Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Greetings,
I have a small female wild caught green anaconda. She is approx 5-6ft in length. My question is how are some of you conda owners moving them when they get to be around the 8-9ft range. I use a snake hook to move her now but eventually she will be to big for that task. I am curious how some 11-12 footers are being moved when they are very aggressive. I got her a year or so ago and she was quite nasty then but I just deal with it. She has been thru some tough times and I wish to keep her. But the aggressive tendicies with her pose to be a serious problem down the road. I try to handle her but get hit everytime I do. Right now the bite is not that bad but in time that will also change. Thanks again for taking the time to read my post.

Lee

Midwest makes hooks that are great for the larger snakes. It would be difficult for an extremely large anaconda but would work for you 8-9 ft snakes and even some larger. After that, help is about the best option. Also, look into the Jesus Rivas sock on head approach.

The sock over the head trick would work. OK, now a question for you, please dont take this the wrong way. Why did you buy a aggresive green anaconda? I am guilty of buying aggressive snakes in hopes that I can some day calm them down, but I never can. I am able to control a 6-10 foot snake if they deside to get outof hand, but a female green anaconda is a totaly differant ball game. I dont need to tell you how big they can get. I had to part company with my overly aggressive anacondas, I did hold on to one of there off spring and it to is on the testy side. I realy wanted another big anaconda but I didnt want the aggresion. I finaly found a guy that breeds super docile green anacondas and got one from him. It has been such a joy of having a docile green anaconda that I dont have the fear that this snake is going to rip my head off. Anyway good luck with your snake.

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GOD,I LOVE ANACONDAS!!!!! Eric aka Mr.A

Lee,
You will definitely have your hands full when she gets larger. I take it that she is feeding well and otherwise healthy. From the description and the fact that she hasn't gotten any calmer in the last year or so, it is extremely unlikely that she will ever calm down even with a lot of work on your part. Really about your only recourse in another year or so, if things don't improve, is to set her up in a large cage designed with a removable partition and separate heating units on each side of this partition. Cage maintenance can be accomplished by raising the temp on one side to between 90 and 95 F causing her to move away from that side allowing you to slide in the partition for cleaning the opposite side. A hide in the cooler side will help cause her to move also. This will allow you to maintain her without agitating her. If she has shown no signs of calming down to this point, continued attempts at handling or restraining her when she is larger could easily cause her temperament to deteriorate further. She will probably even become a little more relaxed, but still not handleable, if direct interaction is reduced. I am highly opposed to the importation of sub-adult and adult anacondas, and even juveniles, but some wild caught newborns do acclimate and become fair captives if the proper environmental conditions are met. Good luck.

Kelly

Hello,
No offense taken. I got her because the people I got her from almost but gave her to me. I have a come at you mean white-lipped and a very very aggressive amythistine. I also have a male Green and he is quite docile. Anyway I figured if she was young enough and healthy I would be able to work with her. So far my reasoning has failed. However I have been thru much with her and just do not want to give up on her. I have an enclosure large enough for her when in time she is ready. She does well in with my male. I have seen the sock method used my Jesus on one of his documentery's. I am looking into the partition perhaps that is going to be the best method. I have a nasty Nile Monitor that I have had for awhile and have decided to make him a display pet. Perhaps the cards are going to be in her favor for a display pet as well. I am told that when they are like this still they will pretty much reamin that way. Anyway Thank you all for reading and responding to my post.
Happy Herping......

Lee,
It sounds like she was well under a year old when originally captured. As young as she was when acquired, I think there was a fair possibility that she may have acclimated well to captivity. You are trying to make the best of a situation that didn’t work and I commend you for staying with it and not giving up. Most people would decide to ship her off, more than likely to someone less interested in her well being than yourself. The sock idea would probably allow you to move her without major incident, but you would still need to restrain her each time and this will stress her more than anything else. The sock approach is best limited to capture and release of wild caught snakes. If she remains highly aggressive, I think a hands-off approach would be best and much less stressful on her. Keep us posted on how things workout.

Kelly

` Have you tried keeping a shirt that you've worn for a day in the cage with her?
` I have seen that work, by keeping the snake constantly in contact with your scent.
` It is a longshot, but what do you have to lose?
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Stop the world-I want to get off!