Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Good Evening,

I have encountered an abusive owner, who owns a 4 foot male green anaconda. I have spoken to him about its health and environmental issues. He simply is not giving it the right temperatures, not enough water area and has no time to feed it properly on a scheduled basis. Aside all that, here is the conclusion:
I offered him to take his anaconda from him and take care of it. The only thing is: I own a male green anaconda. my 4 months male gets along very very generously with my 3 foot yellow female. Kelly, I would assume you have experience in keeping or have knowledge on wether it is ok to introduce two males to each other? If I introduce the 4 foot male to my 2 foot male and my 3 foot female, will they all live a happy life? I do not know how male anacondas act around each other wether they are kept in the same enclosure or are introduced to each other on occassional basis?
If they cant be buddies and share this female, I will not take and rescue that snake. If anacondas are ok with rival males than I might give it a try.

anyone wanna help me out and give it a shot on this male to male business?

I have personally never kept two male greens together in the same cage that were older than a month of age. I have however seen and know of individuals that have kept adult yellow anaconda males together without incident. Before male greens reach sexual maturity, it more than likely would not be an issue to keep them together but you would want to watch them initially. I personally would never keep two mature male boids in the same enclosure unless it was a breeding attempt, and then only with very close observation. In the early 1980's I placed two adult male burmese pythons together in the same enclosure and within minutes, they attacked and severely bit each other before I could separate them. In a large cage setup, your male anacondas are young enough that it probably won't be an issue for a year or two, but as I stated above, it is always best if you can keep them separate. The main issue being stress and not necessarily aggression. One thing that I would suggest is that you quarantine the new snake for at least 3 or 4 months, and have a fecal done by a vet. From your description of it's previous captive environment, it's health status could be an issue and you don't need your snakes picking up anything. Good luck,

Kelly

From the sound of the original post I was thinking the snake could possibly be in a better environment than it could be going into (with the exception of the new owners apparent effort and good intentions...I do not know about the other persons intent with the snake).
Anyway-
large enough water space...Kelly, this is one of the most important things you have shown with your breeding. These animals can do well without submergable containers if they are established early.

Proper heat? What are their temps.? Anaconda temps should be significantly lower than burmese temps. Unless they are not providing a heat source I would think temps are not a huge issue. Especially if the snake is eating, not regurging, and showing no signs of RI.

Eating. how often is "not a regular basis." My anacondas are far from the weekly feedings many of my other snakes get. Their metabolism is not really set up for this (especially if giving larger meals). And actually...the green female I mentioned above is not a heavy eater anyway. She is almost 3 years old now and still around 5 ft. She is growing and eating but she isn't even close to the response of any of my yellows. Still a very shy snake and prone to going off feed early in the shed cycle. Her feeding was strong in mid june to mid july but has somewhat slowed down as the months grow cooler. I believe since her meal on 6-12 she has only eaten six times. They tappered off after going into shed on 7-17 and eating again afterward on 8-7.

I have also had a yellow anaconda breeder tell me about a snake one of his animals ate (ball python) while cage cleaning. A little mistake there. I also know my green would love to eat a snake right now. I would not put a snake in the enclosure with a green anaconda. I dont trust it. I am not as experienced as you kelly but it just seems like too high of risk for a known herp eater. Living with a yellow right now suggests the snake does not have the feeding response for snakes mine does but I would not risk it.

Just some things I would consider

opinion kelly?

Just from the way the original post was worded, it sounded like there might be other issues involved with the snakes current environment above what was mentioned specifically. And I must admit, I did slip and forget to bring up the water issue. You are correct, if started from birth, they do not require anything above a small water bowl. I guess my main focus was on his question about placing males together and not on the environmental aspects, as I did not have enough information to properly address those issues.

I definitely agree with you that anacondas should be kept separate whenever possible, but there are incidences where they have been kept in communal enclosures without any problems. While female greens in the wild have shown an inclination toward cannibalism with regards to males, I don’t know of any such occurrences in captivity. I believe that post-parturient females are probably responsible for the vast majority of these cases, specifically in an attempt to replenish lost body mass. Captive females are usually in much better condition after the birth of their young than their wild counterparts, and so are likely to be much less of a threat to males. Additionally, I have never heard of male anacondas involved in any incidences of cannibalism. I think the main issue with housing males together would be mainly stress related, and this would probably only come into play as they approached maturity. That said, I agree with you and must reiterate that I would be hesitant to house two anacondas together unless they were either fairly young or I was attempting to breed them. However, there will probably always be some slight degree of risk no matter what the age. You had good observations and it is a great topic for discussion.

Kelly

Thanks kelly,

I do not think that I will be getting that male. At least not now. In about two years I will be buying a house, that way I can transform my basement into a herp room. Maybe than
As far as water containers go, I know it is impossible for you to have water space big enough for an adult anaconda to swim in. As long as they get to soak is all that matters. Mine are still juveniles and I give them plenty of space to swim around. I believe its and option of choice and wether you have the space or not.

Thanks again

Ron