Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey. I am very new to keeping reptiles. I bough a 33 gallon tall terrarium with live plants and so far have only an anole in there that I rescued from the recent week-long freeze we had in Florida. She was limp and black and close to dead. I felt sorry for her and brought her inside and ended up nursing her back to health with baby food and pedialyte. Then moved on to buying her bulbs and crickets... etc.

I had been pondering getting a rough green snake for some time, and decided to go ahead and buy the terrarium and set up since I was talking care of her. I have not bought the rough green snake yet. I have read in several places, including a book that it is okay to keep anoles with rough green snakes. What do you guys think? I have heard "No, no, no, no" and on the other hand have seen them living together in tanks and heard that it should be fine so long as the snake is eating....

Also, I bought a habba mister. It seems to be workin just fine but leaks from the bottom in slow drops... Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, any fixes for this?

Thanks for listening to my long email. I hope I can get some ideas.

The problem with green snakes is that no one seems to be able to keep them alive any longer than a few months to a year. They eat, they seem to be doing well, and then for reasons unknown they drop dead. Most specimens offered for sale a wild caught, that could have a lot to do with it. Possibly, there is something in their wild diet with the large variation of insects they are eating that we cannot reproduce in captivity with simple feeder crickets. If you do manage to find c.b. specimens, you will probably pay more but it could be well worth it. I stopped trying with green snakes quite some time ago because with the way they seem to do SO well and then one day, they suddenly die I feel that possibly, there's something we're missing and that they are better off being left in the wild, much like the horned devil lizards that eat harvester ants and never seem to make it in captivity.

I would not house a green snake with an anole purely because some snakes eat anoles, and anoles know that and thus they fear snakes. It would probably be terrified out of it's mind of the snake, even though rough greens are insectivores and would probably take no interest in the anole (never say never though!). Also the two could be carrying things (such as parasites) that if they pass to one another could result in illness or death of one or both specimens. Now don't get me wrong, I have never allowed an anole and a green snake anywhere near one another, but they are both rather high strung critters and I think separate vivaria would be best. good luck to you!

Thanks for the reply.

I have heard that they are difficult to keep quite a few times now. I have already invested several hundred dollars in the terrarium, mister, etc. and set everything up for a rough green snake. I would still really like to give it a try despite all the failures I've heard. I have a couple people who say that they will have some captive bred ones in July so I'm guessing I should wait for those?

I just fell in love with the rough green one day when I was little. It was a rainy day and I opened up my blinds, and there was a little rough green snake standing up and staring in the window. I was just completely charmed by it.

I feel bad to take the anole out of the terrium, but I don't want them to end up infecting each other with parasites and stuff. But I did take her from outdoors during a freeze, and maybe she would like to go back outdoors.

I guess wish me good luck.

they also love to climb...make sure there's plenty of branches

So far have a 33 gallon tall naturalistic terrarium... the habba mister (which leaks!), a tall branch, some vines, 3 live plants, 60 watt basking bulb, reptisun 5.0, and a corner water dish..

Anything else I should be getting? There is Repticon this weekend so if anyone knows what else a set up for a rough green should have, please let me know!

I think the key is the UVB bulb. I am pretty sure I read that they prefer to be set up more like a lizard, including foliage for hiding, and UVB being essential. That may have been the missing element days gone by. Even thought they may have been feeding, the lack of UVB may have contributed to early demise due to not assimilating the required nutrients from the food items.

Rough Green Snakes are very difficult to keep alive for an extended amount of time - even captive bred babies. Putting an adult in a cage with an anole would certainly stress out the lizard. Putting baby Green Snakes (which are about the size of matchsticks) with an anole would result in the snakes becoming lizard food.

A tank your size is way too big to be keeping baby Green Snakes in. There's no way to keep track of the babies in that size of enclosure and to insure that they're getting food.

I've been keeping snakes for over 30 years and I attempted to raise 5 captive bred Rough Greens. Four of them died within the first year and one lived for two years. The snakes had UVB exposure, so I don't think that was an issue.

I think what Shannon suggests is more likely the cause - an inadequate diet. Although they feed on crickets in captivity, they eat a far wider range of foods in the wild (including snails and frogs) and the exact components of their diet isn't well understood.

On a difficulty scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, Dr. Rossi rates Rough Green Snakes a 4 (and Smooth Green Snakes a 5) in his book "Snakes of the United States and Canada: Keeping Them Healthy in Captivity."

Tim

A Rough Green that I found in Kentucky a couple years ago:

Third Eye

wow! that's a nice find! I found two smooth green snakes this summer! One of them made for some great photos:

Those are so cool! I've never seen one besides in pics, but hoping to finally find some this spring. I Have a friend in Wolfpoint, MT. that finds them on his property, & he invited me up for a look.

Dan

The rough greens are pretty easy to find here in SE Louisiana. They are so deceptively beautiful you almost cannot help yourself to give them a go and try to keep them. I learnt many many years ago its best to just give them a look, take a few pics, and let them go. I NEVER had luck getting them to feed. Of course this was keeping them like a typical colubrid over 30 years ago in a 10 gallon tank, newspaper substrate, a water bowl, and a climbing stick LOL!!

Well I have certainly heard a lot of discouragement, but had my heart set on getting one anyhow. I did however hear from some people who sucessfully kept them.

I ended up getting a captive bred male that I am guessing is a few years old and already feeding. He is almost 3 ft long. He doesn't mind me handling him and seems to be okay thus far.

I am taking him to the vet this weekend for a check up and a fecal. I ordered him some silk worms, and horn worms and have been feeding him 3/4 inch crickets.

Hopefully I will be lucky. I sure do like him an awful lot, and would hate to lose him.

I wish you good luck with him!! Think "lizard" in terms of keeping with plenty of cage foliage for hiding, and UVB. Give it a basking spot around 85 degrees on a section of elevated foliage/branches. I dont think they will use bottom heat like other snakes, and would probably do best with a bulb to provide top heat. I am sure they sun on top of foliage in the wild. Also, rough greens MAY NOT drink from a dish. Also very lizard like. You will probably have to mist it and a section of the cage daily for it to stay hyrdated. Maybe give it a bit of a soak once or twice a week? I cant remember where I heard this from, or even if I remember correctly, but I dont think they take to water bowls very well. Also, offer as much diversity in food as it will accept, and maybe try supplementing with calcium and vitamins like a lizard? The fact of the matter is the rough green may not be a very long lived snake even in the wild. Probably a life expectancy similar to an anoles or fence lizard.

I have everything set up like you said: vines, live plants, mister, temperature. Ordered some horn worms and silk worms. Have crickets and butterworms right now. Hopefully it works out. Thanks for the support.

It sounds like you are on the best track to successfully keeping him. Good luck to you and keep us posted on your progress/observations!!!

I can't help but think...If you know someone who breeds them then they should be the ones to get advice from? Then maybe you can tell us how they do it! Unless they are catching the snakes in Spring and getting eggs from them. But if they are having success keeping them long term and especially breeding them, then they are doing something right! I also tried several times in the past and failed
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
Jorge Sierra

Well I don't know them personally. I just contacted this breeder and have been asking them questions. I ended up getting a rough green snake from them and have been continuing to ask them questions ever since.

I also took the snake to the vet and got a fecal. No parasites, so that is good. I haven't got her to eat yet, but the vet said she was about to shed. Her eyes are blurry, and she is starting the shed. He said she probably wouldn't eat until after that.

So I am just hoping the shed goes good, and that she will eat the crickets and hornworms, and butterworms (or at least one of the above) after that.