Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was looking at an ATB last week and I'm considering getting him. His coloration is a yellowish/orange with a good bit of black markings.

1) Will his coloration change much? For example, will the black markings wash out over time? (I like the black on him)

2) He's approximately three feet long and as thick around as my index finger at the thickest part of his body. How old do you think he is? a yearling?

3) How quickly do ATB's grow?

4) I know that it's not good practice to keep more than one snakes together, but I'm under the impression that a lot of ATB keepers do. Am I correct? or are ATB's kept together more often than other snakes? I'll eventually get more ATB's, but this is going to be my first. He/she is only $50. If it's not a good idea to keep several caged together, then I think I may not buy this one and spring $200 for a nice multicolored adult.

Thanks in advance,
Dimitri

Let me see if I can help ya out:

1) Maybe, the colors on a young ATB will probably change, but sometimes not much or at all. Its really a crapshoot basically.

2)Theres no real way of telling how old it is, but it sounds to be around 6-8 months old.

3) Not very quick. They don't get big anyway (5-6 feet) so size isn't gonna be a problem.

4)Unless you are breeding, its not a good idea to keep multiple animals together. Males are extremely territorial and fights can be serious. They, like most snakes, are best housed seperately.

Well, I hope I helped a little and if you have more questions, come check out Corallus.com......its the best on-line source of info for tree boas! Best of luck. Ammies are great snakes!

THEN WHY DO YOU POST AS IF YOU ARE DAVE? OFFER THE ANSWERS WHEN YOU ARE THE EXPERT! I AM TRYING TO LEARN HERE FROM SOME OF THE POSTS. AND YOU POST I'M NO EXPERT PLEASE STOP DAVID BEARD
THE CLENZER

???

I know that amazons change quite a bit from birth to adulthood sometimes but it's really impossible to say if or how an individual animal will change. I know that black markings do tend to intensify over time but I've never heard of any disappearing. Check out this page http://www.boakingdom.com/treeboa.html . It's a great care and info sheet and Mike is really nice and can answers all your questions.

I wouldn't keep multiple amazons together unless you are keeping a breeding pair. Many keepers will keep a pair of adult breeders together year round if they are a compatible pair!! ie...no fighting, competing for food,etc..// If a pair is kept together I recommend acclimating the female to feed on rats and the male to feed on mice, thus they will be less inclined to covet each others food, plus the rats will "fill out" the female better for breeding. This strategy doesn't always work as often amazons will eat anything and everything!LoL Some pairs probably need separation during feeding times. I would never just keep a whole group of amazons together in one cage for lack of space,etc.. It's just generally not a responsible or healthy practice.
John Hedger

Thanks for the advice guys. In that case, I'm going to be building a housing for an adult or subadult. What would be the appropriate dimensions then? 3H X 2L X 2W? I'll have to drill lots of holes on all sides, right? Should I use a plexiglass door on hinges?

Just getting some ideas. It would be helpful if anyone could post a picture of their home-made housing.

Oh...the most important part. Where can I look for a nice adult, or sub-adult patterned red or yellow?

Thanks,
Dimitri

Hey, I will up load some pics here soon. I only got a min so I will have to be quick. The size you gave will work fine for a adult ATB, I have my 6 foot female (gravid btw) in a cage about 4 foot tall, 3 feet long and 1 foot deep. I put tuns of sterlised grape vine screwed into place, and cut the backs off the screws sticking out, I then put fake vines around the grape vine, made a 1 foot by 1 foot by 1 foot hide box on top with 2 holes and a hinged door. The front door is a plexiglass slideing door with a screen top, you can have two many air holes, you want to be able to trap humidty in to. Well I am extreamly breaf of that, I will go into more detal later on,
Philip
p.s
Go to www.junglereptiles.cjb.net and go to the amazon care sheet.