Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I was just wondering...for the last couple of days I have been looking up all the useful information from all 5 pages of thread (Current to past threads). I have a question (A B):

1. A). I read in a past thread that Green Anaconda's are high-maintenance and more difficult to care for than Retic's or Burm's. My question is-- How much more difficult? (I used to own a female retic).

B). Right now I'm considering either a Sulawesi Retic or a Green Anaconda. What do you think? If possible, please list the pro's and con's of Green Anaconda's captive care compared to a Retic's.

***Hey Thanks alot everyone for your input and advice, I really appreciate this.

Sincerely,

Darryl

P.S. I'm not "jumping" into these monstrous-sized snakes, I've been researching and contemplating this for the past few months. : )

P.S.S. Not really that many Green Anaconda's around here (Southern California) --except for a 10 ft. Green at Prehistoric Pets. Anyone in Southern California mind to show me their "pride and joy"? THANKS AGAIN.

go with the retic its a better choice. the animals in pp are in bad shape i got a retic from them covered in mites. an anaconda needs to have the right humidity and temps. they also r not very active like a retic. they only tend to move when they need to use the bathroom or to get feed. also most all greens r very picky feeders.
my advice is to go with the retic.

CrazyCody

Thanks for the advice "CrazyCodyKadunk". I've just been intrigued by the green anaconda for a long time. A friend of mine who called Kelly Haller and asked him like 101 questions said that Green's were no difficult to take care of than a retic... I also don't mind the "laid-back" characteristic they have (I know they aren't like burms). Whenever I see pictures of your guys' Green Anaconda's I just admire the exotic green look to them (not to mention the awesome size, bulk, and girth they have!). Also their faces are very unique. Well, I guess we'll see...I was leaning towards a CB Green Anaconda from Kelly Haller but I guess he's all out now...[a sad day in Cali] lol. I'll just have to wait until next year... THANKS AGAIN "CRAZYCODY" for the advice. I really appreciate it. Do you live in Southern California? It'd be great to meet you sometime and talk about Green's...haha...Well see you around.

Sincerely,

Darryl

P.S. Feel free to offer more advice {anyone}

When comparing the maintenance of green anacondas to that of reticulated pythons, I just want to clarify that I am making that comparison with well acclimated, captive bred anacondas. Greens that have been born, raised, and acclimated under standard boid husbandry conditions are usually no more difficult than a retic to maintain in captivity. Wild caught green anacondas on the other hand, even most young ones, are very challenging, and would definitely be more difficult to work with than most, if not all retics. I have also seen numerous young greens that were born in captivity from wild caught gravid females that were also difficult to acclimate, although easier to work with than young greens captured from their natural habitat. Additionally, I must reiterate at this point that I am opposed to the importation of wild caught adult greens, as the vast majority of them never acclimate and eventually die after a prolonged period of decline. Green anacondas, even captive born specimens, should in no way be considered a beginners snake. Some background in maintaining other large constrictors would be highly recommended before acquiring one. Hope this clarified the topic a little better. Thanks,

Kelly

Thanks for the response. I did used to own a female retic so large snakes aren't new to me. At the moment I'm in a phase of "obsession" with these green anaconda's- LOL. I'm going over to LLL reptile to check out their green's (hopefully they're feeeding and their temperament isn't so bad--they said that the babies are CB but I'll ask for background information). Other than that, are there any other Green anaconda breeders out their as high quality as yourself (Kelly Haller)? If not I Guess I'll have to wait in the year 2006. I also found some Green anaconda's from a person who says it is "hand tame" and "eats anything"- but it came from a WC female who was purchased gravid, so I'll have to check that out too. Thanks for your time and have a good one. Thanks again for your response.

-Darryl

Darryl,
There are some young from wild caught females that are comparably calm, you will just need to check them out to see. A good quick test while holding them that I have found for neonates, although obviously not 100%, is to see how head shy they are. If they will allow you to slowly move your hand in front of them and very gently hold their head between your fingers without getting too excited, that is a good initial sign that they are a fairly calm anaconda. Be warned that if they are not, you could take a bite. Good luck.

Kelly

first of all shipping causes reptiles a lot of stress so dont be surprized if an anaconda nails you coming out of the bag the first thing my green anaconda did was give me a love tap after she was shipped and secondly from my experience anacondas seem to take to handling better if you make them aware of your pressence before just reaching in and grabbing them

Thanks

I did find a CB Green Anaconda for sale. The seller told me it was a female...she is CB '03 and is about 4.5-5 feet long. He told me that she is "hand tame", but she came from a gravid WC captive Green. Now he told me that he PROBED her to be a female. In the last few days of reading past threads, I found out that probing Green Anaconda's aren't very accurate in determining sex/gender. Should I tell him to check out the spurs? If the spurs are hooked/curved shaped then it is a male and if it is straight and coned shaped it is a female --Correct? Hopefully this will help me...I'll ask him to check out "her" spurs and see what comes up. Thanks again Mr. Haller.

-Darryl

if she came from a wc gravid female then she guna have tape worms. and make shore she feeding on f/t rodents thats very important.
also have a cage and everything set up before u buy.
CrazyCody

Thanks for the advice. His guarantee included that all his animals are treated for internal and external parasites. I'll call him back up sometime and make sure that "she's" been treated for such things. Right now I'm getting ready to buy a 6x2x2 melamine cage. I'M IN NO RUSH- I'm kind of taking things slow, making sure I have everything ready and all questions asked (and hopefully answered . What do you think of her length at 5 ft? (I haven't asked for her weight yet, but she's as thick as a soda can). She's CB '03- I don't want her to be stunted or anything, she eats every 7-10 days. But I got to keep telling myself they don't have that huge growth increase that retics have. Thanks again for the advice and I'll make sure she's been treated and sexed properly. THANKS.

-Darryl

Darryl,
If this is truly a 2003 snake, 5 feet is a fairly typical length, as most greens are 5 to 6 feet at one year of age. They can be probed accurately, but the angle is a little different than with other snakes and takes a little practice. Spur sexing a 5 foot anaconda should be fairly easily accomplished. Compare it's spur structure to the male spur in the photo below. The male spur will be mostly external and show the typical 90 degree turn at the tip of the spur as seen in the photo. It will also be attached to a short appendage-like structure. The female spur is only slightly curved, will appear recessed slightly under a few scales, and the spur base will be attached directly to the skin with no appendage in between. You will probably need to push the female spur around with your finger to be able to see it clearly.
As Cody said, if wild caught, tapeworms could be an issue. If the snake was actually born in a captive environment, it would not have tapeworms, even if the female was infested. They need an intermediate host and cannot move directly from one snake to another. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Kelly

I don't think I can check it out myself (The Green that I'm leaning towards buying). I guess I'm going to have to send that picture to the seller and have him check it out himself. Other than that, the only "CB" Green Anaconda's around are at LLL Reptile and they told me that they got it from "Bushmaster". The seller, who I mentioned earlier, said that he purchased the WC gravid female and he produced babies right in his shop...so hopefully tapeworms may not be an issue-? He says she eats great, is very docile, and has no visible parasite-so I'm leaning towards purchasing "her". I'll probably check out LLL's Green's too. Also, "Danielle d" from the KS classifieds are selling Green anaconda's, she said they were CB but I have no idea- What do you guys think? Thanks for helping me out Kelly Haller, CrazyCody, Imridethelghtng, etc...I really appreciate it. THANKS and have a good weekend.

-Darryl