix of Keeper’s Choice Hardwood Bedding and Hagen Forest Bark Reptile Bedding works very well in this regard.

Feeding
Many arboreal snakes, such as the red-tailed ratsnake (Gonyosoma oxycephala), show a strong preference for feeding on birds, but I have not seen this with Taiwan beauty snakes. They do fine on a diet composed of mice and small rats.

Captive Longevity
Captives have lived in excess of 15 years.

Handling and Enrichment
Some individuals do adjust well to gentle handling, but in general this species is far better suited as an exhibit animal. Even well-habituated animals must be handled frequently, and starting from a young age, if they are to remain tractable. Taiwan beauty snakes do not take well to being grabbed and restrained, which complicate removal from the complex, branch-filled environments that suit them best.

Their high activity levels suit them well as subjects of observation, and in a large, naturalistic terrarium these snakes will provide you with fascinating glimpses into their lives. They appear much more alert than many species, and will investigate unusual movements around their cage. You can capitalize on this propensity by “scenting” their cage with novel odors – i.e. a snake or lizard shed, an egg – so that you can observe their reactions (in zoo circles, this is long-known practice is now termed “enrichment” and is currently very much in vogue).

Breeding
Taiwan beauty snakes may breed spontaneously, but consistent results have been obtained following a brumation (cooling-off) period of 3 months or so at 65-68 F. Most breeders chill their snakes between December and March, but this time period is likely not set in stone. Mating usually occurs within a month after the snakes are returned to optimal temperatures, with 6-10 eggs being deposited 40-60 days thereafter.

The eggs hatch in 55-62 days when incubated at 80-84 F and 95% humidity. The hatchlings average 12-16 inches long, and shed within their first 2 weeks. In contrast to many arboreal species, they do not prefer or need lizards or treefrogs, and will accept pink mice readily. Captives (this may vary in the wild) reach sexual maturity at approximately 18 months of age and 4.5 – 5 feet in length.

You can read more about the natural history and taxonomy of Asian ratsnakes at:
http://www.tigr.org/reptiles/species.php?genus=Orthriophis&species=taeniurus

Introduction
I’ve never quite understood why the aptly named Taiwan beauty snake did not soar in popularity as soon as it entered the pet trade. I was captivated by them from the moment I began looking after a group at the Bronx Zoo some 15 years ago, and added the species to the Staten Island Zoo’s collection when working on the reptile house renovation there. Today, these arboreal constrictors are beginning to receive some attention from hobbyists, and captive born young are frequently available.

NATURAL HISTORY

Classification
Taiwan beauty snakes are placed within the family Colubridae, and until recently were classified in the genus Elaphe, along with the corn, black rat and similar North American snakes that they superficially resemble. Eight to nine subspecies have been identified, but interbreeding where their ranges overlap complicates taxonomy. The group is often loosely referred to as the Asian ratsnakes.

Physical Description
The background color of these gorgeous snakes is yellowish tan/brown to olive, and a pair of joined black spots and smaller blotches mark the back. Along the last third of the body the color pattern abruptly changes – from here the snake is boldly marked with a band of yellow and 2 black stripes. Smaller blotches cross these, and a black stripe extends from the eye to the mouth’s corner. The ventral surface is creamy-white speckled with black.

The tail is highly prehensile, allowing for long strikes at fast-moving, arboreal prey.

This largest member of its genus averages 5-6 feet long, but occasionally approaches 9 feet in length.

Range
This subspecies is native to the island of Taiwan, but is possibly introduced to mainland China. Related subspecies range throughout much of India, China, Southeast Asia and Japan’s Ryukyu Islands.

This snake and its relatives, most of which are quite colorful, are sometimes kept in rural homes and barns for their rodent-catching abilities. This has resulted in range expansions for a number of beauty snake subspecies. As individuals are highly variable in appearance, and the subspecies readily interbreed, the taxonomy of the genus is unclear.

Habitat
Taiwan beauty snakes are quite adaptable, being found in forests, open woodlands, overgrown fields, swamps and suburban areas. If unmolested they will take up residence in barns, rural homes and agricultural fields. All beauty snakes are highly arboreal but will descend to the ground to hunt.

Status in the Wild
The wild status is largely unstudied, but it is known that the Taiwan beauty snake is hunted for the food, skin, pet and medicinal trade. However, it adapts well and may even benefit from some human presence, frequenting farms, trash dumps and abandoned buildings in search of rodents. Some range expansion has likely occurred via people who transport this snake (and related subspecies) from place to place as a rodent control measure.

Diet
Squirrels, rats, mice, bats and other small mammals, birds and their eggs; hatchlings feed largely upon treefrogs and lizards. Prey is overcome by constriction.

Reproduction
The 6-10 eggs are laid in May-June, but other than that reproduction in the wild is not well documented. Please see below for captive breeding information.

Miscellaneous
The Taiwan beauty snake’s threat display is very impressive – it compresses and inflates the first third of its body and rears up in an “S” shaped coil while facing the enemy and striking repeatedly.

Please check back Monday for information on the captive husbandry requirements of Beauty Snakes.

Image referenced from Wikipedia. First published by MSP. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Beautysnake.jpg