While I do discourage the use of soaking pools for green anacondas in private collections, I would also see no problem with their use if designed and maintained in the manner that Shane has in his post below (Sept. 3). The steps he has taken to limit bacterial growth, maintain proper water temperatures, and keep the system clean is admirable, and definitely what is required to make these pool setups work successfully, and not cause additional health and stress issues.

The problem is most people that maintain anacondas in private collections are many times unable (time constraints), or sometimes not disciplined enough, to put the necessary work into these pool systems to maintain them properly. Contaminated pool water is a serious stressor and health concern with captive greens, not to mention the ability to keep this water at the proper temps. The ability of water to conduct heat from the body of a submerged animal is under estimated by many, and it is critical to maintain these pools around 80 F to avoid rapid cooling to below optimal body temps with this species. This is especially true with individual specimens that will stay in these pools for extended periods even when the water is well below optimal temps. And this is where the cleaning issue is so critical, because this warmer pool water encourages accelerated bacterial growth as well.

These are some of the issues I have with the use of pool systems for captive green anacondas. While I definitely do not feel that they are needed for the captive maintenance of greens, I do believe that if one is willing to put the work into it that Shane has, I feel that these pools could easily generate natural behavior in this species not seen with other setups. However, I still cannot overly stress the importance of close attention and proper maintenance with the use of these systems.

Kelly

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