Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had a green female for about a year and a half before disaster struck. One day I forgot to lock the lid down on one corner and she escaped. As best I can figure she must have gone down the toilet (I kept her cage in the spare bathroom for easy water changes) since I tore appart the adjoining room and found nothing. It was a real shame because she was tame as a kitten. She bit me once, but it was after I accidentaly stepped on her tail.

This fall I'm thinking I may be in the market again, but NERD (where I got the last one) doesn't seem to have any right now. I'm looking for a captive breed neonate or small juvinile. Any recomendations?

My heart dropped when I heard your story. People might think it is stupid because these are "just snakes" but green anacondas are particularly difficult to keep and through all the work you grow and extreme attachment. While cleaning out a cage once my green went in the wall where a cable jack was missing. This feeling made me want to run my car into a tree after feeling so stupid. I figured that instead of killing myself as an instant reaction I would destroy my apartment. I grabbed a hammer and through hits with the hammer and my raging fist, I destroyed the wall but i managed to get the anaconda out. My cage will not shut unless you lock it with a key but mistakes can happen quick. Unfortunately I will not recomend the source of which I got my green anaconda for a number of reasons despite the fact that I have a very docile and perfect looking animal that is pretty healthy. I have no idea if Kelly Haller has many snakes left from his breeding projects but he is a great source. His work with captive greens is greater than anyone I can think of. I would have no problem getting a snake from him and can't wait to hear when he has more babies because if he wouldn't mind shipping one this way I want one the minute I am 100% sure of the sex of my green. I think I am going to have Mark Petros check it out next weekend. If you are interested in any yellow anacondas, I know Mark Petros is the guy you want to get it from. I have never seen yellows look as good as Marks. If you were to want any slightly larger very calm individuals for a pretty good price, I do know of a few people who can help you out...where are you from?

There are alot of breeders that have good greens. NERD has some very good anacondas, I dont know if Kelly has any more avalible, if he does he will post. The one thing that I would do before getting a green is to get your caging situation straight. Get your self a good Vision, Neodasha, boaphile or moonstruck cage first off, try to stay away from fish tanks for alot of reasons. I have a young Yellow now and now am getting my Green. I have been on this forum for a long time now learning as much as I can from EXTREMLY smart people (Kelly,redhed,dfr) before I even considerd a Green. These snakes are not like a Burm they need special care. If you look threw this forum you will find countless post from people having problems with there baby or young greens not eating. If you do not have a copy of the January issue of reptile magazine, go to the ends of the earth to find one. In this issue the smartest captive breeder of anacondas tells his story and gives his advise. After reading this issue you will have such a insite on these snakes that you wouldnt beleave nor could comprehend. There you will find the person that you should get your Green from, and if none are avalible.... WAIT till next year. As far as price of a green...Dont buy one just because it is $75-$100 and NEVER buy one because it needs help, and you think you can save it. If you have the opertoonity to see the snake you intend to buy eat rats first then its a good snake(usually). Good luck in your hunt and PLEASE do your homework first before buying one, I would hate to be giving you advise on how to get your little baby eatting.---Eric---

I've had a green before so I know how all that goes. Last time around I was one of those posting every few days about not being able to get her to eat. I think part of it was not being patient enough. It took about to months, but once I got her eatting she would take down anything I threw at her. Her feeding responce was very strong in comparison to many BCI's i've worked with in the past.

The other thing was I got my last one from NERD and was very happy so I checked back. This time their avalability list didn't show any. I don't know if that means they are out or if they just didn't have them listed. I definatly wanted to go the CB route and buy from a good breed. That's why I'm here asking everyones advice.

If you are looking for a baby green, I would be really patient with finding one.. Like don't go to the first one you see, because a lot of the time, you will get screwed on that and the anaconda wont be quite what you expected it to be. Be sure to ask A LOT of questions before purchasing one from someone.. I got my baby cb green from a place called Cold Blooded Creations, she is tame as a kitten and seems to enjoy being handled. I would recommend that place, because they had an add in the classifieds a while back for another tame cb green, but I couldn't find it again. This add: http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=8&de=198219
is from Neil Gubitz at the Tampa Snake Pit, I have talked to him about anacondas in the past, and he seems to know what he is talking about, but I'm not sure on that anacondas size. I almost bought him for my green, to breed them later, but I asked a crap load of questions in here about it, and I don't think I will risk some of the chances in it. And I agree with Mr. Anaconda, don't go cheap, and know what you are buying... So good luck!!!
-Ben

Did you all read his question? He had a green and made a mistake. The posts are telling him how to find care and HOW to buy a snake mostly. This individual wants to know WHERE. I mean everything people said is correct (but it is information that implies this person knows nothing when in fact this person told us he has owned this snake in the past). In fact i researched green anaconda care for a long time before buying one and I waited and checked out a lot of people and still ened up with a snake that wasn't eating what the guy told me and I don't even think is the sex the guy told me. I asked every question under the sun about the breeding, the feeding, housing (which I disagreed with)...but bottom line was, the "breeder" wasn't the most dedicated source which I found out many months later. Besides, the second time around, guy probably has an advantage over us because he has better eyes for the mistakes. Like those of us with problem greens that have overcome them after hard work have a little better knowledge of greens since we worked our butts off to know whats going on with this snake.(I can't believe it took me this many months to try grocery store chicken though..maybe Im a little slower than the average folk)..a lot of breeders won't have any next year either because of how often you can breed a viviporous animal...good luck finding someone and I hope more people share good experiences with who they got their greens from.

Thank you eunectes, I was wondering if people where reading the whole message. I do know the troubles with get baby condas on feed. I think pretty much everyone who has ever owned a conda has experianced the feed problems. I know about picking carefully and buying from someone you trust. This is the point of the thread, I wanted to know who everyone bought from and if you trusted them, and if you get the animal you expected. There is some good advice here and I've gotten some ideas for who to try and contact. Keep the posts coming.

I disagree!!!!! I bought my 9 1/2' green 5 months ago because the "pet" store said they couldn't get it to eat. I brought it home and met it's conditions and WHAM!!! it took a quail right off.
NOw i'm onto rabbits. my snake is happy and has never struck at me or anyone else.

Don't discount rescueing,

Arik

I agree...some pet stores suck and if you know your ability and want to dish out the cash on a risk..go for it..could be the best chance the animal has...but prepare for a risk because some will not turn around..arik is lucky and got an animal that just needed better conditions. I would love to rescue this retic from a petstore down here..it is skinny as heck and in a 10 gallon tank with a film over the water that is about half an inch high..shows how much they change it. But for 240$ I am not buying the coolest retic I have ever seen...so it is just unfortunate...some high school senior will probably buy it when he hears it can be the longest snake in the world...then it will die when he takes it skateboarding all over town.