Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I absolutely love the look of the ATB but have not really looked on the care for them and I know some websites can be misleading. I was wondering do they bite a lot? how much do they cost? do they make good pets? how big do they get? do they like water? What should i use in terms of cage furnishings? What do they eat and how often? Im sorry for all the questions but i am very curious. all info is appreciated. Thanx

Hey,
Amazon tree boas... The good, the bad and the ugly. This best raps them up. They are highly aggressive arboreal boas, they do not make good pets at all. They more less make great display snakes, and are best to be left alone and treated like venomous snakes. Amazon tree boas usaly cost every were from as little as $15.00 neo from a breeder dieing to get rid of it to $500.00 to the stunning nearly black specemens. But you can expect to pay about $30.00-60.00 at a show for a 4-5 foot garden phase. You may want an experenced herper go with you when buying, I have never seen a good, healthy, captive bred hardy eater. Alot of amazons are wild cought, and are loaded with parasites, and never want to get near food, but if you buy a nice CB, and a healty baby taking frozen thawed mice, and have proof of feedings, and it looks in good shape, then buy it. For starting out with a good healthy amazon will make all the differnce. You will also may want to look at the classifide adds here on kingsnake.com, and look under tree boas. Also there are alot of other good reptile sites that have great classifides, but kingsnake will band you if you post there link, so e-mail me and I will send it to you.

Amazon tree boas can usaly reach 4-5 feet as males, and female can usaly reach 5-6 feet. They are extreamly slinder, greaceful snakes that are about 70% arboral, and will spend about 30% of there time on the floor of the cage. They don't need a large water dish, I have never had any of mine soak, but they will if there cage gets to hot, or possibly if they are about to shed.

For cage setups, most adult amazons will do fine in somthing about the size of a 29 gallon or if you can find one a 40 gallon tall. Home made cages offen work better, and you can make it just how you want it. Also there are many cage makers that make exlent cages for amazons, I have a cage form cages by desgin, and it is about 4 foot long, 3 foot tall, and 1 foot wide, it has glass slideing doors on the front, I have my 6 foot gravid female amazon in that. I took grape vine out of our woods and baked it for about 10 mins at 350 degs, this killed all parasites, next I took it all and screwed it into place, after that I went back and cut of the sharp end of scews sticking out and backed them out a hair. Also they love Y shaped branchs becuse it supports 3 points of there body, and they will spend alot of time in places such as that. I then also made a 1 foot by one foot by one foot hide box on the top of the cage, I made a one inch hole on the front and one inch hole on top, and put a hendged door on the side so I can get into it, I put at the top of the cage. She will spend about 90% of her time in that. I then toped it all off with alot of plastic vines I bought on line and rapd it around all the grape vine. All of this is unnessacry by the way. Many breeders will keep there amazons in tall rubbermaids with a pvc pipe running through it and a inch of water at the bottom.

For heating and humidty, amazons like to stay at about 70% and at about 85 degress F. At night the temp can drop down to the low 70's. The best way to keep the humidity up is to use a pump up garden sprayer and mist them twice aday. Also a good min/max thermo/hydrometer from raido shack can make your live alot easer.

It all sounds like rockit science, but its alot easer then it sounds. Ounce you get one and after a year or so you will be buying every one you see .

Well I hope this helps, if you need more advice you are more then free to e-mail me and I will be glad to help you out in any way I can. Well good luck,
Philip

p.s

Check out my web site, www.junglereptiles.cjb.net, and go to the amazon care sheet. I havent up dated it in a long time, but it might help to, and has some pictures. Also go to www.corallus.com its the best site out there, and sign up for on the fourms

absolutely love the look of the ATB but have not really looked on the care for them and I know some websites can be misleading. I was wondering do they bite a lot? how much do they cost? do they make good pets? how big do they get? do they like water? What should i use in terms of cage furnishings? What do they eat and how often? Im sorry for all the questions but i am very curious. all info is appreciated. Thanx

That was an excellent post, Philip. I agree with 99% of what you said. I don't think that ALL tree boas are super aggressive, though. I think with some patience and careful handling, they can become quite tame. When I first got mine it was pretty apt to bite, but I have clamed it down and it is as (almost) tame as my ball python. It depends on what you want, though. Do you want a display animal or one you can interact with on a regular basis.

Also, I think its important to add that glass aquariums are horrible cages for arboreal snakes. An appropriately-sized rubbermaid or plastic cage is much better. Other than those 2 points, I think you covered all the bases very well. Good post!
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A twisted mind is a terrible thing to waste.......so is BEEF JERKY!!!!!

Thanks, and I was going to put in that some are taim, But I decided not to becuse about 90% of amazons are very fisty. And it could have been miss leading, but you are right, I have seen alot of people free handle amazons. It would be like trying to taim a lion, but there are a good number of taims ones. Also what I was geting at is, that even if you did have a taim amazon, it still would not "injoy" being handled like a red tail boa or a ball python. And would all ways have the natural instenct to bite. Also about the cages, you do have a very good point, and thanks for bringing it up, and you are right, glass tanks are not good for them, and I should have sead that, I am sorry about the missleading info about that. I do how ever have my 4 foot male amazon and he is doing great in a 40 tall, the only problem is when its time to take him out. Well thanks for courecting my post.
Philip

p.s
I am sorry for my bad spelling, im still learning.