Reptile & Amphibian Forums

thought about before as well. I believe there are several issues involved when looking at the low number of large greens in captivity today. Obviously a large green is a female, and in captivity is either captured in the wild as an adult, or raised from a neonate to a large adult size. When looking at the very low number of large wild caught anacondas, it is not so much their availability, but their survivability in captivity that limits the number of them. Wild adult greens are very prone to stress, and their capture, transport, and confinement, is usually more stressful than most of them can tolerate. I think I could safely say that probably only about one percent of wild caught adult greens survive for extended periods in captivity. And the older and larger they are, the less likely they are to survive. I have kept, and have been around a number of wild caught greens in the late 70’s and 80’s, and none of them ever did well in captivity. I saw one wild caught green in a collection many years ago that was around 20 feet, that was probably half of it’s original body weight. It was fairly obvious that it had probably not fed in well over a year. This is why I am adamantly opposed to the importation of sub-adult and adult greens. As for raising neonates to a large size, this has occurred a few times, but is still fairly rare. This is mostly due to the very limited number of captive born or even wild caught young greens available in the past. And this has a lot to do with demand, as the vast majority of wild caught young greens are quite aggressive. Additionally, as you mentioned, greens grow much more slowly than the larger python species. Female greens grow fairly rapidly for the first 4 or 5 years, and then slow considerably when they get around 12 to 14 feet. Greens of 15 feet or better are growing at a few inches per year at best, slowing even more with increasing age. A green at 20 feet would be of extreme age, not to mention one in the range of 25 feet. This span of time required for them to acquire a great size not only limits the number of really large greens in the wild, but also in captivity.

As far as maturity, the youngest female green to have produced young that I know of was about 4 years old. I think 5 or 6 would be a better bet for breeding age on a female. I have posted a couple of photos below that show two different females I have. The smaller one was 4 and the larger was 8 years of age when these photos were taken. As the dynamics of green reproduction in captivity become more apparent, the more greens you will probably see being raised to larger sizes. But it may be awhile.

Kelly

Thanks for the reply Kelly. I often have wondered the reasons for this. We all see these claims that they can reach huge lengths but seldom see it. If they were to reach enormous lengths you would think in captivity is the place with a steady supply of food and zero parasites to ingest. I can see what you are getting at, and it makes sense. Even with all the retics and burms there are few giants out there in the captive sector. Too many people buy them for the wrong reasons and the animal suffers in the end. Just look at any forum, they are all filed with photos of hatchlings or neonates with few being true adults. Its sad if you ask me. Especially when my incubator is ready to show the results. How many will make it adulthood...very few.

Thanks again,
Jim

nice conda love it
i would definatly have 1 of those if i didnt live in australia

thanks for the pics showing

cheers
ben....

it most assuredly takes commitment, dedication, and a high quality of care to raise one of the big four up into the 17 to 18 foot range and beyond. There are few of them around that will truly measure in this range and above. Many say they have them, but most quickly shrink when the tape measure is actually applied. You are correct on the numbers actually reaching their potential adult size. I am certain it is well under one-tenth of one percent.

Kelly

>>Just look at any forum, they are all filed with photos of hatchlings or neonates with few being true adults. Its sad if you ask me. >>Thanks again,
>>Jim

One thing to consider is that many people who have large collections might simply choose not to photograph their larger animals. This may be for a number of reasons: #1-Babies are better looking. #2-Their adults aren't so hot lookin. #3-Smaller snakes are easier to frame in a photograph! I think that #3 is a big issue for many people-myself included. I find that once my retics hit about 10ft I quit photographing them, namely because it is difficult to do well! That, combined with an overabundance of snakes that fit in a frame well and are caged in a manner that allows for decent lighting (i.e. hatchlings), my photography of large snakes all but stops. I have 4 16ft+ girls and a few 10-14ft retics-in each instance there is a negative correlation with size and their "picture-posting" frequency.

Or, big snakes never make it in captivity

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~Brian Ott

www.squamations.com

Thank you for posting that. It is something people should look at. I am sorry I have not been around here to be reading lately but I would have loved to get more into this topic. The dedication it takes to greens is something I like to talk about and a big reason I take the time to get our exhibits booked at educational reptile shows and conventions.

With this being said, I can mention it is not always the easiest thing just getting young greens up to size. I am not quick to let people forget how difficult this girl I have has been. I have probably put the more time and money into checking any health issues I think could be happening than all of my other snakes combined. She is "picky." She took forever to get going and she stops eating for extended periods of time for seemingly no reasons. I am still trying to piece together the notes I have taken to try and see any patterns. It is "splashy."

It is great when she is eating regularly (thank God right now because I have been running on 3 hours of sleep a day and I cn use the lighter load of frustrastion from her), but she will always keep me on my toes.

She is just pushing 6 ft and starting to fill in after a fast, but I would still say around 2,000 g. For a female green that will be three years old in a few weeks, I would say she is growing quite slowly.

I say all this because while I would not consider her a "normal" case, I would still factor in that these things happen even with young greens. Just another reason to add to your already mentioned reasons for not seeing greens.

I am still curious to see how she grows into adulthood.