Reptile & Amphibian Forums

wow i jusr saw my spelling...on the last post...i was watching "the thing" Kurt russell version...good movie.
ok here we go....
1)when should i try to feed him?i was guessing about wed.
he is big enough for a medium rat...yes it will be frzn/thwd.
2)as i stated earlier both handlings on sat were odddly pleasant,should i be worried?he is not letharigic at all like i said,but i was really expecting evil,a guy at my work was first to take him out of the bag,and he got bit reeeall good
3)it have read if not kept with large bodies of water from birth they do fine,providing humidity levels are adequate,i am just gonna assume he has been kept with water,is it to late to do this,should i just accept the litter pan of water?
ok that's all i can think of at this point.
thanks again....
rob
p.s. anyone from philly?
p.s.s. anyone like metal music?reeall heavy stuff?

Hey rob,
I'm not an expert or anything, just an amateur, so take my opinion with a grain of salt if u like, but i figured i would weigh in and try to help if i could.

I would wait to feed him until at least the weekend, give him time to acclimated. You said he had decent girth, so i doubt he's starving. Give him a little while just to get used to his surroundings and become accustomed to you.

As far as his temprement, as strange as it might be, it's not a shocker really. You may have been the first person to ever sit down and try to handle it peacefully and it's recognizing you as not a threat. It's a little unusual that a possibly WC anaconda would have a good temprement, but stranger things have happened lol. Usually a good temprement with this type would mean it's feeling sick and isn't even going to fight back, but with it being curious and active, u may have caught a break so to speak. It seems like it's not too far gone to get this one into a good pet. Your friend getting bit isn't a shocker at all, anacondas hate being put into bags or containers (learned that the hard way lol) for some reason, moreso than most other snakes. You may have already thought of this or someone else might have already said it too, but i would take it in to a vet and get a health check. It's probly got a parasite load, need to get a fecal exam.

You don't have to put them in water, i don't really think it's a MUST, but i do know they like it. It helps adhere to their natural instincts. The thing with Anacondas are that they are most similar in actions to crocodilians in some ways. They prefer to be in the water more than anywhere else, keeping their head just barely over the surface. In the wild, they hunt by waiting near the edge of a watering whole for an animal to drink, grab it and pull it in the water and drown it. It provides security for them and keeps them wet and happy. I would do it just to make ur conda happy, but that's up to you, maybe someone else will have a more conclusive assessment.

Jason

Not from Philly, but luv heavy metal, very heavy metal. What are your favs? Mine are Slipknot, 40 Below Summer, Chimaira, Killswitch Engage, Machine Head, Devil Driver, American Head Charge, Nothingface, Otep, Mudvayne, DKL, Bloodsimple, System of a Down, Bleeding Through, Trivium.....i could go on forever really lol.

I hope the info helps, sorry about what happened, that really sucks. It's people like that that are ruining buying snakes over the net and making it so that nobody can be trusted anymore. Maybe he'll take a long walk off a short cliff...wouldn't that be nice?

thanks jason...i appreciate the help.i dig about 90% of the bands you listed...so you should go here and listen to mine.
www.myspace.com/notch45music

Anything to help bro....

Checked out your band's site....pretty good man, damn good band, especially considering ya'll haven't been together long. Funny coincedence, I used to be vocals for a metal band awhile back lol. I had a feeling when i saw your screen name that you were a metal singer. Only people into it would have noticed, throat or vox, or whatever we are calling metal singers nowadays lol. Pretty good band, i'm impressed. You have any demos or anything you're working on? I was in a 4-piece band called 9th Life (not my idea for the name lol). We sounded like a hybrid of Tool meets Mudvayne. I finally quit b/c they wanted to be more like Staind or Nirvana so I bolted. I plan on joining another one after i move, i'm moving up to Tennessee in a few months so I might stand a chance of finding a decent band for once. Stupid "Hotlanta" and their freakin Hip Hop is killing me lol.

thanks for all the kind words man...no demos yet,MAYBE THIS SUMMER....
i am glad you enjoyed...

Well Rob, I would like to be the first to agree your spelling was terrible. There was a lot of your first post I could not understand at all. While Kurt Russell is a very funny guy, I can see how his movies can temporarily lower IQs : )

I never figured out if this was a green or yellow anaconda. Either way I think both can do well when raised without large water dishes. Kelly Haller does this with his greens and I have been doing it with my yellows and they are doing great. With my green I take away her large water dishes for short or long periods of time, but since she seems to be heavily reliant on the security of it, I keep it available. I think it is not too late to try and switch. It makes it much easier to maintain a sterile environment. If the snake does well, I would say to give it a shot. The reason I still temporarily rid large water in my greens enclosure despite her love of it...is it allows for more frequent disinfections, and I think the balance works well for her.

Rob, if you have been working with snakes since you were 11 and you are now 26...I think you know how to feed it. Wednesday with a medium rat sounds fine to me if you are seeking a second opinion.

If the snake is not lethargic, I am not surprised by any temperment in an anaconda. Your snake sounds fine.

thank you very much for your oh so kind words,talk about twisting the knife on the spelling...this is a green conda,and i am telling you not lethargic,but still so very calm...maybe this snake will do just fine...as far as KNOWING when to feed the snake,you should read jasons reply,it differ's heavily from yours,and such is the case quite often in husbandry of most animals...i do appreciate all advice though...

Well Rob...my remarks on your spelling was tongue in cheek after your obviously light hearted self admitting remarks. I thought I was joking with you about it. Sorry if you were offended. I did not mean any abrasiveness.

The feeding....
I read his remarks. I was assuming this was a yellow for some reason. You mentioned you would be feeding Wednesday. This means you would have had the snake for nearly a week and I think both you and I know the few days to make a full week is somewhat trivial. The one week advice is a rule of thumb offered by pet stores. Being an experienced snake keeper I assumed you would be able to make a judgment call. And I agreed with your call. Sorry once again if this upset you.

With a green anaconda I am going to say I have seen them go either way. I am going to assume it will want chicks and Wednesday should still be fine. If it is wild caught I wish you the best. I have seen some do alright and others die rather shortly. I would say if you get it feeding and healthy within the first 6 months...your snake will likely be fine. If it is not going to make it I would guess it will not make it in less than 6 months.

But this is not claimed to be expert advice. Only advise from what I have seen.

On the subject of "digging the knife in deeper" I would like to mention the internet is often a misunderstood form of communication. You can not see facial expressions or hear tone of voice. I figured by your comments on your spelling you were able to joke about it. And being a big fan of Big Trouble in Little China...I thought the Kurt Russel comments were something you could connect to : ) (and I added the smile in the first post to try and assure the message went through without a harsh tone)

"The one week advice is a rule of thumb offered by pet stores."

So you had to throw me under the bus, huh? So i'm offering pet store advice lol. Just to let u know, I know that one week doesn't need to be an exact science or anything. It's all about judgement. I rarely wait a week to feed a new snake. I wait till i think they are acclimated and seem used to their home. That could be anywhere from 1 day to a week at times. I'm not offended at all, i'm half-joking as i write this anyway. I just don't want people to think I'm offering advice that i got from a pet store....that's just a little insulting lol.

Btw, what the hell is with people always bickering on the boards. I've seen it in almost every board out there. Is it a requirement that all us herp lovers be argumentative and sarcastic in order to join? I just find it funny how people get offended by everything so easily. Who gives a rat's ass? We're all here for the same reason, our love of snakes, or any other herp that happens to be your fancy. In summation, let's all get along and stop wasting our time [bleep]ing at each other.

just my 2 cents....

I am not throwing you under the bus : )

I am also with you on the jokes and I do not like the bickering either. We all share the same interest.

I really did not mean any harsh comments toward either of you. I thought we were on the same page but I guess I felt the need to elaborate when Rob did not pick up on it. It is my responsibility as well to get the correct message to him and I see from his response to it..I somewhat failed.

The one week is a rule of thumb. I see you know this. I am sure Rob understands this. He just mentioned your advise was different than mine and I wanted to make it clear it really wasn't.

I understand your side because a week is just a safe and easy thing to say. You could say "around 3 days" "around 10 days" "around 5 days" "around 7 days"...but give it a week is easy enough.

I just wanted to give the advise to let him know his judgement was probably good...but I guess it did not come out right on screen

Like this african rock picture?

It's all good, I just like to yah a hard time

No worries, I know you didn't mean to come off rude to anyone. The one thing i hate about writing versus talking in person, you have no idea how they mean it, sometimes an innocent comment can be construed as sarcastic or superior, etc.

The key is we're both just trying to help a fellow herper and that's all there is to it. As far as i'm concerned we're all good, i take no offense, nor did i ever really lol.

Luv the pic! Is it yours? how big/old? I've been thinking about getting a rock, I'd love to have an opinion on them.

yes i do like it...ya know it has been about 4 year since i have owned any reptiles and i'll tell ya they are like tattoos...when you get the itch one ain't enough.in the past 3 weeks i have aquired 0.0.2 crested geckos,which are the neatest little buggers)the conda(green).and the biggest meanest leopard gecko i have ever seen in my life,which is the only reason i took him,for his aggression and rediculous size...otherwise it would be like bob clark keeping a garter snake...

nope no bickering here...i would rather just turn the comp. off than argue with someone i can't punch(see you didn't think that was a joke did you but i was laughing i swear).thanks again for the advice on the snake,and the comments on the band...i am quite happy...

aaaww it was all good...still laughing over hear as i was typing it!and really no all your insight was greatly appreciated...thank you very much.
3000 miles to graceland was a good one.