Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi I've been asked to gather some Data on the temperement of Common /Green Anacondas in an attempt to disuade the UK government from adding them to the list of animals contained under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act (the official permit system in place to keep Dangerous Animals ) currently there are no boids on the list but the authorities are considering it after pressure from various "Anti" groups .obviously this would be disasterous for hobbiests and we have to try and apeal to reason in this matter. one of the arguements in our favour is the fact that males do not exceed 7 or 8ft but also i believe from my own personal experience that "condas" are much maligned the more I learn about them the more I belive that their temper is no worse than that of common boas ( a few bad individuals with the majority being docile and trust worthy ) probably the worlds foremost expert on green anacondas Jesus Rivas only talks of a handful of "challenging" individuals out of the hundreds he has caught for research. back to my point I'm after accounts and opinions from hobbiests to support my beliefs I already know yellow anacondas are mean SoB's(no offence to notaeus fans) whats your story? regards Tim Hallam UK

i am a new and proud owner of a green anaconda.from the info ive gathered lately green anacondas can be difficult at times.but so can any animal.each individual snake has its own personality.the fact is they get big.on the wrong day things could get nasty even if its never stuck before.these snakes do require respect and caution.only a person who have dealt with large snakes should attempt keeping them.
ive handled several greens and yellows and can only recall being struck at twice.once by a green and once by yellow.both in stressful reptile show environment.
the green i now own was nippy the first day but has been an angel ever since.
you mention male greens get seven or eight feet.well they get a bit bigger than that.up to 15' but normally dont exceed 12' if im correct.
but im new and still seeking info myself.hope helped ya a little.good luck in the u.k. brother.

` All Yellows?? Mean??
` I don't see it.
` When you think in absolutes like all, never, none, always, etc., you're really shutting off the learning process !! It seems to me that "all" is implied in your statement about Yellows.
` Just like humans, or dogs, Yellow Anacondas have a broad range of behavioral traits to express. It mostly depends on the genetic traits of the parents, and the first few weeks of life's impact on them.
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` Now, ain't these pix of sweeties???

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` To be fair, I've been around Yellow Anacondas that were mean as HELL. I've been bitten by a customer's traumatized Yellow, many times.
` I've also had my hand opened up by a 6+ ft Ball Python who took several minutes to be persuaded to let go.
`
` You can make a case either way, for just about anything. I just hate to see the Anaconda's reputation get any worse than it already is. They are very misunderstood critters.
`

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I have to agree with dfr. I am in no way a notaeus fan" but I do keep yellow anacondas as well as green and see diefferences in each individual as I have with all snakes. I have to admit my yellows are a bit quicker to behave and be startled but I have never had an opened mouth with a yellow and have with green. I have to say my snakes are extremely docile and I have been bitten by more boa constrictors than anacondas. As for male greens...diffinitely over 7-8 ft...thats more like you yellow male range. Green males will generally fit in the 8-12 with both 8 and 12 being the extreme high and low. I have never heard of one being larger than this but I am sure a very small percentage do.

thanks for the reply I'm sorry if I touched a raw nerve I did say it in jest which is why I metioned no offence mean't but it obviously didn't translate well- great pics looks like a nice animal I have to say though the pic with the family moggy is just the sought of thing the "antis" love to exploit also pic with the Royal are yellow anacondas ophiophagic like there cousins?regards tim hallam

I am not sure I understandyour entire post. I do not believe people were offended, we just wished to correct you. As proof we offered many examples of yellow anacondas that are not aggressive. As I stated befor, I am not a "notaeus fan." I do have some yellow anacondas but the point is, neither species I own has a nasty temperment. In fact i would say they are the most predictable if you know your snakes. As dfr showed..he knows his snakes well enough to put ball python with yellow anaconda. Mark Petros told me he had a yellow eat a ball python while he was cage cleaning, my green took her first meals when they were garter snakes. Both species run you the risk of eating other snakes but I am sure they would eat iguanas and many other cold blooded items. Dfr's yellow in the picture does not seem to do that. As many anacondas eat fish and rodents...mine does not. I have housed a BCI with my murinus for about a week with no problems...throw a thamnophis (with wicked venom lol) in the tank and by morning it will not exist as anything but an anaconda stomach lump. I was not offended by your post but you have to be carefull when you tag temper on a species...blood pythons and retics still hold the stigma as anacondas do. But with captive breeding and the snake getting used to handling and its environment it proves to be little of an issue that people are still holding onto.

` You didn't anger me, either. Your question seemed Ok, your statement about Yellows was like, " All Englishmen are ....!" In other words it just doesn't/can't apply to a whole group. It shows dogmatic tendencies in opinions.
` As far as cannibalism is concerned, I believe that any animal that eats meat will eat its own species. That includes H. s. sapien. When you refine it down to the individual is when you find out who will, and who won't. Such as: Most of the used car salesmen in California are descendants of the survivors of the Donner Party.
` By the way, the family moggy is usually the initiator of the "socializing". He wants to be in my lap, and the Anaconda doesn't bother him. Once he's there, he's warmer than I am, and the Anaconda likes the higher body temperature.
` Oh yeah, bugger the bloody antis. LOL Rich Z.
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` Picture of two guys who smell dinner thawing, waiting in line. Notice who's first. He won't be beaten to chow, even by an evil Yellow Anaconda.

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I'd say you're barking - er, crawling - up the wrong tree with your argument.

For decision makers to make legislation based on temperament of an animal is just silly, a political maneuver. All species have varying personalities. For example, Crotalus ruber is probably the most docile crotalid in the world, you could probably carry one around in your pants if you really wanted to, but they are potentially more dangerous b/ of their venom. (I've stepped on them in thick brush, they didn't even rattle.)

How many millions of dogs are pets, that could potentially kill a person if they really wanted to? The several boa constrictors I caught in the wild were everything from practically comatose to super snappy and nasty.

They are trying to make a case for how dangerous they are, so they should be presented with the statistics: how many people have been seriously injured by an anaconda? How many bites serious enough that they were reported (Dept. of Health should have these stats.)? How many reptile keepers hurt by anacondas? How many people eaten by them (uh, zero, recorded). Do they transmit disease to people, dogs, cats (no). How many escaped up-to-no-good anacondas, wandering the streets, are caught by animal control, and are a danger to the children (law-makers love to create arguments based on helpless children).

How many dollars made by sensationalizing their fear factor by the media and other ophidiophobes? Millions.

As for their true personalitites in the wild, they vary, too. I never considered wild ones cuddly or docile (I was the co-researcher on Rivas's anaconda research in Venezuela). But the feisty ones were the babies, which makes sense, since everything eats the babies, the world is their enemy. The slower to react were the larger females (many fewer predators). They could be rather nasty, but only when (1) we were trying to catch them (2) they couldn't flee (3)they wanted to escape temproary confinement. Every animal needs motivation to be aggressive, they don't just do it out of genes, or dispostiion.

As Sigfried and Roy, I'm sure they think their tigers are very cute and cuddly....every for stupid-pet-trick shows.

So, present the legislators with the statistics, something solid they can't as easily debate.

Oh, and be sure to support legislation that support captive breeders, and not anyone who catches more herps from the wild.

Renee

thank you for your post I agree with what you are saying but you are forgetting we are dealing with politicians they are not interested in those kind of statistics few people have been harmed by anacondas simply because there are few anacondas of any significant size in captivity especially in the UK more people have been killed and injured by big burms in recent years than any other kind of boid ( six killed I believe in 2003 in the United States)but Burms aren't an issue because they are of good temperement and don't get too big or so the books say! (not if you talk to Eugene Besset his are pushing 25')so I'm afraid the facts regarding Anacondas don't come into it it's all down to what the establishment believe to be the facts which is why I interested in other keepers experiences regarding temperement- thanks for the other info I think I upset the notaeus people oops!!

Tim,
First, I would like to say is good luck and I hope you get the info you need to present to those people and make them understand. I am new to the anaconda world. I recently got a female yellow baby. She has gone through the settling in process. She seems a little wary but that's due to her being tiny. When I offered her her first meal from me she struck but went past the pinky rat and got me on my middle finger left hand. Either she misjudged or I may have not been moving slow enough and she percieved it as a threat. Of course scared me as I was not prepared for it. Other than that she has struck 2 other times on the only day I have gotten to hold her, that was this past Saturday. On that day her eyes were just starting to blue over. She could see just not as clear. Having her in my left hand she seemed quite calm. I took my thumb and stroked her on her side slowly. Well again I guess I was not going slow enough and she struck but missed. Then about 10 minutes later, I was on the computer, she struck again towards my right hand. I was using my right hand to type on the keyboard. She did not come close but again I guess I was not moving slow enough and it spooked her. I kept her out about an hour until cody started pushing the issue that I was stressing her. Anyway, I'm learning the conda world one day at a time. But I also agree that it depends on the individual snake and it's personallity and enviroment in which it is, was being raised. Macroclemys a.k.a. Physignathus, CrownedOne, Steven