# Colubrids > Ratsnakes >  Elaphe taeniura ridleyi care = that of the Vietnamese Blue Beauty?

## cassandra

Just curious if anyone can confirm that...their taxonomy is similiar, I would assume their husbandry is as well.

Vietnamese Blue Beauty Ratsnake = Elaphe taeniura
Cave Dwelling Ratsnake = Elaphe taeniura ridleyi

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## JLC

From what I've read, the Ridleyi is the cave-dwelling ratsnake.  I don't know if the Blue Beauties have a sub-species name or not.  


Typically, species/sub-species caresheets are similar.  You might try some research on exactly what sorts of environments they both live in in the wild and that will give you some huge clues about how to care for them and how the E.t.r compares to the E.t.

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## MedusasOwl

Blue Beauties are Elaphe taeniura ssp, so technically they're different from the ridleyi and Taiwanese but I think the care is close.  So far basic colubrid care but at 75-85 degrees is all I've really been able to find.  That and lossa room to stretch out!  :Wink:   I've found Elaphe taeniura also all sometimes grouped under "stripe tailed ratsnakes".

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## JLC

It amazes me how little is actually written on any of these snakes.  There's a million ball-python caresheets out there, and some of them are actually good...lol....therefore, I don't feel particularly compelled to write another one.  But if I were keeping any of these amazing ratsnakes, I would definitely be taking notes and writing stuff to share with other herpers.

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## Shelby

Cave dwelling ratsnakes are one of my favorite colubrids.. love the tail stripe. I don't know about husbandry, but I'd imagine it's similar to the other beauty snakes.

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## MedusasOwl

I was just reading an article (thanks for that magazine backstock link, Jo!) by Mike Humphrey about Blue Beauty breeding.  Interesting stuff!  It's a 2005 article and even there it says there really isn't much information on them.  

He did a few breeding experiments with them and found out that they're inclined toward maternal incubation more like a python, which is really wierd for a colubrid.  They apparently don't shiver like pythons do to keep them warm however, more like they guard them I guess. He let one female keep the eggs and misted them a lot as an experiment, and she only ever left them to eat and drink then returned to coiling around the eggs. He started to get worried about the humidity and he decided to remove them after 2 weeks, and she was very defensive about it (that'll be fun).  10 of the 13 eggs hatched. 

They're pretty strange snakes.  For a while people were thinking they were intergrade between yunnanensis and ridleyi, but they're now accepted as a seperate species.  I'm totally going to write up things as I learn and observe, I'm looking into doing a BB website as we speak.  :Smile:

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## cassandra

Neat, thanks for the information guys.

We really don't have room for more critters atm, but I like thinking about what I would get if I could. Saw some interesting ratsnakes available on EbN's website. =)

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