I see two possible problems that could be an issue with getting her to feed. The first is the cage temp. A day temp of 92 is way too warm for a green and will severely stress her. They actually require cooler temps than most other boids. I usually have a spot of about 25% of the cage floor at 88 to 90 for neonate greens and the rest of the substrate temp in the low 80’s. When they get about the size of yours, I usually run 86 to 88 on the warm side with a gradient to about 80 on the cool side both day and night, except during breeding trials with large adults. Below substrate heating is always best as interior cage heating lowers humidity.

However, humidity is not as critical as most people think with greens. I have been keeping neonates and adults with a humidity of 60% to 70% for over 10 years now and have never had feeding or health problems whatsoever. Additionally, I never have anything but a small drinking bowl in the cages of any of my greens. If raised this way from birth, they never require a soaking pool. They do not appear to miss it, as they feed, breed, and produce healthy young with no problem. Yours being a wild caught green however, you will probably need to use a pool as she is already acclimated to submergence in water. The rest of your setup sounds good.

The second issue could be related to health. If wild caught, you will need to get a fecal sample checked for parasites when possible. This is obviously difficult if she is not feeding, but if you can’t get her to feed, she will still produce an occasional small amount of material. Ducklings will probably be your best bet for a first feeding, and then try to switch her over to rats as soon as possible by scenting. I think if you lower the temps she will be less stressed and much more likely to feed. Also, Mike is correct in that captive bred and born greens are very much easier to get going than wild caught, as many wild caught greens never acclimate and end up dying. Yours is still young however and there is a good chance that she will come around if you are willing to spend the effort. Good luck.

Kelly

[ Hide Replies ]

• anaconda problem - lizardman687, Fri Dec 15 11:39:28 2006
• RE: anaconda problem - boapaul, Fri Dec 15 14:55:27 2006
• Fish. Have you tried fish? - boaphile, Fri Dec 15 15:45:22 2006
• Starting anacondas..... - Kelly_Haller, Fri Dec 15 17:15:40 2006
• RE: Starting anacondas..... - lizardman687, Sat Dec 16 08:42:46 2006
• RE: Starting anacondas..... - heffner2212, Sat Dec 16 12:29:12 2006
• A couple of stress issues here.... - Kelly_Haller, Sat Dec 16 15:25:44 2006