The Emerald Tree Boa

If your familiar with Green Tree Pythons you will notice that Emerald Tree Boas look very much like Green Tree Pythons. Emerald Tree Boas do not make great pets so they should really only be kept by experienced snake keepers. Emerald Tree Boas grow to about five foot as adults and are a more aggressive species of snakes.

The Emerald Tree Boa spends its days up in the branches of a tree and hunts at night. The snake usually hangs up in the tree with its head hanging down so it can grab its prey if it approaches from below and then it constricts its prey and kills it before it swallows its prey.

The Emerald Tree Boa will feed on almost any small mammal and also birds. It was once thought that the snake fed only on birds but it is now known that this is not true. It catches its prey extremely fast and its metabolism is much slower than snakes that live on the ground so it may go a month or two between feedings.

The female Emerald Tree Boa usually gives birth to 6 - 14 young and they are born alive. The young snakes are brick red to orange in color and gradually over the first year of their life turn to the distinctive emerald green color. And some sub species of the emerald tree boa born in the Amazon river basin can grow up to nine foot in length.

Again let me caution everyone that the emerald tree boa can be quite aggressive and while its bite is non venomous it can be quite painful. The emerald tree boa is native to much of the rain forests of northern South America and it is most common in the Amazon River Basin. You will see the snake for sale from time to time in the U.S.A. but it will require extra care and it will need a large tall enclosure.

In captivity the emerald tree boa can live twenty years or more so your snake is going to be around for quite a long time and its going to need regular care. The emerald tree boa should only be kept by someone with experience in keeping and taking care of snakes.

When your snake gets ready to shed be sure to read this hub page on Shedding Snakes by Clicking Here Now.

Emerald Tree Boa's will need a tall enclosure with tree branches to crawl and hang on. You should make your emerald tree boas enclosure as natural as possible. I strongly suggest using a substrate sold to be used in snake enclosures. As the emerald tree boa comes from the rain forest it would not be a bad ideal to provide it with a flowing water source. You can do this with a small pump and tubing. You'll want to provide your emerald tree boa with a large enough pool of water for it to get into if it wishes. It would not hurt to have a waterfall in your emerald tree boa's enclosure to add humidity to the snakes enclosure.

Your snakes enclosure should have a couple of hide boxes. One near the ground and one up in the tree branches. Its important that your hide boxes be secure so the snake can come and go with out moving the hide boxes.

Your emerald tree boa will need to be kept between 75 and 80 degrees and the nighttime temperature should drop to 70 - 72 degrees. Its very important that the emerald tree boa not be exposed to temperature above 80 or below 65 or you will kill your snake. The humidity in the enclosure must be kept between 70 - 80 percent. So by now you are probably seeing that this will be a hard snake to keep and keep alive. It is also a very aggressive snake so keep this in mind.

Your emerald tree boa should be fed a rat or mouse no thicker than the snake is around once every two to three weeks. Your emerald tree boa has a slow metabolism so be sure not to over feed your snake. You should be sure that your emerald tree boa defecates at least every second feeding. Any longer than that take it to a veterinarian that knows snakes. Be sure that the veterinarian you choose is familiar with snakes.

A very small 20 watt light bulb is enough light in your emerald tree boa's enclosure.You will want to have a small thermometer you can monitor at the top and bottom of your emerald tree boa's enclosure and you'll need a humidity meter at the top and bottom of the snakes enclosure. Keep a close eye on the temperature and the humidity. Write down readings at least twice daily.

I know I keep saying it but with an emerald tree boa its important to keep a journal about your emerald tree boa. You want to write down when you feed it, when you water it, when you changed its water, when it defecates, and etc. If you take your emerald tree boa to the veterinarian take the journal with you.

Its important that your snakes enclosure be cleaned on a regular weekly basis. Remove any feces as soon as you see it. Let me stress here never over feed your emerald tree boa and never feed it anything bigger around than the snake. If you feed it to often or feed it to large of prey you can severely damage or kill your snake.

If you have any questions or comments about emerald tree boas please feel free to post them below now in the comment section.

Do Your Research

If you are thinking of buying and keeping an exotic pet like a emerald tree boa be sure to do your research and educate yourself about emerald tree boas. Learn everything you can about the snake before you ever bring one home.

Corn Snakes Also Make Great Pets.

CLICK HERE to read all about Corn Snakes.