Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I have been reading on this board for about a year now and think that I'm up to the task of keeping an anaconda.

The questions I have are:

Which kind?
Male or female?

The qualities that I'm looking for are:
easy feeder
docile temperment

For housing I want to build a cage that is 10'x 4'x 2.5'or 3'.
I plan to have a mini pond made of pond liner on one half and several hiding boxes on the land.

I have kept many corn,king, and gatrer snakes as well as ball pythons.

Please express your opinions and help me with my decision.

From my experience I would say you deffinitly want a male yellow anaconda. Not just because they are the smallest anaconda. From what I have seen, yellows are more likely to take rodents and I they have been easier feeders to work with from what I have seen. Feeding responses do vary still. With your setup you want to do I would go with the male yellow because it will be smaller than a female. Your setup sounds elaborate and the less amount of water space you can get away with..the better. You need the condistions to be sterile and it will be very hard cleaning up a large elaborate water setup. Temperment goes from snake to snake. I have seen both bite people and I have seen both be very calm.

Well, I congradulate you on waiting. As far as getting an easy feeder and docile temperment, you have every option to what you want to get as long as it's C/B and Guarenteed to eat (just to make things that much easier). Your cage size would be big enough to house a large Female or Male Green Anaconda or a large Female or Male Yellow Anaconda. Your choices are very open so far. Both Green and Yellow Anacondas can have great attitudes and can eat anything, just make sure you know who you are buying from. My Green Anaconda is a C/B, kitten tame, and will eat anything I put in front of it (including F/T Rabbits).
The only thing you are going to want to look out for would be your experience with large boids. Ball Pythons are an introduction up from Corn Snakes and what not, but a Green Anaconda is not a small step up from a ball. Unless you have experience with very large boids, I would recommend a Yellow Anaconda. I mean don't get me wrong, you meet all the requirments for both, and I'm sure you could take care of both a Green or Yellow with no problem. But if you think you are ready to handle a snake that will become well over 100 lbs, then it's up to you on Green or Yellow. Just make sure you look for the traits of being C/B, Feeding on F/T, Handible. Hope this helps!
~Ben R.

Since the beginning I have thought that the male yellow anaconda would be the best choice due to its size but the green still is in my mind. I think I'll go with the male yellow or a male green because I don't want a snake that'll get to large to handle. I'm only 130 pounds at almost 6'.

I wanted to have an amazon look to the cage but I think I'll just go the easy way and make it simple with just a rubbermaid.

Btw do anacondas readily feed on fish, and is it a good food item?

Ohh, what source would you reccomend for yellow's or green's?

I have read and heard many good things about NERD and yellow anacondas.

Fish are a very bad choice to feed anacondas. They will eventually die if kept on a diet of only fish and many fish you get at a pet store will have problems with chemicals and all sorts of whooo ha. I know of one person who had a green anaconda that was only taking fish and the snake actually did end up dieing. This person was also a vet. Most of them will take rodents and some greens will want fowl but usually only when young. Also, it doesnt matter of you are 130 lbs or 330 lbs...a large anaconda will beat you. But I do understand the moving hassle.

I breed fish for a hobby so I can supply a healthy flow. I used to feed mice and rats to my snakes as well as goldfish. I was thinking of the pool idea to include fish so the anaconda would always have a meal. I'm guessing that the best meal for adult condas would be guenia pigs and rabits. Is this so?

Also I would like for the anaconda to be able to move around in its cage. Does cage size have anything to do with temperment?

Should I look into breeding rabits or chickens?

Btw thanks for all the help

I would say the best idea would be F/T Rodents (Rats, etc.), F/T Rabbits, Guine Pigs will work, but can be a lot more expensive. I wouldn't feed live, for the plain fact that they will bite and have claws. Also live introduces more of a feeding repsonse to everything.
Cage size should not affect the Anacondas temperment unless it's seriously too large and will stress out the snake. A 10' Cage does seem to be a little large for a Male Yellow Anaconda, you seriously don't need it to be that large, for a Male Yellow, I would say an 8' cage would be the max size you will need to go. A 10' cage would be good for a female Green for quite some time, and if it's big enough for a huge female Green, think of how big it would be to a male yellow. I hope this helps some!
~Ben R.

I want to get a male green or a male yellow. I see that both species can be docile and it's all in the given specimen.
I like the lighter colored greens.

Where can I get a steady supply of rabits and chickens to feed for cheap?

Also, what is the most conveineint way of keeping the right humidity and heat in certain areas of the anacondas enclosure?

` "It's all in a given specimen", as you said. That is the key. If you can find a calm, gentle, untraumatized baby, you're starting out well. If you can find one with a very mild feeding response, you're very lucky, indeed.
` Except for exceptions like Kelly Haller, and those few like him, who practice husbandry and breeding for temperament, buying an animal by mail-order, from an unknown supplier, is a large gamble. You may get a physically healthy animal, but the snake's genes, or its environment, in the first few weeks of life can make a permanent, negative, or positive impression on it. Stressed, angry babies often remain that way, for life.
` You're considering an animal who could live for 30 years, or more. Also, even a 'small' male Yellow Anaconda can be a formidable, and unforgiving critter. They are strong, and very fast.
` Nothing is more important than the initial selection of your Anaconda, period.
` When I hand picked my baby Yellow Anacondas, years ago, there were fewer sources than now. Still, I waited until I could find what I wanted, as far as behavior. I am so happy I did it that way.
` If I was looking for a baby Anaconda, right now, I would wait for a baby Green male, from Kelly. Simply because I know of no one breeding Yellows for temperament, at this time, unless NERD still has their Yellow breeders.

` If you choose the right babies, look at what you could get, as far as behavior potential is concerned.

` This big guy is a NERD Yellow. Six years old, 9+feet, 35 pounds. I wouldn't trade him for 35 pounds of gold.

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` Any species of Boid can have behavior like this. You've just got to find the right baby.

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Stop the world-I want to get off!

In my opinion a 10 foot cage would be way too big for a yellow anaconda. I have a adult male yellow and I keep him in a four footer. I dont like my Yellow as much as my Green for the simple fact that my Yellow loves to bite. If I were only going to have one anaconda it would be my green, it is a male so he wont get so big that I wouldnt be able to hold him. If you decide to get a Yellow NERD would be a good choice but if you want a awsome green, then Kelly Haller should have some in the next few months. Good luck.
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GOD,I LOVE ANACONDAS!!!!! Eric aka Mr.A

First off I'd strongly advise you to not get an anaconda, they grow to be huge and are very difficult to manage, and I would recommend more experience with larger snakes before moving up to an anaconda. If you want to get one though, your best choice would be a yellow anaconda, the green anacondas grow far too big to manage. Yellows grow to be 10-12 feet in length. If you want a smaller snake, go with a male as the females generally grow larger than the males. It's going to be hard to find a docile anaconda, both species are very sensitive to threats and are pretty nippy. Some though, can calm down quite nicely, but most are not the best tempered. As the snake grows, the food will start getting a lot more expensive and just keeping it will cost you a lot of money. The enclosure size you are looking to build is a great size for a yellow anaconda, but it will be hard to clean and maintain. If you want an anaconda, be prepard for a lot of work and time keeping it. This is a lot different from keeping ball pythons, corn snakes, king snakes, and garter snakes. I strongly suggest you look into a snake like a boa constrictor as the next level. Boa Constrictors are a perfect choice for people who already have experience with snakes. In my opinion, you would be happier getting a boa constrictor. Good luck.

Well everyone has done an excellent job of talking about size and what you are ready for and possibly not ready for. Here's something to help you make your decision. How many times have you been bitten by a snake? If your answer is under 25 then imagine getting bit by 22' much less a 10' anaconda. They can be tame, but most of them need quite a bit of handling that will definitly involve getting bit. My last point is that, in my opinion, there really isn't anyway to prepare for a snake the size of a green anaconda. Spend a lot of time holding it when it is young and I recommend never handling a 15' or larger snake alone...you never know.

I have been bitten about 12 to 20 times around my times with snakes and most of the bites were from the ones I got from the wild.

The potential of handiling a 15' anaconda that is suddenly attracted to me is very scary. That is a good idea to always have someone with you when you handle large snakes.

I was thinking of getting a Boa constrictor but I had kept one for a couple months for someone and it was just like a ball python in temperment. Very mellow snake it only gets a bit larger than the regus anyway.

I think I'm up to the task of keeping an anaconda because of the sheer respect I have for them and their power. I have chameleons and am very knowledgable about humidity levels and what not. I want to get the anaconda from a reputable breeder that breeds for personality not just looks.

Also on the cage. Is 8'x4'x2' good for a male green anaconda from birth to adulthood? If not what is and give details of the enclosure you find ideal.

Thanks alot everyone

A 8x4 would be great for a male anaconda. As far as anaconda size goes, my adult male yellow is 7 foot. He wont get much bigger at all. Now my male green he is still a youngster but probably wont get much bigger than 11-12 foot. Kelly Haller has a pic of a full adult male in his gallery pix, check it out for size. As far as temperment goes my green is calmer than any other snake I have ever owned. Im not saying you cant get a mean one, just do your home work and get one from a good breeder of docile anacondas like Kelly H. Feeding a male green will end up with rabbits, but when a anaconda gets to about 3-4 years old there feeding slows down. Example my yellow only eats every month and a half or so, so the price of a rabbit dont look so bad now. Good luck on what ever snake you should go with.

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

Thanks,

what type of wood should I use to build the enclosure due to the high levels of humidity?

I'm leaning towards newspares and paper towels for a substrate. Is this the way to go?

Also I'm planning on using the Zoo Med ceramic infared heat emitter with humidimats and a mist volcano. As for lighting I want to use red and blue lights but I already have a bunch of mercury vapor lights. For the water tub I want to use a large rubbermaid that is pretty shallow. Paper towel is my substrate for this enclosure.

Tell me wether this is an ideal setup or what is?

Thanks I want this to be perfectly set up before I get the snake.

alot of people like newspaper and paper towel but i have used it for burms and it just seems to get all wadded up. those large liners that are one piece might work better than several pieces of newspaper or paper towel

I just tape the peices together in order to keep the sheets from wrapping up and moving around with the snake.

How about using tile? I can get the best stuff too. I think that this is a good idea since I can heat and clean this easy.

Any suggestions?

I don't want to sound mean but with the animals you have now you do not have the experiance to have this very large and very aggresive snake.Just because you read about them doesnt mean you have the experiance to get one.If you want an anaconda you should probably start out with a smaller aggresive snake and if you get one.Maybe this will make you really think twice about geting one.Hope I help you.

Do you have any suggestions? If the anacondas produced by kelly Haller are the gentle giants that everyone clams they are than what can go wrong? I know the basic husbandry techniques and hope to master the larger snakes starting with this species. The only snakes I would consider to be aggressive would be rocks and retics as far as the decent sized to overly large go.

I dont see anything wrong with you getting one...as long as you get a baby you'll learn as it grows and learn what things not to do. If you had no experience with large snakes and were getting a 20 footer that might not be real wise.
As long as you know what your getting into..go for it.

Thank you for your support.

Their are a few yellow anacondas in the clasifieds section that are un Cali. But I think I'll just wait till Kelly Haller's litter has arrived.

Ohh, Also can anyone give me ideas for my science project that has any regards to the anaconda? The bio teacher is very fascinated with anacondas and so I thought that this might earn me a higher grade.