Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We had another litter of green anacondas born last week. As before, these were produced through a joint breeding project between Jud McClanahan and myself. These young are second generation captive born on the fathers side. This is a different female than our last breeding and we believe she was produced from a gravid import and so don't consider her a true captive born snake. The male that produced this years young is the same captive bred male, owned by Jud, that produced the other litter in 2001, and is covered in an article in the Jan. 2004 issue of Reptiles magazine. We had much better fertility with this litter. She produced 28 perfectly healthy, live young, one full sized stillborn, and no slugs. The young are averaging around 32 inches and were somewhat aggressive the first day, although at one week they are already starting to calm down. Both adults are completely docile, along with the young produced in 2001, so these more than likely will be also. The only thing interesting about this group is that some of the young are already shedding, which is unusual for greens as they typically go around two months before the first shed.

Female two weeks before birth of young.

Morning of 11/18/03.

After lifting hidebox.

One day old.

One week old and calming down nicely.

` Those are handsome neonates. Congratulations!!!
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WOW KELLY THOSE ARE SOME REAL CUTIES.

how big was the adult female / and male what where there ages too.? could u tell a lil about there breeding behaviors. have u found that its not important to have bathing sites for them to breed in?
thanks
an interested anaconda keeper.

The female is about 13 feet and was 94 pounds when breeding started. She was weighed after the birth and was found to have lost 39% of her body weight. The male is 11.5 feet and weighs 65 pounds. He is the largest male by far, that either Jud or I have ever heard of. At the time of breeding, the male was 12 years and the female was 6 years of age. Courtship involves extensive spurring by the male and lasts a week or longer before the initial copulation takes place. In light of the two breedings, we don't believe a large water source is a requirement for the successful reproduction of anacondas. Be glad to answer any other questions you might have.

Kelly

Congrats on the babies. I got dibs on the male runt haahhaa.

THERE IS NOTHING TO SEE Here

Thanks, for the info. This is an important breeding as it was done without a large water source! Another step forward for anaconda keepers. Congratulations, again, and best of luck with your neonates and further breeding projects.
Best Regards,
Shane

Shane,
Thanks for your comments. I think we have proven too ourselves now beyond a doubt, with two successive breedings, that large pools are not a requirement for successful anaconda husbandry. We were really hoping with the project that this would be the case. I don't have a lot of direct evidence, but I feel that for anacondas to be raised in this manner, they need to be started this way within a few months of birth. I think it would be too stressful to remove a large water source from an anaconda that had become accustom to it. Thanks again,

Kelly