Reptile & Amphibian Forums

First off, hello to all as this is my first post here.

Now, to buisness. For a couple years now, I've wanted a green anaconda...and the first week of August, I happened to stumble upon a baby female green in a local pet shop! It was love at first sight, and it didn't take me holding her for more than 5 min to decide to take her home...in hindsight, getting her from a petshop was probably a bad idea.

All through August, Septemper, and most of the way through October she would NOT eat. She got thin and weak to the point I had to resort to force-feedings. After a few weeks of force feedings, she finally shed and put some weight back on, but she's still small for her age.

I love having her, but she's become a problem I'm not quite sure how to solve. It's now almost December, and she still won't eat on her own. Has anybody else had this problem? And if so, how did you solve it? The pet store owner said that until they gave her a water dish to sit in she didn't eat, but did once she was supplied one. I tried, and only managed to cause a blister to form. It's since healed, but it's seriously cut down on my options. So...any advice/ideas?

Please give me more information. What is your cage set up-temps/humidity? Is she saptive born and bred, captive born, or wild caught? How is her temperment? What all have you tried feeding her? Have you tried chicks or mice/rats soaked in chicken broth? Have you tried a warmed up "brained" rodent? Please let me know and I will do my best to help. According to Mr. Kelly Haller, green anacondas in captivity do not need to soak as that leads to skin problems. Bill

I agree. More info is needed. I also agree that buying it from a pet shop was prob. your first mistake. Having come from a pet shop I would almost guarantee that it was either captive born or a direct import.
I got my female from a herp shop that specializes in reptiles, (the owner is probably the nations foremost expert on western hognose snakes), and she was sold as a problem feeder. I got her first eating quail then quail scented jumbo rats and finally unscented rats. She now feeds almost exclusively on huge guinea pigs. She doesn't eat unless in a water tub. The male I got from Kelly will eat no matter where or when I feed it. I believe that if I had gotten the female before she got so old that would be the case for her as well.
Your problem has been compounded by the fact that you have been force feeding her. Force feeding is extremely stressful on snakes and the fact that you placed the water dish inside and she would not eat on her own may very well be because of that fact. Not to mention that it is really easy to permanently damage the soft tissues in the snakes throat while force feeding. If that has happened then unfortunately I don't see much that can be done.
Now for what you can try to get her to feed. Fist off you will, in my opinion, need to stop force feeding her. I can't see a snake that is going through the process of being ripped out of its cage by a large animal(you) and having a smaller animal(rodent) shoved down it's throat, feeling secure enough to feed on it's own. After that I would give the snake a week with very little human contact. Plenty of hides and (sorry Kelly lol) a water dish large enough for her to soak in. I say that because, while it's true that anacondas don't need a large water pool, as Kelly has mentioned, you have a more serious problem right now and I would do whatever it takes. After the snake is feeding normally we can then discuss ways to get her water tub away.
I would also try live feeders more so then F/T. You could get lucky and have it start eating on F/T but I would say you would have better luck with live. You need to be ready to let her acclimate again with a water tub to hide in and you will probably not be successful for awhile. Also, unfortunately, there is a possibility that the snake will die. More so, if, like I assume, the snake is an import. Give it some time with this setup and report back with any attempts you make.
Also don't forget about posting some more info. Cage size, temps, hides, humidity, etc.
A lot of people are in the exact same boat as you are unfortunately. Since the market in baby greens is so saturated in imports, most people are just like you. They see a baby green at a pet shop and buy one thinking that 'well I bought a baby burm here and all is well, so this one will be fine too' Then after runnning into problems like yours they start to think that anacondas are not good snakes and are not worth keeping. Eunectes murinus is a very challenging and very rewarding species of snake to keep. I have never kept any boids that I have found even half as rewarding. They are definately not for beginners and just because someone has kept a burm for awhile does not in any way let them know what they could be in for with murinus. Apart from size there is very little similarities between the two.
Anyway keep us posted and I'm sure I speak for all of us in the forum when I say we will try our best to help you out.

Arik

Some young greens can occasionally take a lot of patience to get acclimated and start feeding, and it is very rare that they don't eventually come around. This acclimation period can be extended if their environmental requirements have not been supplied by a previous owner. As Bill stated, we need more information on how you currently have this female housed. Cage type and size, substrate, temperature, hide box, etc. Additionally, how long is this female and, if possible, what does she weigh. Thanks,

Kelly

Thanks for the advice so far...

She's around 3 1/2 to 4ft long, can't get a weight on her right now though but will try. she's in a 55gal tank with a heat-treated dirt substrate. she has a few branches to climb on (but I need more). I have a 75watt heat lamp on one size and a uv-lamp as well. the temp ranges from the high 70's to the low 90's. I mist the cage down 2-3 times a day to keep the humidity high. Currently on one end she has a large water bowl for soaking that I change and clean every 2 days, and on the other has a smaller dish for drinking water.

As for the force feeding issue...I only did so because I felt I had no choice. It had been appx 3 months since she last ate (and even that was assuming the pet shop was honest about her eating there)and was losing alot of her strength. Also, with the blister she got she desperately needed to shed. I only force fed her about 4 times just to get some meat back on her but haven't in several weeks now.

I've attempted feeding her fish, mice, rat pups, and frogs with no luck. And no luck to the point I have a pic of one of her mice taking a nap on top of her! I've been told to try quail, but can't find a place to buy any around here.

I have an idea for a new tank enviroment I plan on trying in a few weeks that will give her the water she wants while avoiding the problems that come with extended stays in water. I wanna try and fill the tank with about 4 or 5 inches of water and have an "island" or two for her to get out, find food, and hide under. I'm hoping that buy putting in a small water pump/filter it will keep the water clean enough and that her being able to activily swim around rather than sit in one place will have the same effect.

That's all for now. Again, thanks for your help and anything else you need to know I'll get on here asap.

The 55 gal tank is ok for now but I would not go the aquatic route with the islands!!! Branches are not needed but hides are very important-one each at the hot and cool ends. The UV light is ok but really not needed. The 75watt heat light-is it a white light that is left on all the time? A 12 hours on/12 hours dark is a good light cycle. A large under tank reptile heating pad on a Rheostst/Thermostat would be a better heat source. Misting 2-3 times a day could cause too much humidity and just be making the snakes environment wet which is not good. Get a temp and humidity guage for inside the cage. Cover most if not all of the tnak's lid with plastic or towels to keep the humidity in. Mist every few days.

With these corrective measures in place leave the snake alone for a week like Arik said. Take a fresh killed rodent and soak it in plain chicken broth. Make sure it is real warm. You can even "brain " it-slice a hole through its skull exposing blood/ brains. Gross and gory-yes, but sometimes when snakes smell the brain they can't resist striking. Present this rodent to the anaconda with tongs. Put it near its head and hold it still. if no strike occurs try some movement-especiall taking it slowly away from the snake. I wish you the best-Bill.

They nailed several critical points that can't be stressed enough. Hide boxes are essential for young greens and have the added advantage of deterring them from seeking water bowls as the only place of security. They usually feel more secure in a hide than in a water bowl. Substrate heating of selected areas will work best, as overhead heating usually doesn't keep the substrate warm enough and also tends to lower the cage humidity unless you are using panel heating in a closed setup. The substrate temp under certain conditions can be considerably lower than the air temp. Your temp ranges sounded good however.

The stress created by force feeding can keep greens from feeding voluntarily for months and should never be used. I have never seen a young green fail to eventually feed on it's own unless it had a serious health problem or some of it's environmental needs were not being met. The majority of young greens will not take rodents in the beginning, but most will take birds, or bird scented rodents. Also, very young greens in the wild are known to feed mainly on birds. Try what Bill suggested about the chicken broth, as Jud and I have had excellent luck starting some young greens with it. Only try feeding if it's in the hide box, and if it won't take the food immediately, leave it at the hide opening overnight. Young greens do tend to feed better in the dark.
As they said, until the snake starts feeding, keep the cage setup as simple as possible and with as little disturbance as possible. I would avoid the island setup at this point. Greens can go many months without feeding, so just wait it out and don't get to worried at this point. If you can get an accurate length and weight, I could probably tell you how it stands with regards to typical body mass in relation to length. Keep us posted.

Kelly

The heat lamp is a infrared lamp that I only leave on at night if it's a cold night...otherwise, the temp inside the tank tends to stay rather high even without it. Until I ran into some problems with it (mice found an escape route) I had her in a 6ftx3ftx3ft glass enclosure. In it I had 2 hiding spots, 2 water bowls, and a couple branches. The only places I'd find her would be in the water or in the branches...she never once attempted to use her hideouts...even when I removed the water she would just sit in the dirt.

She's a little less than 4ft (I've attempted to get an exact measurement but she won't keep her body straight long enough).

Again, I can't stress this enough: I only force fed her as a LAST RESORT. Only after 3 months of not eating in my care (unknown eating history before that), and a noticable reduction in strength and body weight. I made her eat just enough to make her shed and regain her strength.

On a plus note, despite what I've been told...last week she killed her mouse: bit it, constricted it...but left it for dead after that. This morning, she cornered her mouse behind a rock, but the mouse ended up sneaking out the other side and she simply ended up with a head covered in dirt for her trouble.

My recommendation at this point would be to put her in a roughly 30 gallon size enclosure (aquarium or plastic), with newspaper substrate, hide box, under cage heat, and large water bowl for now. The main goal is to get her feeding and put on some weight. Too large of an enclosure is hard to control environmentally and makes it more difficult for a young snake to find and catch prey. I don't think you are going to have a lot of problems in a smaller and simpler setup as she obviously has been in feeding mode on occasion. In smaller cages you can try both live prey, and dead prey placed in front of her at lights out. It is best to leave any prey that is constricted in for at least 24 hours, because some times they will come back hours later and feed. Additionally, anacondas are proven carrion eaters in the wild, and I have had very young greens eat chicks they have killed that had been in the cage for nearly a day. Good luck.

Kelly

Thank you for all your help. I've had several breeders/collectors/hobbyists tell me she is a lost cause but I just couldn't give up on her. I have a smaller bow-front (I believe it's a 45) that currently houses my red-tail and albino corn, so I'll probly put her in that. The corn tends to be the most active of the 3 so he'll be mroe than likely to enjoy the extra stretching room The mouse I had in there for her died early in the morning, so I'm leaving it in there where she can easily find it tonight...hopefully it won't be there in the morning. Thanx again.