The first rat snake I ever bought was a Taiwan Beauty Rat Snake male back in 2011 or 2012. He was about 3.5 foot when I purchased him. He is now pushing 90” in length! In 2013, I acquired a yearling female from a breeder in California.
This year I decided to pair them up for my first attempt. The first pairing took place in the male’s cage early March. They were together for about 7 days. The second pairing took place early April. They were together again for about 10 days. The male did not eat at all after the initial pairing, and about a month after the last pairing attempt. He lost no weight.
The female continued eating, and in early May gave me 8 perfect eggs. I incubated at 79 degrees using moist HatchRite. My humidity was pretty close to 100% in the incubation container. Approximately 64 days later, my first hatchlings emerged. Hatchlings are roughly 14” in length out of the egg. Possibly more! I was fortunate to have twins in one of the eggs. So my overall count for this first clutch is 9 Taiwans.
I had a gorgeous leo for awhile but he was just too low key for me…my husband called him our “living taxidermy” lol. So he’s chillin at my mom’s where I can still check in nearly daily and do all the major upkeep, but I love my beardie. He’s so fun and tough. Leo’s are adorable but too much of a display pet for me.
Mine was super chill, she was 20 years old when she passed away. She loved laying by her heat rock and would just chill on my lap when I held her. She was a very healthy little old lady. I think she ended up passing away from the mouth rot she got. The vet and I did everything we could but she refused to eat anything but her beloved Freeze Dried Crickets and I think the pain was too much for her.
