Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i've owned pythons and a breeding pair of yellow anacondas for many years now, and decided to get my first green ana. and have recieved very differeing advice on the cage set up for a green anaconda , right now she is 6' and approx. 10lbs a year old basically, she is set up in a 150 gal. aqaurium and filled with about 4" of water, there is a small section for her to get out of the water(which she never does)on one side. heating elements keep the water approx. 80* on one side and 87* on the other. a circ. pump filters and circulates the water, and the cage is changed out after she defecates. Questions, 1) are they really that different from yellow ana's 2)unlike other snakes(pythons, boas, etc.) is it really okay for ana's to feed and swallow the prey soaking wet? 3)what kind of cageing suggestions for her once she is to big for an aquarium? a normal cage set up(like my adult burms are in) with lots of humidity? thanks for any advice

Andacondas ARE boas, and a lot of my snakes, boas and pythons included, eat soaking wet food, even when they don't drag it in the water dish themselves. Thawing does tend to make rodents wet.

i have a yellow anaconda, i would guess a year old ( almost 3 feet) and its mean as hell..i've heard they will calm down with age, this true?? am i ever going to be able to hold this thing without leather gloves? ( it loves to bite the crap out of my hands it seems) any advice would be appreciated..she's on f/t rat pups and will be bumping her up to small rats very soon ( incase you were curious)

James

many anacondas yellows and greens are mean because of there general temperment and a majority are wild caught. my yellows are 6yrs old and from since they were babies till now, the female 12'still is really aggresive and the male 9'is fairly handlelable, still a little nippy. the captive born babies show signs of improvement!

lol.. yes anacondas and boas are related, even from the same part of the earth, green anacondas(eunectus marinus)semi-aquatic liveing in shallows and river bottems, boas(boa constrictor constrictor)terrestrial and aboreal, forest floor and trees. you might think about drying your food a little to prevent water from accidentally entering the trachea and glottis, anyway i guess i'm confirming myself that there is nothing to worry about a 'green anaconda' eating underwater.

Oh, by 'Boa' I thought they meant the large family that encompasses Eryx, Charina, Coralllus, Candoia, Epicrates, er.. Sanzinia... (ect.) as well as Boa-s constrictor and dumerili (sp?) and Eunectes murinus and notaeus.... it's a large, diverse family, but andaconas and boa constictors are definately both a part of it.

i'm not in this conversation to hear what you may or may not know about the boa family breakdown, i was hopeing to hear from an experienced green anaconda owner, i guess i should have put that in my original post, thanks anyway.

In any case, anacondas are considered boas, so if you want info from anaconda keepers, try checking the boa forum. Not a whole lot of people visit the general snakes forum.
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-audri
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I'm an experienced anaconda owner...check out my reply to your original message. Feel free to email me any time with questions.

James

In my experience, Greens spend less time in the water than Yellows. I believe they need to be able to dry out when they want to. My Yellows will get out of their water for several days, every few weeks. They also seem more content in a cramped water container. I don't let the humidity fall below 75%, it averages 85% as I heat the water to the mid 80's, making lots of moisture.
My Anacondas, and other Boas, all eat underwater from time to time. Doesn't seem to bother them. They only get pre-killed, so I can control where they eat ( sometimes ).

thanks for the helpful info! my yellows love their water tub also, this is why i asked the original question cause i've heard so many differing opionons, one said greens don't need to dry out and love the constant submergence? and unlike other species they do not develop scale rot. a set up similiar to my adult yellows for the green when she gets bigger should be suffice then, thanks. i guess with boas being that they are related to anacondas(touchy subject j/k), they've both developed a well adapted glottis to prevent water from entering the trachea, but with pythons(where my love is)it is best to kept food dry, if possible! one rehab i got in, 13' burm. came in with aspiration pnuemonia it aquired from being feed in the tub while it was bathing, not good. lol

My Green anaconda is now around 7'. She has a special outdoor environment built for her, consisting of all concrete flooring with drains, and completely screened in. This will hold her for the rest of her life. It's roughly 17' long by 12' wide. It's about the size of my living room. lol. Akasha is spoiled and gets anything she wants. I bought her at 1 week old, and she's been the best pet out of the tons of herps I have owned growing up. She does require a good size meal once every week and a half to two weeks and fresh water ALL the time, as anacondas like to defecate in their water. I've enclosed one of last year's pictures so you can see her. Yup. she loves to come over and sit on my lap while i'm watching TV or playing games. IF you are going to have an outside enclosure like I have, make sure you have a backup inside cage, does not have to be AS fancy, just the basics, in case the temp drops or for cleaning purposes, or something of that nature. If you are going to own greens, hope you have a good job too. hehehe. cuz they take a lot of care from a very loving owner. I"m sure you'll do great!! good luck!

James