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My female green anaconda is a cb (from HandR reptiles) in 2000. She is currently about 8.5 feet and weighs 18 pounds. She eats a 1 pound f/t rat every 2-3 weeks generally, although her intake increased over this past summer. She is kept in a Boaphile Plastics 4x2x12" in the bottom "floor" of a five stack. Her hot end (heated with undertank heat pad) and thermostatically controlled is 83 F, although she spends more time in the cooler end. Ambient room temps got up to high 80's this summer (I'm in north GA) and on average go up a few degrees even this time of year with all th lights on (my reptiles are all in one exclusive romm). Does this sound pretty standard - her growth rate? BTW I only use a small water bowl as well and she sheds fine - although I soak the cage when she is about ready to shed. One question - she is not very handleable - not really aggresive more flighty - any tips on working to get her more "handleable"
Paul Vetrone
North Georgia Herpetological Resources LLC

that is a really smallfor a conda of that age. Annie my male green is 6 foot and 12 months old. when u say flighty what do u mean? also how often do u handle her?

CrazyCody
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I'm CrazyCody KadunkKadunk!!! I'm a herp god!!!

Kadunk was here

CrazyCody

by flighty I mean she wants to escape or always be on the move when she is handled. I don't handle her as much as my other large snakes for that reason but I suppose more frequent attempts might help. As Kelly states in a another post, and I've read repeatedly, alot has to do with genetics. I'll try to increase the frequency but not length of her handling sessions and see if she responds.
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Paul Vetrone
North Georgia Herpetological Resources LLC
www.ngaherps.com

Paul,
If this is a female, she would be a little small for a 4th year green. Female greens are typically in the 10 to 12 feet range at this age, although size is obviously greatly influenced by food intake. At this size, if it is a female, you may want to increase the volume per feeding a little. You didn't mention if you had sexed this snake, but at that length and weight, there is the possibility that it is a male. Go to a thread on this forum that began on October 23rd of this year, which is titled "Sexing Anacondas". A few posts down in this thread I posted a series of photos on the spur morphology of greens. Compare your greens' spurs to the photos and see how they match up. It is a good quick check, much easier than probing, and just as accurate, especially on larger greens.

On the handling question, many newborn greens, whether c.b. or w.c., tend to be a little nervous. Much of this is genetically based, and some are more "flighty" than others. It has been my experience that when acquired into captivity as newborns, most but not all, will calm down to varying degrees with consistent handling. Also, I have noticed that most usually get calmer with each year of age. Remember however, that genetics will play a major role in how they ultimately turn out.

Kelly

Thanks for the input. On my way home I thought about checking the sex, I was told she was a female when I bought her, but we all know how that goes. She is eating about as often and as much per feeding as she wants to, I usually offer her more but she stops when she stops. I use the largest rats I can find, usually close to 1 pound. By increasing volume do you mean larger prey rather than more prey items? She doesn't seem interested in rabbits, and I haven't tried guinea pigs. I did notice over the summer, when it was hotter I assume, she was eating more per meal and more often. I'd have to look further back in her records to see if that has been a pattern. She looks well proportioned, I am not trying to grow her fast, just healthy. Then again may she is a he - I'll let you know

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Paul Vetrone
North Georgia Herpetological Resources LLC
www.ngaherps.com

It is good to be concerned about overfeeding with greens as they are very prone to obesity with their exceptionally slow metabolisms. In reference to my comment on a food volume increase, this could be accomplished in two ways. Either with an increase in the prey size, or with an increase in the feeding frequency per month if you thought it necessary. I left out multiple prey items at a single feeding because many greens won't take multiple prey items back to back unless they are tied together. Rabbits are the best for larger greens, but there are a few that will not eat them. Especially with females that someone would like to put large size on, it is best to start them on rabbits when they are fairly young. I start my young female greens on small rabbits when they are around 7 or 8 feet.
Thanks,

Kelly

Hey Kelly
sorry for the slow response been hectic here ;0)) I looked at my supposed female yesterday (before I looked at your pics) and now I still don't. I expected to see a bigger difference like my Burms - the male has "spurs" the female has tiny tips. At slightly over 8 ft if mine is a female the spurs should be pretty well recessed if I understand the sex thread correctly - I look again and post the results. Getting her to hold still holding her tail to check with a magnifying will be a trick ;0))
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Paul Vetrone
North Georgia Herpetological Resources LLC
www.ngaherps.com

` I've dealt with several Anacondas which had an overly slow metabolism ( not to say that it isn't very slow when normal! ), slow growth rates, and some which had got sick, because they chose too cold over too warm. This both in floor temperature, and water temperature. Do you have floor temperature measurements from several spots on the cool side of your cage?
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Stop the world-I want to get off!

Actually the cage doesn't sit on the floor, there is a pedestal for the Boaphile stacks, so it is 12" above the floor. The coolest part of her cage is 77 - 79 depending on time of day, she almost never trys to sit in her water unless she is going to shed - and actually we won't fit anymore she only succeeds in spill the bowl. She spends more time atop the undercage heater now that cooler weather is here. That averages mid 80's.
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Paul Vetrone
North Georgia Herpetological Resources LLC
www.ngaherps.com