Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is truly a topic that can really get things fired up when discussing it with other breeders. It is a nightmare that most of us Emerald keepers dread in every aspect of the word.I have worked with emeralds for many years and I, " as many of you " have my own OPINIONS and hopefully the proper finances will benefit qualified researchers one day to put some scientific FACT on this and other ailments concerning Corallus Caninus and all reptiles for that matter. Sad, but true; " We are very much still in the dark MEDICALY when it comes to reptiles. " I will try not to wright a book here and look forward to hearing other experianced breeders talk about there opinions based on experiance. When I first started keeping Corallus Caninus, I made every mistake in the book. I figured they were like any other tropical snake and could be kept hot, humid and be fed frequently. I found out quickly that, this was not the case! After killing a few, I started researching on them and began doing alot of research on temperature and climate in general. I found out in my own backyard, the difference between air temperature and SURFACE temperature and it gave me a whole new outlook on tree boas and tree snakes in general. You may say that; " How could measuring temperatures in my back yard in Tennessee, help with knowledge concerning Emeralds? " Well, here were I live is as close to the Amazon as you can get on hot and humid summer days. I seen through using temperature devices that;" Even though the air temperature was 95 degrees, the surface temperature of a branch high in the trees under dense canopy was 20 or more degrees cooler." This is the same in the Amazon were most of your Corallus Caninus would be coiled. Hence, this told me that; " They needed access to cooler temps at all times and probably experiance more temperature changes than any terrestrial snake. When I started allowing cooler temps for my Corallus Caninus, my problems with Regurge and other ailments had been dramaticly reduced! I believe that improper husbandry, is the number one reason for C.R.S.I am not saying that there are no diseases that CAN cause it. I do however, feel that it is rare.When it comes to imports, the number one thing to do for the first 6-8 weeks, is let it get well hydrated and calmed down, before you ever even think about feeding it.I have developed hydrating techniques that work 9 out of 10 times and 9 out of 10 imports " through this process " turn into thriving animals with no problem. I believe that sometimes regurge can be normal and the exception for that would be an animal fed a prey item that is too big, but guess what; " Give it access to the 70,s and it will more than likely digest it! I have seen; " The bigger the prey, the cooler the animal wants to be within reason. " I have learned alot about these animals over the years and have not even scratched the surface. I could discuss many other things, but I am not writing a book. I will close with this: " Nothing will give you a better chance at a long lived Corallus than, education and preventitive maintenance. "........Thanks,........John Johnson

I would agree that the most common cause of regurge is improper husbandry. In such cases they are mislabeled as CRS. Unfortunately, in true cases of CRS the culprit has yet to be identified but appears to be pathogen in origin. Theories abound as to the root cause. Personally, my opinion is that the cause has a lot to do with improper importing. Many exporters house emeralds in close proximity with virtually every animal waiting to be shipped including various fowl. Vectors easily jump from animal to animal and in the case of fowl can make the species jump to nearby reptiles. I heard someone suggest that the pathogen may be viral such as in the case of the paramyxo virus. It would be nice to have a major institute take this under their wing and dedicate some serious research to it.