Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am in the process of purchasing two pair of Ahaetulla prasina. I am planning on keeping the snakes in rubbermaid containers (with ventilation, heat, braches, etc.) together as pairs. My biggest concern is feeding. I don't have a source for anoles or geckos up here in the barren north, so I guess the alternatives would be guppies, assist feeding/force feeding rodents or tube feeding Mazuri carnivorous gel. What do you guys think? Does this species accept fish in captivity? Has anyone had luck feeding these guys anything besides reptiles? Is force feeding a reasonable method? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Nick

i have not got them to eat fish and they will probably stress out quickly in rubbermaids. possibly you could order a few dozen feeder lizards when you need them? i would not use a rubbermaid for these snakes since they need a natural setup. also they ABSOLUTELY NEED UVB LIGHT! they also need alot of humidity and should be fed more often than other snakes about twice a week.

also force feeding these snakes would be very stressful on them and i doubt they would live long if you done this. and these snakes usually only eat lizards and treefrogs.

As already mentioned I would not think that these guys would do well in rubbermaids, they need natural light as they are dinural animals. I have a bunch that I have managed to get started on mice, but the others refuse fish and mice, i feed them tree frogs or anoles whenever they are available, but they have gotten used to being forcefed pinkys, it doesn't seem to stress them out too much because i have a pair that i have been forcefeeding regularly for around 2 years now and they are still doing well.

I know this is an old thread but I have a ? Is there actually a U.V. requirement is do they just need a Lightcycle to keep them from stressing
-----
Ricky

I know this thread is old but I have been able to get a wild caught adult's ranched/captive offspring Ahaetulla Prasina to eat fish. I place a shallow bowl (cut down a disposable tupperware container)with three small guppies just a little wider than its head with heavy foliage placed overhead with about 4-5 inches clearance above the water. My Prasina would see the movement of the fish and dangle in an S shape above the water and dart its head down to catch a fish and swallow it mid-air. Mine was a neonate and has only eaten fish. As many of these are wild caught adults it is problematic switching them over but I have heard of it being done. They are visual hunters and find the movement of the fish attractive. I know Ahaetulla frontacincta soley eat fish and they are a related species. If you have wild caught adults you may have to start an anole farm for food. I think that is why they are relatively cheap as exotic looking as they are.

My pair will only eat anoles, they wont even take house geckos. Check the classifieds and you can find feeder anoles for a good price but you have to buy in bulk. As stated before make the cage look like a jungle, fake and live plants, vines etc... They make awesome display animals, good luck!!!

i have mine in a 5 foot tall enclosure and i want to put them in a tank since this doesnt hold humidity well how big a tank does a pair of ahaetulla need?

If you are going with an aquarium size cage try and get at least a 30 gal tall. Just make sure to have a lot of fake plants (suction cup) on the sides and back, also add fake vines that run across the cage and live plants on the ground. With humidity being difficult (and expensive) to control in larger cages, you have to utilize every bit of space.

Another thing that I do to keep the humidity up in a glass tank is to cover the screen door with a towel and use a garden sprayer a couple times a day, I make sure I see them drinking the droplets before I stop spraying in addition to having a water bowl(even if it is seldom used) to insure that they are properly hydrated.