Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had burms & redtails in the past but have always heard that anacondas were way too mean & dangerous to keep. Please keep in mind I do have half a brain . I can understand how w.c. would be very unmanagable especially if they already had some size to them.

What I would like to know is in general how tractable do you owners find them to be? Especially the greens. I really like the greens.

Thanks for your time.

Gene

Each snake is an individual, regardless of species. Accounts of species-specific behavior are mostly dogmatic crap. The most important things are where the snake comes from, and how it is treated in the first few weeks of life. Baby snakes are usually definsive by instinct. They get over it with constant and gentle handling.
In years of snake keeping, the most aggressive snake I have dealt with was an eight foot, 35 pound, Boa c. constrictor.
The most gentle and calm, by far is a big male Yellow Anaconda I have now. Nice thing about Yellows is that a big male is around 8 ft., 30 pounds.
How's this for tame? This big guy has got so lazy, he just opens up and waits for it to be put into his mouth. Doesn't bother to strike, or constrict anymore. I always have precautions in place in case he reverts. If this was a 15 ft.+ Boid, I don't think I'd be comfortable doing this. Personally, I wouldn't have a 15 ft, 150 pound snake. Just too big and heavy.



Yup, I'd recommend a Yellow. Just be very careful who you get it from.


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To Buddhist hot dog vendor. "Make me one with everything."

I really appreciate the input. You have some really stunning snakes btw. Very nice!

I completely agree that a 15ft, 150 pound snake is too much. I have been doing some looking and was under the impression that male greens didn't usually get that large. Don't get me wrong. I am not questioning you. I just didn't realize. Not to mention the trouble with me is if I get one, I usually want two to let them breed & I know that females are just too darn big.

I am going to the Daytona show & hopefully I will see some really nice animals there and of course seeing first hand is better than any pic on the internet. I am a monitor guy myself but have always love the snakes too.

Thanks again!

Here is a pic of my man Yoshi!

You're right male Greens don't get anywhere near that weight. They generally stay slender. That's why I like the Yellows. You can have a big heavy bodied female, yet she's rarely more than 60 pounds or so, unless you really overfeed her.
They tend to get fat on Ball Pythons, however.

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To Buddhist hot dog vendor. "Make me one with everything."

though.

Based on what I am reading there are more yellows being bred in captivity than greens. Which is good mind you but is there a reason for this other than greens being so large and potentially dangerous?

If there is a market for greens would't more people be trying to breed them in captivity? Just a thought as I don't have the means to start a green anaconda breeding program. They just get too darn big. Are there any dwarfs sort of like the retics?

Thanks for sharing your info & pics. They are awesome.

Gene

I have been told that Yellows are easier to breed than Greens. There is so much mis-information out there that you can't count on much that you hear. I trust New England Reptile Dist., NERD. I got my original animals from them, six years ago. They were healthy AND very calm, not at all aggressive, even as babies. There are so many out there selling traumatized animals that will never be tame. Also, there are people selling field-collected as captive bred! NERD even refused to ship to me ( from New Hampshire to Northern California ) untill they felt the weather was right.
The other part of the problem is that many of the people who have Anacondas, and sell them, have them because they are trying to make a statement, they're bad. Yellow Anacondas are no more formidable than Peruvian Boas. Rightly, they should be called Yellow Paraguayan Water Boas, in my opinion. I have seen wild-caught Yellows that I wouldn't get near, just vicious. I have also handled big Greens that were sweethearts, just heavy ones.
It is my opinion the NERD is breeding from a line that was selected for calm disposition. I would never buy a snake because of a low price, or any other convenience, never.
Just make your decisions before you commit. They could live 30 years! So many get handed off until they die of mis-treatment. It is a crime.
Check them out. Also, don't think a 9 foot, 50 pound constrictor can't be dangerous. One that size could get you good and dead!!
www.newenglandreptile.com/

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To Buddhist hot dog vendor. "Make me one with everything."

I would never buy a convient or cheap snake unless I fully trusted the seller. I know a couple of folks I would buy monitors from by reputation and personal experience regardless of the cost. I would do the same with anyting else. Robyn of Pro Exotics speaks highly of NERD and I feel better knowing you do as well.

I am aware of the committment too as monitors live that long or longer in some cases. I am not a short term keeper normally.

I understand the potential risk too.

Thanks for the help. It is good to talk to people who know & care.

Gene

Hello Gene;

I have had the pleasure of owning both green and yellow anacondas over the years. Each one was captive-bred and aquired as a baby.

In my own personal experience, it seems that greens are generally less aggressive then yellows. In fact, each yellow anaconda I own/have owned as downright viscious. No matter how much I handled them, all they wanted was to rip my face off. They appeared to get worse as time went on.

The greens I have/have had were more tractable. A few were a little nippy but mostare a pleasure to handle and work with.

This is just my experience. I bought most of these from a notable local breeder. Just so you know that not all are fun if you are looking for a "pet" snake.

Joe

p.s. anacondas are still among my favorite snakes, aggressive or not. I wouldn't give them up for the world.

I really like the look of the greens. For some goofy reason one of my favorite colors is odg (olive drab green). The black spots & orange face stripe just set it off that much more. I just find them to be very beautiful snakes all the way around.

I am really liking the yellows now too the more I see pics of healthy, well cared for animals.

I may or may not end up with an anaconda but I like larger snakes and I am glad to find that the "evil" reputation they have is more from a few bad experiences than a rule of thumb. Same thing I am finding with the Retics.

I would love to see some pics of your greens if you have some readily available. If not it's no problem.

Thanks for the help.

Gene

Gene:

I too love the "drab" olive-green hues of green anacondas. That, as well as thier smooth loose skin and upturned aquatic eyes and inquisitive tongue-flicking...the list goes on. Green anacondas are in a league of thier own. They would probably be more popular if they weren't so steriotyped as mean and aggressive. Like others said here, most aren't. I think I have just had bad experience with yellows. And that's probably atypical.

The only pictures of anacondas I have are some really blurry shots of one of my yellow anacondas. I might be able to get some shots of my greens but I don't currently have a camera so it may take time.

Joe

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To Buddhist hot dog vendor. "Make me one with everything."

..what other Boid had a dewlap?

Seriously though, Yellows aren't any better than Greens. Just in a more convenient package.

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To Buddhist hot dog vendor. "Make me one with everything."