Elsa - Vietnamese Blue Beauty Snake...!!!!!

Here I thought my lady only had eyes for me...

We were headed to loop around to the last isle of the reptile expo in White Plains, NY. It was a cool show and only my second one. I was enjoying the great animals on site and talking with breeders, some whom I’ve seen on YouTube and what not like Vin Russo. Enjoying the company of a few forum members here like Dakski Dave and Katie SunshineWalker and Avraham the bp.net fantasy guru.

I was lagging a bit behind and I turn the corner and practically see her drooling over a display case. I was like hmmm what could be going on here. There were a few other folks around taking pictures and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Until, low and behold, I take in an animal I had never seen before in person and only saw a few instagram posts of. Now I knew why everyone was gathered around... ELSA!

My lady started rambling off the questions. Have I heard of them, what are they like why is she so blue and crazy colored and patterns. We had a nice chat with the vendor who gave us some more info. He said she wasn’t her usual self at the show and was a bit agitated but as long as he’s had her she was fairly well behaved. I asked to hold her and he said she wasn’t so friendly earlier in the show when someone asked but I just had to.

Well she was as sweet as pie once I had her out and I was beginning to get sucked in as well....

So, without further drama. Here she is... the ice princess herself.

Sorry for the crap pictures. I really wasn’t planning on getting anything at all so it was quite the rush for a viv set up and to get her comfy ASAP. I didn’t snap any pics at the show or once out of the bag so here are a few from the glass of her cage.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1025fe1bc0.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...45e1bc9cbe.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9c1633c52a.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...238e7eb5c5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...985823b54e.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Those Asian rats are astonishingly gorgeous.
Great pick-up.

So jealous!! Super awesome addition; I would love to grab one one day

Love her. You should get a male so you can breed me a girl of my own. LOL.

Thank you all! I really appreciate it.

Adding her to the mandarin rat I already have. I suppose I have quite an affinity for them as well!

maaayve sky maybe. But no breeding plans for me yet. Just a collector. That bug has never really bit me. It didn’t in the aquarium hobby or now in reptiles.

But never say never right??

Beauty Phillydubs.

More importantly, special purchase. Your lady fell in love with her. She's come a long way. Katie too. Nice to share our passions with the ones we love. It's also nice to open the eyes of people we love to new things and experiences. I know Katie is happy to have the reptile crew in her life now.

Funny, and not to steal your thread, but of all my hobbies; racing cars, smoking/aging cigars, drinking/collecting whiskey, flying RC airplanes, and keeping reptiles, I wasn't sure the reptiles thing was the one she would catch on to. Hey, beggars can't be choosers! I'll take it!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dakski

Beauty Phillydubs.

More importantly, special purchase. Your lady fell in love with her. She's come a long way. Katie too. Nice to share our passions with the ones we love. It's also nice to open the eyes of people we love to new things and experiences. I know Katie is happy to have the reptile crew in her life now.

Funny, and not to steal your thread, but of all my hobbies; racing cars, smoking/aging cigars, drinking/collecting whiskey, flying RC airplanes, and keeping reptiles, I wasn't sure the reptiles thing was the one she would catch on to. Hey, beggars can't be choosers! I'll take it!

---

Well said and thanks for the love. Was a fun and memorable day for sure. I enjoyed it!!

Excellent addition. It's been quite a while since I had Taiwan Beauty rat snakes...I never found them to be "bitey" either, but they are more active snakes than many
are used to, & I think some people just get bit because they over-restrict them when handling. Gold or blue, these are fun snakes to have around.

She's a beauty for sure!!

Congrats, my dude!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Excellent addition. It's been quite a while since I had Taiwan Beauty rat snakes...I never found them to be "bitey" either, but they are more active snakes than many
are used to, & I think some people just get bit because they over-restrict them when handling. Gold or blue, these are fun snakes to have around.

---

Thank you! How long ago did you own some?

care to share any other experiences?

this is a very refreshing comment because I was having a what did I get myself
into moment once getting home and doing some
internet searching and all the top hits were nasty animals.

You were actually a funny funny topic of convo during the show. Dave and I were at a booth selling the likeness of your username and I was like that’s the member on the forum as if grasping to remember your name and then I was like duhhh it’s written on the deli cup in front of my face

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by craigafrechette

She's a beauty for sure!!

Congrats, my dude!!

---

Thanks man! She sure is a looker. Quite wild to take in in person at first

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Phillydubs

Thanks man! She sure is a looker. Quite wild to take in in person at first

---

I can imagine. I've only seen them in pics, which I'm sure do them no justice.

She's gorgeous man, awesome name for a beautiful pickup. Great meeting you at the show yesterday, same to Dakski and Sunshinewalker[emoji847]

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Phillydubs

Thank you! How long ago did you own some?

care to share any other experiences?

this is a very refreshing comment because I was having a what did I get myself
into moment once getting home and doing some
internet searching and all the top hits were nasty animals.

You were actually a funny funny topic of convo during the show. Dave and I were at a booth selling the likeness of your username and I was like that’s the member on the forum as if grasping to remember your name and then I was like duhhh it’s written on the deli cup in front of my face

---

Been about 13 years since- had them for about 10. I ended up downsizing & moving a long way, so mine stayed in California with other rat snake aficionados.

Tall cages with branches are used & greatly appreciated. These are "rat" snakes but more like racers- they don't sit still much- fun to watch, but not mean, IMO.

They're only "nasty" for those who fail to grasp their essential nature- don't over-restrain them. Enthusiastic eaters too. Like most snakes, it greatly helps to get

them when young & handle them now & then. A wild-caught wouldn't be fun...:rolleyes: But captive-bred like the ones I had, very few nips & only from hatchlings.

(I only had the gold/black version, Taiwan Beauty, not the blue Vietnamese version, but I think they're very similar?)

BTW, this is the perfect snake to convert a large piece of wood furniture for an impressive display & a happy snake with room to move
and bask.

Nice pickup pal, I nearly got a Mandarin before my SD retic:-)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Been about 13 years since- had them for about 10. I ended up downsizing & moving a long way, so mine stayed in California with other rat snake aficionados.

Tall cages with branches are used & greatly appreciated. These are "rat" snakes but more like racers- they don't sit still much- fun to watch, but not mean, IMO.

They're only "nasty" for those who fail to grasp their essential nature- don't over-restrain them. Enthusiastic eaters too. Like most snakes, it greatly helps to get

them when young & handle them now & then. A wild-caught wouldn't be fun...:rolleyes: But captive-bred like the ones I had, very few nips & only from hatchlings.

(I only had the gold/black version, Taiwan Beauty, not the blue Vietnamese version, but I think they're very similar?)

BTW, this is the perfect snake to convert a large piece of wood furniture for an impressive display & a happy snake with room to move
and bask.

---

Thank you this is great and much appreciated. From what I understand of the snakes you mention they all come from a similar family with somewhat similar behaviors but obviously vary in size and xolor
and pattern and temperament a bit.

Thats not a bad idea in regards to the furniture piece. We should have a dumpster diving furniture build. Lol

i can’t lie I was about to post a thread on garbage picking for the hobby. My last two snake stands we’re neighbors pieces of furniture they were about to trash. Lucky for me my neighbors have good taste !!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Avsha531

She's gorgeous man, awesome name for a beautiful pickup. Great meeting you at the show yesterday, same to Dakski and Sunshinewalker[emoji847]

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

---

Thank you man! Sure was a fun and exciting day. All racing around to gather things for our pick ups.

If you woukd have told me we’d all go home w animals I would have been like nah lol. Was def memorable.

- - - Updated - - -

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Justin83

Nice pickup pal, I nearly got a Mandarin before my SD retic:-)

---

Thanks man. Mandarins are much different than these but about as equally as gorgeous !

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Phillydubs

Thank you man! Sure was a fun and exciting day. All racing around to gather things for our pick ups.

If you woukd have told me we’d all go home w animals I would have been like nah lol. Was def memorable.

- - - Updated - - -



Thanks man. Mandarins are much different than these but about as equally as gorgeous !

---

Lol I definitely would have said the same for all of us[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Congrats, she's beautiful!! Blue beauties are definitely my favorite species of rat snake.

Oh, & you'll probably want to use your longest tongs for feeding f/t, lol....especially when they get big, they have quite a "reach" & are very alert. ;)

I gave mine (as adults) a large glass salad bowl for drinking & bathing...they will use it now & then, & it doesn't mean they have mites.

Good hunting :gj: on the furniture re-purposing. If your neighbors don't have a nice wardrobe or china hutch, try thrift stores.

Beautiful pick up...love the color!

Congrats Philly!! Blue beauty's are very stunning, very fast and very temperamental...Although I did see a YouTube video of a guy having a blue beauty and it was puppy dog tame, but its very rare. I hope Elsa says on the calmer side for you... Thanks for sharing!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dianne

Beautiful pick up...love the color!

---

Her color is just outrageous. And she’s just these icy shades of light to dark.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jus1More

Congrats Philly!! Blue beauty's are very stunning, very fast and very temperamental...Although I did see a YouTube video of a guy having a blue beauty and it was puppy dog tame, but its very rare. I hope Elsa says on the calmer side for you... Thanks for sharing!

---

I sure hope so!!

they way I look at it is that I have held her during some very stressful times for her

at the show when she was already annoyed and was still chill then home after being in a bag for a good 4 hours and she again was chill. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed and plan to work with her.

Very smart aware and alert snakes. I also hear they can pick up scent and know their owners and some add clothing to the viv for scenting reasons. I dunno about that just some stuff I read

Feeding her tomorrow. The breeder held her back because of the show, so time to see how she eats.

Im pretty interested to see her feed response.

There she is!! She's beautiful Phil, congrats :gj:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RickyNY

There she is!! She's beautiful Phil, congrats :gj:

---

Thank you sir! I’ll get some better pics soon once she takes some food.

I also am getting more tank decor today and once she digests plan to move her flrma
bit and spruce up the enclosure.

I ynderstand these are chrikus snakes who like to climb and be out and about.

I picked up a great piece at the show but I want more and some vegetation around

Congrats she's gorgeous!!! Always found beauty snakes enchanting so Elsa is incredibly suiting!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MissterDog

Congrats she's gorgeous!!! Always found beauty snakes enchanting so Elsa is incredibly suiting!

---

Why thank you! She sure is a looker!

she just took down her first meal with me and with ease.

Very happy thus far.

I let Elsa digest her meal and took her out to look her over and check this bit of stuck shed that she had on the very tip of her tail. I tried to get it off when I first got her but it was stuck pretty good and she was stressed enough so I tried to bump humidity and see if it helped but it didn’t.

So today she came out and rather easy. She gave me the open mouth defense just briefly to start but once out she was a sweet heart and very fun to handle. A mover and a thinker but not racing all over the place.

I then began to work the tail a bit and held a wet towel over it for a few min and it worked. It came off and I was very relieved.

Here she is :

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...bfd96741c3.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...5702cd1ade.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0fa7c969c5.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9a9e24d6db.jpg




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My Florida rat snakes do that too, check the ceiling to see if there's anything to grab onto, lol...I enjoy the "rat snake personality" the most, they're outgoing
& nosy, yet handle just fine. Sometimes mine will settle into my arms like a babe, other times it's "let's explore", but either way, they're never boring. Looks
like you picked a winner & she seems happy with you too. Rather than loop them around your neck when full-grown, they adapt very well as "living belts". :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

My Florida rat snakes do that too, check the ceiling to see if there's anything to grab onto, lol...I enjoy the "rat snake personality" the most, they're outgoing
& nosy, yet handle just fine. Sometimes mine will settle into my arms like a babe, other times it's "let's explore", but either way, they're never boring. Looks
like you picked a winner & she seems happy with you too. Rather than loop them around your neck when full-grown, they adapt very well as "living belts". :D

---

Hahah!! Too funny!

Thanks for the advice and help. I too enjoy that rat snake persona. The bigger colubrids, my cribo, king and now her all act and are very similar. Very well thought out and love to explore

Very cool pick up. How is her temperment now home?

She's a beauty and has some good size to her! Glad she is settling in well for you :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MR Snakes

Very cool pick up. How is her temperment now home?

---

Thanks! Today was really day one for me other than the expo and getting her out of the bag once I had the enclosure set up.

She wasnt bad at all, I started with a hook for her just to adjust and go slow. We will see how it goes. I got the open mouth stay away when I first put my skin on her mid section but after that she relaxed. I got a few huffs I would say more than hisses as I worked her tail shed off. She had plenty of opportunity to be nasty or scared or pop and defend and she did nothing. That piece was grabbing pretty tight therd was a slight indent so I’m very happy I worked to get it off. I started to hear some horror stories of stuck end tail shed and I didn’t want that to happen to her.

Ill keep reporting on how it goes as things settle in here. She sure is a beauty.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by WhompingWillow

She's a beauty and has some good size to her! Glad she is settling in well for you :)

---

She sure does. She coils up rather well. When you see her extended and feel those pronounced scales she’s nice looking and packing some beef. With more to come!

Id be lying if I said I knew all about these snakes and had to have one. It was just one of those things and so I began to look up info and seeing the size and personality that kept coming up , I was like ehhh. But glad I did it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Phillydubs

Hahah!! Too funny!

Thanks for the advice and help. I too enjoy that rat snake persona. The bigger colubrids, my cribo, king and now her all act and are very similar. Very well thought out and love to explore

---

By the way, I was serious about the "living snake belt" thing...if you guide them around your waist, they'll loop their tail around their body to hold together as a loop. :D
And sometimes they'll discover that your belt-loops are great "toe-holds" (the ones that are slender enough to thread thru them- my Florida rat snakes are too big now
for that). I've had a rat snake that remembered belt loops & happily made a point of threading into them time after time. :rofl: Silly sneks...

The nice thing about rat snakes is that none of this will make them refuse food or insist that it be heated to 100*...:rolleyes: (much less "fast")

Thank G-D you responded Phillydubs!

I thought for sure Elsa had either Frozen you solid, or worse, had kept singing "Let it Go" until you lost your mind and had to be committed!

Good to hear everything is okay and she's treating you well!

:sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm ::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcas m::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm:


Seriously, she's gorgeous! WOW! I imagine she will only get calmer with size and age and more handling. If she's a "cool" now, no pun intended, :), she will probably be awesome with some real size on her.

Mazel Tov! Seems like you got a good one!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

By the way, I was serious about the "living snake belt" thing...if you guide them around your waist, they'll loop their tail around their body to hold together as a loop. :D
And sometimes they'll discover that your belt-loops are great "toe-holds" (the ones that are slender enough to thread thru them- my Florida rat snakes are too big now
for that). I've had a rat snake that remembered belt loops & happily made a point of threading into them time after time. :rofl: Silly sneks...

The nice thing about rat snakes is that none of this will make them refuse food or insist that it be heated to 100*...:rolleyes: (much less "fast")

---

Haha maybe as I buildsome trust there I will give it a shot!

have any pics of your Florida rats? We saw a few at the recent show that were nice!

yea colubrids are very forgiving and can tolerate Much more it seems. But that’s why I like variety and the challenge of keeping a few different species. Keeps it fun and the mind going. My mandarin rat snake was my first snake as my ball python was on hold for delivery and he’s on the total other spectrum but still a cool snake with minimal requirements

Sorry, I really should get into taking photos...:oops:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dakski

Thank G-D you responded Phillydubs!

I thought for sure Elsa had either Frozen you solid, or worse, had kept singing "Let it Go" until you lost your mind and had to be committed!

Good to hear everything is okay and she's treating you well!

:sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm ::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcas m::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm:


Seriously, she's gorgeous! WOW! I imagine she will only get calmer with size and age and more handling. If she's a "cool" now, no pun intended, :), she will probably be awesome with some real size on her.

Mazel Tov! Seems like you got a good one!

---

Hardy har har... do you want to build a snow snake ...?

Haha. Yea if she stays on this path I think all will be good. She seems like a good one thus far. Time to see her grow. Her blues are quite intense. The camera makes her look Grey’s and silver but she’s anything but.

When i see her i think blue jay. We have some nice ones around here. The various shades of blue the white some black streaks. They are gorgeous and when I see her I see that. The baseball blue jays used to rock some uniform that makes me also connect them all. Crazy colors for a snake don’t see a ton of blue on any other snakes but maybe some rare and gorgeous gtp... right? I’m trying to think what else.

- - - Updated - - -

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Sorry, I really should get into taking photos...:oops:

---

No iphone? Android ?

Some of the pictures you can you really see the blues. Others, you are right, she looks grayish. Do the blues intensify with age or it's just an angle thing and a "the camera will never capture it right" thing?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Phillydubs

...No iphone? Android ?

---

Nope...very low tech, lol...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dakski

Some of the pictures you can you really see the blues. Others, you are right, she looks grayish. Do the blues intensify with age or it's just an angle thing and a "the camera will never capture it right" thing?

---

Min honestly not to sure how the color will go. She is pretty intense now. I could only hope she gets better but if she doesn’t I am fine with that. I tried to look at whatever pics I could find and videos and she to my eye and I guess the same “camera doesn’t do it justice” looks lighter colored and a bit more blue than most I’ve seen. But they are all very similar. One of those animals that are all very close in looks to each other.