I have been quite busy lately and have not had a chance to post in a while. Just wanted to make some comments on some very good earlier posts I’ve read.

Danny, it was great to hear that your female dropped again. It is amazing how consistent the litter sizes are with greens with respect to the length of the female when you count both live young plus unfertilized ova. A 12 to 13 foot female will invariably drop from 20 to 25 young/ova in a litter. With 14 footers dropping around 25 to 30 and 15 footers dropping 30 to 35 young/ova. I will be able to test this again when breeding a proven 16 footer here in a couple of months. I would be interested in the stats on the young you produced if you get a chance.

Ben, great breeding shots you took. It looks like you have a pretty good chance of producing several litters this year. I would also be interested in the stats of the young on any greens that you produce this year. What are the sizes and ages of the female greens that are breeding for you this year? Also, those headshot photos you posted a few weeks back were excellent, and you have one of the most diverse groups of greens I have seen. I was particularly interested in the greens shown in the 3rd and 6th photos. They showed the ocular stripe colors that were more of the green background color typical of Amazon basin specimens. Most of the greens Jud and I work with are of this type. Do you know the histories on them by any chance?

One thing I have noticed when breeding greens is that the first sign of a female preparing to go into breeding mode is the major increase in appetite. Usually a few months before breeding commences, the females appetite picks up and she becomes a much more aggressive feeder than usual. I have noticed this with every female we have bred and it is a pretty good indicator that she is preparing to enter into a breeding cycle.

Another comment I read from someone was the question of housing an adult pair of greens together with reference to the issue of cannibalism. It has been reported on several occasions that adult female greens in breeding condition have killed and eaten males in the wild. There have been a number of greens kept as adult pairs or in breeding groups in zoos for many years that have not experienced cannibalistic behavior toward the males. Jud or I have likewise never seen anything even resembling this type of behavior with our breeding trials. I would have to assume that these females in the wild have taken those males in an attempt to add to their energy stores for the impending pregnancy. In captivity, females are typically well fed and in great shape for breeding, and are probably not near as inclined toward this type of action.

Thanks again for your postings,

Kelly

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