info about anacondas

[Kagez28]

i just wanted to say that anacondas have always been my favorite species, i just think they are so amazing. i especialy like the way a green annie looks. those spots just strike me.

i am only a beginner in the snake owning world, and owning an anaconda is many many years away. but i love reading about them, so if anyone knows any good books, or websites (not comon ones that come up on google) i would greatly appreciate it.

and just a final question, would you say owning an anaconda is difficult? is the husbandry hard to maintain?

thanks again

[JimiSnakes]

This is a good question for Shelby.

[CeraDigital]

The only big problem I've had with mine, is that one of my females is a reallly picky eater. They aren't too hard to maintain.

[Ben_Renick]

Are you looking for wild information as well? If so, check out Tales of Giant Snakes: A Historical Natural History of Anacondas and Pythons. I found it to be a very good read. I'm writing a care sheet on them now as far as captive greens go, but I'm not anywhere near finished. Best one I have found so far would probably be NERDs. Also, I have a few articles written by Pete Strimple, not sure if you google his name any of them will come up, but it's worth a try. There is also Dr. Lutz Dirksen, his are all in German though.

As far as maintaining goes, they aren't too bad. Be prepared for A LOT of cleaning. A lot of my adults eat regularly, and if that's the case, they tend to poop every couple days, which it's not always everyones dream to clean out a 6-8' cage every couple of days. If you want to take the route of a large soaking bowl, then the matience goes up a couple notches. But for the most part, matience isn't too extreme.

[_BoidFinatic_]

I agree with Ben. They defecate and urinate in their water pan a lot. In my experience, the yellows haven't been picky eaters, but they can eat a lot. They have a relatively fast metabolism, causing them to defecate frequently. Other than that, they can be treated like other giants.

[Shelby]

I second Ben also.. my condas love to make poop soup in their soaking tubs.

I have three yellow anacondas and one green.. the green is actually the most docile of the bunch.. all of them have bitten me though.

Mine are all great eaters (the female yellow occasionally refuses.. but not often) but you want to be sure to get a well started baby.. they are especially hard to start, so I hear.

Overall I wouldn't say they're hard.. just they get big, and can have attitudes.

[Kagez28]

im not to the point in my life where i could take care of a giant. got one more year of undergrad left then i'm off to grad/med school. so right now i can keep pretty much anything that can live in a rack/tub. but thank you for all the info. i am still looking for a good book about them(with lots of picture!!!). i have tivo'd every show that has "snake" in it, and i have seen alot of condas, but a book with som elovely pictures would sure get me all giddy

thank you all again

[Shelby]

Yeah it's definitely good to wait until you're really ready before taking on a conda. I wish I knew a good book to recommend to you, but I don't. I can share pics of mine though.

Rusalka - yellow




Oliver - green


Lurch - granite yellow


Mortimer - granite yellow