Life Span
Recorded only in captivity: estimated 15 to 25 years.
Difficulty Level
Moderate, due to the maintenance level and also due to the whole "Tree Boa" temperment.
Enclosure
Emerald tree boa enclosures can be the most elaborate living room centerpieces or the most basic, sanitary cages. It is something that is created with the keeper's likes, imagination, spare time, etc. See the supplies section for more info on the major companies. Most major breeders maintain their animals in relatively simple and basic cages to not only decrease time spent cleaning but also to decrease costs. Keeping things simple also has the advantage of being much more easily sanitized. On the other hand, many private keepers make very elaborate cages for their emerald tree boas. Building or having an elaborate cage built takes time and money and its upkeep takes much more work but the aesthetics are much better. Nobody can deny the beauty of an emerald tree boa resting in a well-planted terrarium. Whether you take one route or the other, you must remember both routes can lead to the same result we are all aiming for: having healthy animals. Several caging methods may be employed. When looking at the many options now available to the herpetoculturist, many different issues come to mind. Ease of cleaning, weight, size, appearance, and accessibility are all factors that must be taken into consideration. Here are some methods which emerald tree boa keepers house their snakes. Acrylic/Plexiglass - Acrylic (Plexiglass) has become a recently common-use caging material. Acrylic is more shatter resistant than glass but also scratches easier. There are several advantages to acrylic though. It is awfully strong (same material used for many large aquariums), easy to work with and join together and comes with a variety of colors from clear to black. Acrylic will also warp under high heat however so that should be taken into consideration Aquaria - Glass aquaria is probably the most traditional of herp housing. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes, are watertight, and easy to clean. Most glass aquaria do not suit arboreal snakes very well however. They typically lack the vertical space needed. One other major drawback with glass aquaria is that good ventilation is more difficult to maintain, especially considering that a warmer temperature also needs to be maintained. Melamine - Melamine is simply particle board coated by a waterproof substance similar to your kitchen countertops. The advantage of melamine is that it seems easily available and is both available by cage manufacturers or can be done by you. It also wipes down quite easily and is quite scratch resistant. Melamine however, is quite heavy and if the joints of the cage are not properly sealed, will bevel and change shape from water damage. Polyethylene - Probably the most popular arboreal housing systems right now, polyethylene cages have been made famous by Bush Herpetological Supply and Vision Herpetological. They are custom molded high-impact cages which are easy to clean, lightweight, completely watertight, and come in a variety of sizes. The only possible drawbacks are some of the higher prices for the larger units. However, the smaller, arboreal units are comparable to other caging methods. Some of the more popular models for emeralds are the #C24A and #C28A Neodesha cages made by Bush Herpetological Supply and Model 222 & 422 cages made by Vision Herpetological. These cages are easily heated with heat tape or an overhead light. Wood - Wooden cages, along with aquaria are as old as the hobby itself. They are probably still the most popular of housing for amateur and smaller collections and work well for the most part. Wooden cages can look very nice when properly finished. The thing that one needs to make certain is that the wood is properly sealed. This can be done with several different sealants. The most popular sealant is polyurethane that is typically semi-translucent. Another is simple exterior house paint that works just as well. There is a sealant product known as Nylene® that has been used by some in the aquarium business to seal wooden boxes. I don't know of anyone who has used that in herpetoculture however. Just remember that all cages must be completely aired out before use.
Substrate
The substrate should be either a white/paper towel or newspaper. Having a white substrate makes seeing mites relatively simple as well as looking at the appearance of feces. A perch the thickness of the snake can be from a pvc pipe, wooden dowel or natural branch. Incidents of scale problems have been observed when emerald tree boas were kept in humid conditions and on pvc piping. With natural branches, you can run into the problem of mites hiding under the bark. I personally feel wooden dowels are great for isolation cages because they have no crevices for mites to hide in and do not seem to cause skin problems as pvc pipes do occasionally. However, without proper ventilation, the dowels, like branches, can develop fungi that should be carefully watched for. Proper ventilation will solve that problem.
Temperatures & Heating
Non-breeding temperature levels for emerald tree boas should average between 80° - 82°F during the day and around 75°F during the evening. A thermal gradient in the cage is definitely the best way to approach heating all reptiles. Try to provide a gradient between 75°F and 95°F (under the basking spot) to allow the snake to determine its own temperature requirements. This can be achieved in both a horizontal or vertical cage. In a horizontal cage, locating a basking spot on one end of the cage can set up temperature gradients vertically. The other end of the cage would then be cooler. In vertical cages, a basking light located on top of the cage would create a vertical gradient. Be very careful to prevent the enclosure from reaching temperatures above 90°F and below 75°F after feeding as this can cause regurgitation in emerald tree boas. Similarly, constant temperatures at these temps will also cause problems with it either being too hot or too cold, respectively.
Humidity
Humidity and wetness are major role players in the world of emerald tree boas. Humidity for the animals should be high and above 70% the majority of the time. A high humidity will reduce the rate of dehydration. Remember that these animals live in high humidity areas and therefore are adapted to a high humidity environment. One common problem is that a new keeper will see the high humidity and assume that the emerald tree boa is well hydrated. Reptilian skin is not permeable to water like that of amphibians. Therefore, being in a highly humid environment does not mean gaining water; it simply slows down water loss. Most emerald tree boas are not bowl-drinkers. If they encounter water, they will drink but they do not actively seek it like many snakes. Instead, they drink from droplets that gather on their bodies. This is something that needs to be remembered. Even if humidity is high, animals should be misted at least daily. Although the humidity may be high, condensation and having an enclosure that is too wet indicates a cage where the ventilation is poor and the wetness is too high. If this is the case, ventilation needs to be improved. Poor ventilation, coupled with warm and wet conditions, promotes bacterial and fungal growth. Performing a simple pinch test will help determine if your animal is dehydrated. Pinch the snake's skin on the dorsal side and if the skin does not spring back into form immediately, it is a sign that it is dehydrated. Dehydrated animals should be soaked daily to convince them to drink. When soaking the animal, make sure of several factors. Firstly, make sure the water is only luke-warm and in a draft free environment. Secondly, make sure the water is not deep enough to make it difficult to breathe. This means making the water fairly shallow so no real effort needs to be made to breathe. And finally, make sure to check on them often. A dehydrated animal is a weakened animal. One thing you can do to aid in the re-hydration process is to try soaking the animal in Pedialyte® or to give it orally. Pedialyte® is an electrolytic solution. What this means is that instead of simply water, it contains certain electrolytes (chemical ions) that help stimulate the digestive system and restore ionic balances inside the animal.
Lighting
What is the proper way to light your snake? The most common method of lighting is via an incandescent light fixture either located inside the cage or fixed outside the cage with a reflector hood. Of course, if you are using glass aquaria or something which receives light well, you might not choose to light the cage at all. Lighting for emerald tree boas should not be very bright. If a high wattage bulb is used to provide bright light, make sure the snake has plenty of cover areas to perch to avoid it. Emerald tree boas live in the dense canopy and understory of the rainforest and do not receive enormous amounts of sunlight. A low wattage bulb is preferred to light the cage but not "burn" the snake's eyes. A 15 to 25 watt bulb is more than enough to provide lighting to an emerald tree boa cage. Do you need ultraviolet (UV) lighting for emerald tree boas? The general consensus is no. Since snakes swallow whole prey items, they do not need to synthesize Vitamin D. But, some Corallus keepers and breeders keep their emerald tree boas on UV lighting(2). Although it is not essential to their well-being, "it couldn't hurt". Ultraviolet lighting has been suggested by some to stimulate appetite and it has been shown to help "energize" many other animals - not only reptiles.
Water
Always make fresh, clean water available to your Emerald Tree Boa. The size of the water dish is up to you. If it is large enough for the boa to crawl into and soak, sooner or later your snake will make the most of the opportunity, and most seem to enjoy a nice soak from time to time. Ensure that the bowl is not too deep for juvenile animals - 1" - 2" or so will suffice. Snakes of many species will defecate in their water bowls from time to time, so be prepared for cleaning, disinfecting & a water change when necessary. It is often beneficial to have a spare water bowl for such occasions, so that one may be used while the other is being cleaned.
Accessories
As Emarald Tree Boas have a tendency to be apprehensive & sometimes aggressive animals, providing an environment in which they feel secure is beneficial to this herpkeeping experience. Making a climbing branch- maybe even a couple of them - available to your snake can help this process. Provide one on each end of your boas enclosure so that it doesn't have to choose between temperature & security. Clay flowerpots, plastic flowerpot trays, dowels, and vines all work quite well. For big specimens, taping dark-colored paper (i.e. butcher paper) over one end of the enclosure to reduce visibility is a quick & easy way to create a "hide spot." Ensure that the method you choose does not interfere with your ability to handle the animal in a safe & responsible manner.
Feeding
Feeding emerald tree boas can be either very simple or extremely frustrating. The first thing to learn about emerald tree boa feeding is NOT to feed them too often. They are not like other snakes and have very slow metabolisms. Although they are not like some arboreal vipers that are fed only monthly, emerald tree boas do best when fed bi-monthly or so. Problems can arise if snakes are fed too much... the most obvious being gut impaction. This can also be a sign of dehydration. Thus, adult emerald tree boas (thin or with good body weight) should be fed on a bi-monthly basis or at the most, every 10 days. Younger animals can be fed every 10 days while neonates can be fed every 7 - 10 days. What to feed healthy adults is a topic of great discussion. Again, it varies tremendously with the keeper but a majority feed their emeralds once every two, three or four weeks. Feeding adults even every four weeks does not seem to be detrimental to their weight and health and might be a safe route if you are concerned with overfeeding your emerald. Animals that do not defecate after three or four feedings can be soaked in lukewarm water to encourage defecation. This often works with emerald tree boas when they are soaked for 30 minutes to an hour. Do not feed animals if they have an intestinal blockage, this only serves to strain the digestive system even more. Instead, wait until they do defecate before feeding. What really makes the ideal prey for emerald tree boas? Well, what are they eating naturally? There is very little data on what emerald tree boas feed on naturally. The little we know shows that they feed on both mammals and birds while juveniles might also feed on amphibians and possibly reptiles. Robert Henderson found that 10 of 11 emerald tree boa stomach contents he observed were of mammals and most typically arboreal rats(4). A few video clips exist of tree boas feeding on exotic parrots and some animals in captivity have fed on finches when offered. It is most likely that mammals are the major prey of emerald tree boas. This is contrary to what has been thought for years.For years, everybody believed that both emerald tree boas and green tree pythons (Morelia viridis) feed primarily on birds. Take a look at the natural history section for a further explanation. Rodents likely make up the main diet of emerald tree boas. Adult emerald tree boas should be fed smallish rodents. Most adult emerald tree boas between 4 - 5' will do fine feeding on a large mouse or small rat every two weeks. Some larger animals have been fed adult rats without problems as well although this must be watched carefully. Ideally, prey should be smaller than prey fed to a "regular" snake the same size as the snake. Feeding emerald tree boas is best done between the early to late evenings (after the lights have turned off). Emerald tree boas are crepuscular and offering food at night is when they are most accustomed to feeding. Some emerald tree boas will feed readily during the day however. Furthermore, offering prey at night will also allow the snake to utilize its heat receptors better as there will be a higher difference between the body temperature of the rodent and that of the ambient air. Prey should be offered from below as emerald tree boas are arboreal and most likely ambush prey from above. Many emerald tree boas will refuse prey offered from above or at eye level. There are several ways to get the attention of emerald tree boas. For the most part, if they are being fed at night, they should already be alert and active. One can gently poke them until they come out of their coil. Another method is to pinch their underbelly with your fingernails. Some emerald tree boas are extremely aggressive and will strike readily at the prey and often constrict. Usually they will do one of these following things: 1) not pay any attention to the prey offered, 2) smell the prey but not attempt to bite, 3) slowly open their mouths to take the prey but then let go, 4) slowly open their mouths and grab the prey throwing coil(s) slowly around it or 5) aggressively grab the prey and constrict. On occasion, the prey might need to be held for several minutes in front of the snake before it takes the prey. Patience goes a long way with emerald tree boas. If there is no success in the first attempt, no attempts should be made until a week or two later. Individuals tend to stress easily so this cannot be a rushed situation. Individuals can sometimes take years of force-feeding before they begin to eat on their own. Of course, this is not to scare you away but to point out that they can be very difficult sometimes. Dead prey should always be offered first as they present the smallest risk of injury to an animal. There seems to be a preference to freshly killed prey over thawed. This is likely because thawed rodents tend to not be as warm as freshly pre-killed animals. A trick when feeding thawed prey is to heat them up. Since emerald tree boas are quite well at detecting differences in heat, they will often grab a thawed rat that has been warmed on a heat pad or in the microwave. Just as a side note, this also works well with other boids that are finicky feeders. This is called superheating the prey. Sometimes, another area of problems in feeding thawed prey is that many people defrost their animals in warm water that gets the prey wet. This can be prevented by thawing animals by leaving them out in a warm room or by placing animals in a watertight bag before placing it into the water. But having wet prey sometimes can be an advantage. There have been a few instances where animals that are wet are presented to the snout of the snake. When this is done, the snake begins to drink the water off the prey and will sometimes then open its mouth and begin to swallow. This is not a very common occurrence however. When several unsuccessful attempts have occurred, the next option is to leave live or dead prey in with the snake overnight. Live prey should always be one of the last options since they may harm the snakes via bites, scratches, etc. The prey can be introduced at night and left either on the cage floor or on a branch just below the one the emerald tree boa is resting on. You must then LEAVE the snake alone. Do not keep peeping in on the snake during the night as it simply causes distractions and likely, will push the snake from feeding. The cage should be checked the following morning to see if the prey was eaten. If not, it should be removed immediately. If rodents do not work, birds such as day-old chicks (although they lack the complete dietary requirements of many snakes), finches, and quail could be tried with the same methods above; first dead and then live. Some have found success with feeding frozen hairless mammals such as pinkie mice and rat pups. With juvenile emerald tree boas, hopper mice have been said to draw more attention from the snakes than pinkies. Also with juvenile emerald tree boas, frogs or small lizards might be necessary although no literature has cited amphibians or lizards as a prey source for emerald tree boas of any size.Probiotics - One of the newest weapons in attacking a problem with lack of appetite or regurgitation is the use of probiotics. Probiotics are combinations of different strains of bacteria that are native to the gut and actually are helpful in aiding digestion. Probiotics are now available for humans and for reptiles (Nutribac df). See the supplies section for more information on where to obtain these probiotics. Probiotics are administered orally in response to regurgitation or after several feeding attempts have failed and have been shown in several private collections to be beneficial in restoring the digestive system. Force Feeding - Force-feeding is the last option when emerald tree boas do not eat. It is not something that should be done by someone who does not have any experience. A qualified reptile veterinarian should be able to show you the proper techniques for force-feeding. Force-feeding should only be done on hydrated animals. Make sure your animal received several days or weeks of proper hydration before any force-feeding as it is very stressful and dehydrated animals will typically regurgitate the force-fed items or even die. Some force-feeding techniques include using a catheter and injecting a liquid or semi-liquid food item such as Ensure® or certain baby foods down the esophagus of the snake. On of the most popular force-feeding ingredients are pureed pinky rats. This is obviously not for the weak-stomached individuals. It is done by blending pinky rats until they are a mush and placing this into the catheter. For adult, non-feeding emerald tree boas, I use a 2:1 Ensure® to purified water mixture. This is much "neater" to me than pureed pinky rats and also fulfills nutritional requirements. I try to tube-feed 45cc of this solution every two weeks or so depending on the body weight of the animal. Force-feeding solid food items is another method of force-feeding. If doing this I prefer to use small, hairless prey. For an adult emerald tree boa, I find pinky rats to be good-sized prey. Of course the prey should be lubricated with water or a non-toxic, digestible lubricant. If adult rodents are to be force-fed, they should be de-furred to ease the movement of the prey down the esophagus. Be very careful when force-feeding. It is possible to put the catheter tip into the trachea and drown the snake or if force-feeding to puncture or irritate the esophagus. The best thing to do is to watch it and assist several times first as an experienced herpetologist/-culturist or veterinarian is doing it. Regurgitation - Probably the single most important character that separates emerald tree boa husbandry from common snake husbandry is that emerald tree boas are much more prone to regurgitate than any other snake that I have seen. It is truly mind-boggling how easy it can be for some emeralds to regurgitate their food. Now, don't get me wrong, there are some that are just extremely tough. I used to have an adult female that would take bi-monthly meals of medium rats and show no problems with digestion, regurgitation, or defecation. So what makes an emerald regurgitate its food? Well, it is not a simple explanation. It is something that can be one simple factor or a compounded effect of various problems. First, let's look at the disease aspect. Emeralds infected with a virus or bacteria usually suffer from chronic and repeated regurgitations.As far as parasites go, Cryptosporidium serpentis is one of the true nasties in emerald herpetoculture. Cryptosporidium is a coccidian parasite of the small intestine. Cryptosporidium causes tremendous disruption in the intestine and will lead to regurgitation, runny feces, and loss of appetite as a result. The sad thing is that there is no known cure for Cryptosporidium as of now and treatment can only be taken to try to decrease its effects. One possible solution is to try to out compete the parasite with intestinal bacteria (see probiotics). Cryptosporidium is most commonly found in freshly wild-caught emerald tree boas. These snakes are usually thin and stressed from the shipment and are commonly kept together in large enclosures. This leads to sub-optimal conditions further suppressing the immune system and because there are many snakes in an enclosure, it allows easy mass infections. Bacterially, there are again several bacteria that can play a factor such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli (E-coli). To treat these bacteria, different antibiotics must be given by a veterinarian after diagnosis of the problem. These bacteria can be harmless in small amounts but in captivity, bacteria and parasitic loads tend to build up in "ideal" conditions and become problem makers. What else can cause a regurgitation problem? Well keeper errors play a huge role in emerald regurgitation. Usually, it is a husbandry error that leads to regurgitation or simply compounds an infection and makes it worse. There are three basic things that lead to regurgitation. Temperature is one factor. Emerald tree boas seem extremely sensitive to temperature extremes. Regurgitation can happen if an emerald is exposed to temperatures that are either too high or too low after feeding. Temperatures only up into the low 90°F's and just into the low 70°F's can lead to regurgitation. Even perfect captive bred individuals can do this. Make sure to keep temperatures in a good range after feeding 78°F - 84°F. Hydration is another factor. If your emerald is dehydrated, do not feed it. Do the skin test a day or two before you feed your emerald. Prey is the other factor. There are a couple of things as far as prey is concerned that can lead to regurgitation. Both of them have to deal with how much is in your snakes gut at one time. Be very careful about the size of prey you feed your emerald. Large prey items have a larger diameter. This means two things. One, it means it will be uncomfortable for the snake to sit on the branch. Remember emeralds are 99.99% tree snakes and one of the few times you will see an emerald on the ground might be after a meal that is too large. Two, it means that it is going to take more time for the stomach acids to reach the gut of the prey. Why is this important? This is important because there are bacteria in the gut of the prey as well. If the acids do not get to the bacteria soon enough so that they can be killed, the bacteria will putrefy the prey. If you want to feed a certain amount, it is a bit safer to feed a couple smaller items than one large one. The other thing you have to watch for is frequency of feeding. Overfeeding an animal will also disrupt it digestive system and simply overload it. Emeralds are not very active snakes and don't burn up fat as quickly as say a garter snake. Thus, you don't really need to feed them excessively.
Maintenance
Spot-clean your snake's enclosure as necessary. When feces/urates/uneaten prey items are present, remove them as soon as possible. Clean & disinfect the water bowl on a weekly basis. Depending on cage conditions, remove all substrate & cage furniture and completely disinfect using a 5% bleach solution approximately every 30 days. Rinse the enclosure thoroughly and allow to dry before replacing cage furniture & your snake.
Basic Reproductive Info
Mate. males sexually mature at 3-4 yr. females at 4-5 yr.
Breeding season: anytime of year commonly in winter • breed usually every other year
Gestation. 6-7 mo
Birth: bear live young • litters up to 20
Notes/Comments
In general, emerald tree boa’s are amazing animals, although difficult to keep they are well worth the extra effort. It’s amazingly gratifying to look into a cage and see this massive head staring out at you trailed by huge emerald coils and topped with bright white triangles that play on the light. They are truly magnificent animals that deserve nothing but the best as our guests. If you are not ready to spend a significant amount of time and money on the proper husbandry techniques and necessary equipment then an emerald is not for you. Why would you buy a brand new Lamborghini and park it out on the street? The same goes for this snake. Don’t buy an emerald if you expect to place an adult in a 10 or 15 gallon tank with a screen lid and a spotlight. If you’re looking for something cool to hang around your arm and show of to your friends, get a corn snake, or a Burmese python, not an emerald. In other words, this snake is a display animal, it is not in the nature of this snake to be handled and prodded. In the wild, an emerald is only seized seconds before its skull is pierced by a hawk, falcon, cat, or even monkey. They as a rule are not handleable animals. I know that tons of you out there are getting ready to write me and tell me that I’m wrong, you’re right. The point I’m trying to make is that although there are tons of exceptions, this is an animal that best benefits from being left alone. Treat them like the gems that they are and I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.
