Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I went to the zoo recently with my mother. There is a new exibit near my school being added that has everything to do with the amazon rainforest. Their large snake is a redtail boa. I was very interested in the exibit and told him I could not wait until it is finished and i askedhim why there would not be any water boas since the amazon is filled with water. He told me he knows all the boas and there is no such thing as a water boa (this is the snake guy mind you)...I said well perhaps you would know it as the green or yellow water boa. He said oh..green and yellow anaconda. Yes I said, also called water boas. "I have worked with snakes all my life and water boa is not a term anyone I have ever heard, nor has anyone I know." I said that I keep a lot of snakes and a green water boa is among them. He then proceeded to inform my mother about the TWO species of anaconda, one being three times larger than the other..the yellow being the big one. Then this wonderful snake man gave me a long lecture on how to get the snake off of me if it were to attack. DO NOT use alcohol or hot water, simply use your tongs you have with you and slide it in the snakes mouth and force it to open. I like this guy because he knows more than anyone I have ever known. Its a good thing I know not to use alcohol to get the snake off because this man told me it would just make the snake mad and bite harder. I expect this sort of behavior from pet store folks..but a zoo? check out this san diego zoo pic of this beautiful albino anaconda http://peter.communic-8.com/canada/albums/album23/ph6.html sorry folks but i can't sleep and i start to bicker and cry like a little baby when i'm tired...hope you all like the fun post of people not as smart as us : ) (not because we can spot an anaconda and know more about them...because most of us can say we don't know everything and will not sound like idiots pretending we do hoping the other guy is the moron)

Alcohol only works on mine if it's Jim Beam.lol
I've met alot of stupid people trying to tell me stuff they obviously know nothing about. That's life. The pet store I bought my green from is pretty good with their herps. The owner is one of the biggest breeders of hognose snakes around. He got my green from someone who, for whatever reason couldn't take care of it. He was having problems with getting her to eat. He gave me alot of info about what they had tried. There are some pet stores out there that do keep good quality herps. Unfortunately they are few and far between. There's another here in Lubbock that has far more herps than varmits. They have 3 morletts crocs that you can feed a rat to for $2. They offer to help probe herps bought at another store and are very helpful to alot of herp newcomers.
I have never purchased an animal from them but if I did I would feel comfortable with it. (I dont like paying pet store prices)
On a side note, I was thinking about volunteering to exhibit my green during the playing of anaconda pt.2 when it comes out. This, I think, would help educate the general public about the 'real' behavior of an anaconda. I thought about contacting local theaters to see if there was any interest. What do you guy's think?

Arik

wow that dude worked at a zoo he needs to be shot if u need help i will be more then willing
CrazyCody

Unfortunatly, many zoo employies, especialy at small zoos, have no qualifications whatsoever. They started by collecting tickets, moved up to janitor, got promoted to hotdog vendor, and eventualy worked their may up to being a keeper. Of course this is changeing, and some universities actualy offer program specificly for it. I was a zoology major, with concentration in Zoo and Aquarium science when I first got to college. I later switched to concentrate in Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology. Turned out that had wider appeal, but some of the most informative classes I took were my Z&A science classes.

Regarding the keeper who said anacondas aren't called "water boas":

Whenever you enter into the world of "animal people", you are bound to run into quite a few tenuous egos sooner than later, egos that their owners need to constantly attempt to reinforce. Nod, and smile, and hope they never get on TV (LOL).

In many parts of South America, anacondas are known as "culebra de agua", water snake. The name in Brazil is "sucuri". In Ecuador, if speaking to a Quechuna, you may hear it called a "machacui", or a water "katari", or something else, depending on where you are. In Welsh, it would be a water "neidr", which is "gjarper" in Hawaian. Referenced in the bible just as "snake", it is "nahash".

But maybe he just forgot...

RO