A little anaconda info for you guys

[ceeej31]

imo, when keeping an animal in captivity a simplistic enclosure is perfectly acceptable as long as the animal still has the opportunity to behave at least somewhat naturally for example, a species that is highly active needs to have plenty of room to exercise, a species that digs needs the opportunity to dig, an arboreal species needs climbing structures, etc.
while these things are not always absolutely necessary to keep the animal physically healthy i personally still feel it is necessary to provide them for the psychological health of the animal

 

[snakeguy101]

Well there are some things I do disagree apon. Firstly the whole blister thing with aquatic snakes. THis is only true if you are lazy and don't clean the snakes water. I have never had a single skin problem with my snake. I change his water when needed. I don't think running a filter wil do any good because of the massive amount of waste these things make.

My green anaconda only comes out of water right after sheds. I don't know why.

So who cares about the animal? Aslong as we are happy it doesn't matter how they are kept? That sounds like greed to me.

I disagree with keeping snakes and or other reptiles in rack systems. If the owner trully loves there animal they will keep them in large display enclosures. Thats what this is all about. Keeping reptiles as pets, not as "projects" or income".

I am not bashing you or saying that you are doing a poor job of keeping your snake but I am just saying that we keep them for our enjoyment and nothing else. If you can keep a snake healthy in a rack and you enjoy keeping/ breeding it then great! If you need a big elaborate display to be satisfied then go for it.

You are saying that your snake needs to be kept "happy" but unless you can talk to your snake (insert harry potter joke here) you cannot know if your snake is happy or not so I think that health is a much more important gauge of quality of keeping. You are doing a good job of keeping up with that enclosure that you have now but what is going to happen when your 'conda gets to be too big for just you to handle and you are going to have to call a friend over twice a day to help you move your snake to empty the huge water bowl? and what is going to happen when your snake gets too tangled in the props that you have put in the cage for it to remove the snake from this nice cage when you need to clean it and have help available? I am just saying that all of these things need to be considered before you go over the top with an enclosure jam packed with branches, ledges, water, and thick substrate. Make no mistake, something like an anaconda can and will kill you if given the chance. Once this snake reaches that 10' mark it is going to be too much for one person to handle despite how "tame" you THINK it is.

You are naive to think that you are not keeping this snake solely for your enjoyment and bragging rights. If you can come up with some other reason then please, I would love to hear it.

Again, I am not trying to bash you- you are doing a great job so far. I am just stating that this is not the only way to keep snakes.

 

[Z Trip]

I know a snake over 6 feet has the ability to kill a human. Well even smaller if its venomous but back to boas. No I don't have a friend to come over and help me out with moving my snake. It's just something I need to do on my own. I know the risk, and I know the concequenses. However, I'm not some newb walking on the sceen here(I know you didn't call me one, I'm just letting others know) Luckily, that my knowledge will help me stay away from any "dangers" that I may get into.

I have my snakes futur water bowl picked out

I got it at a great price and this one will have a drain to make my life easyer

 

[TTTT]

FYI snakes don't feel emotions, they aren't that advanced. It isn't happy or sad having a large water bowl.

 

[Z Trip]

FYI snakes don't feel emotions, they aren't that advanced. It isn't happy or sad having a large water bowl.

ok, how can I explain this to someone like you. it's like having a baby sea trtle hatch and having it search forever for the ocean. It needs water but never finds any. Anaconda's need water. The search for it, but when they find something the size of a dog dish (for dogs, not snakes) I would see how frustrating that would be.

 

[EricIvins]

Wow......Tell that to the guys that are producing F3 Greens with about 4 gallons of water per adult.......Those Greens are healthy, feeding, and breeding......

 

[TTTT]

ok, how can I explain this to someone like you. it's like having a baby sea trtle hatch and having it search forever for the ocean. It needs water but never finds any. Anaconda's need water. The search for it, but when they find something the size of a dog dish (for dogs, not snakes) I would see how frustrating that would be.

Well an anconda doesn't feel anger or frustration. I'm not saying a giant water bowl is a bad thing, but it isn't neccesery. If the snake is healthy and eating with a small water dish, then that's fine. I've seen beautiful anacondas kept with maybe 5 gallon water dishes, no problem.

 

[snakeguy101]

Wow......Tell that to the guys that are producing F3 Greens with about 4 gallons of water per adult.......Those Greens are healthy, feeding, and breeding......

 

[hellrazr1231]

The water blister thing is not just related to nasty water. Humidty boxes will create them also. If the snake does not dry off then it happens. I agree that anacondas need a large bowl to submerge themselves. Anyone who says they don't has no clue on anacondas. You will be refilling dumped bowls all day because the snake will try to crame itself in the bowl. Will seach for water, just like any animal seaches for its security place. Your anaconda probably stays in the water alot because you use cypress mulch as substrate (appears to be in picture). It has jagged edges and seem to annoy my snakes. I would switch to some peatmoss mixed with topsoil then cover it with 3in or more of leaves. Snake will love it. Your humidty makes also be a little which will cause anacondas to always stay in the water. Mine where in the water alot regardless 60-70% but not always. Mine would explore the whole cage at night. For others who say anacondas dont need the large bowls. 90% of the time the anaconda will prefer to eat from the water. Mine would head for the bowls when they smelled food. Someone asked why keep an anaconda.
Why keep anything? A fishtank full of crazy exoticfish has a wow factor just like a snake. That is always a lame attack I see people do.
Reasons-it is a challenging snake to house successfully. Large amounts of water, physical size, picky eaters, etc. Accomplishing keeping a happy anaconda makes you feel good just like any hobby. They are by far the most docile of the giant snakes (greens that is, yellows can be nasty mean). I have only experinced one green anaconda that hated people. Most are pretty placid. It is not blood thirsty and out to kill. I would have trusted my largest anaconda way more then any pitbull/guard dog or any neighbors for the fact. At least it will act like a snake and not just snake and bite me in the face or shot me. I lost all of my pictures of my snake 12ft plus do to a computer crash but have some on a cd somewhere of 5-10ft. May dig them up.
Z-trip- not sure if you play around on reptile froums but always keep an eye out for ben rencik and kelly hauler. Guys are freaking awesome and breed yellow and green anacondas reguarly. Ben Renick has his own site but him and kelly both can be found on kingsnake.com forums.
Nice snake btw

 

[Lepisosteus platyrhincus]

Wow......Tell that to the guys that are producing F3 Greens with about 4 gallons of water per adult.......Those Greens are healthy, feeding, and breeding......