PLEASE NOTE
The information on the BambooZoo site is as much as 10 years old and in the hobby much has been learned. Though, I believe there is merit in keeping the site open. There are many controversial issues presented in these pages. Please view BambooZoo as a starting point in your research.
These beings are as complicated as we are and deserve more than a basic 5 paragraph care sheet to maintain their health and well being.
My passion has changed. This is where I am today. Change the World.
CARING FOR YOUR EMERALD TREE BOA
(Corallus caninus)
Hedy S. (BarelyBreathing)
Emerald tree boas are considered one of the most difficult snakes in the pet trade to care for. They have very specific requirements and are known for their aggressive demeanor. However, if kept correctly, their unmatched beauty makes them a trophy exotic in any collection.
Enclosure:
Providing a proper enclosure can require some creativity. They are arboreal snakes, which means they spend most of their time high in the branches. Emerald tree boas should be offered a variety of horizontal branches, ranging in size and placement in the enclosure. Your enclosure should be large enough to accommodate this. I set up my two juveniles in an 18”x18”x24". My adult enclosure is an equivalent to a fifty gallon tank. Both have been modified to permanently hold a generous amount of branches.
There are several other criteria to keep in mind when choosing an enclosure. One is humidity, the other is air flow. Your enclosure needs to be able to hold high humidity while still allowing for regular air circulation. To do this, I use a screen top on my set ups, but cut a piece of glass to cover about a third of the top.
Temperature:
Emerald tree boas are cooler weather reptiles. They should have a hot spot no warmer than 85*f during the day time, and ambient temperatures should be at 75*f. You can allow temperatures to drop to 72*f at night, but not below. A lot of keepers recommend using a low wattage heat producing bulb to achieve these basking temperatures. While this is still the most accepted practice, I have found through personal experience that this really isn’t ideal. When using a heat emitting bulb, I find that my emerald tree boas attempt to burrow in their substrate. This is a sure fire sign that your boa is far too warm. After I noticed my boas doing this, I switched to heat tape or a large under tank heater placed on the side of the enclosure. My boas still avoid this like the plague. My house is kept a little warmer than most homes are kept (it doesn’t drop below 75*f), so my recommendation for heat is really experiment a bit to see what works in your home. Remember, digital thermometers should be used measure temperatures.
Lighting:
Emerald tree boas are nocturnal. They, by themselves, do not need any special lighting. I have used florescent light fixtures and LED lights for my viewing pleasure in the day time, though. Also, if you have live plants in your enclosure, you will want to accommodate them by setting up a uv-b light for use during normal daytime hours.
Humidity:
Coming from a rain forest environment, humidity is a very important factor in emerald tree boa care. In their natural habitat, humidity can reach as high as 90% in the winter months, and drop to an average of 60% during the driest days of summer. It’s our job, as their keepers, to mimic this. There is a plethora of ways to obtain these levels. I like to use live plants in my enclosures. This helps with humidity, as well as being aesthetically pleasing. Pothos, philodendron, and dracaena are a few examples of the flora I include in my enclosures.
Misting is an important part of keeping the enclosure humid, as well as your boa hydrated. I give a thorough misting twice a day, with a quick spritz once or twice in between. This can be done manually with a spray bottle, or with a programmable misting system. If you choose to use a spray bottle, be sure that nothing has been used inside the spray bottle but water.
Reptile foggers can also be used to increase humidity. While this has a nice visual effect, it isn’t ideal in helping your emerald tree boa with hydration.
Feeding:
Because reptiles are ectothermic, they rely a lot on their environment to aid in digestion. Because they are cooler weather snakes, emerald tree boas digest more slowly than most other species. This means that they eat fewer meals, less often. An adult emerald tree boa should ideally have their meals spaced three weeks apart, while younger juveniles should eat roughly every 10-14 days.
In their natural habitat, emerald tree boas will eat lizards and birds. Most captive specimens, however, are fed a steady diet of rodents. If you happen across a picky eater, it may be worthwhile to revert to their natural diet, at least until he or she is eating regularly. Using a quail, anole, or gecko to scent a rodent is also a common method to get hesitant eaters feeding. Prey items should be no larger in circumference than the widest part of your boa. This is especially important, because emerald tree boas are known to regurgitate too large prey items. Once they get into the habit of regurgitating their meals, it can be quite tricky to break. It’s best to just avoid this all together.
Water:
This is actually quite the controversial topic among keepers of Corallus species. It’s often advised to provide a water bowl for your emerald tree boa, but I have yet to see an emerald drink from or soak in it, with the exception of one newly imported specimen with mites. After years of keeping emerald tree boas, I have stopped providing water bowls. This is why it’s so important to mist your enclosure often. Emeralds will drink the water droplets from glass, leaves, and branches. They have also been known to drink wayward drops of water from a waterfall structure, or from a drip system. Be sure to provide enough water sources for your emerald to remain properly hydrated.
Temperament and a word on handling:
Perhaps even more than for their beauty, emerald tree boas are known for their aggressive demeanor. Most arboreal, or tree dwelling snakes are. Regular handling of an emerald is not for the feint of heart, and should only be left to the most confident of keepers. However, anybody directly involved in emerald tree boa care needs to know how to maneuver them safely and efficiently. Most emeralds, especially wild caught specimens, will strike forcefully and repeatedly. It is important to know how to handle these animals, because a bite from them can cause severe damage to both human and snake. A bite from an emerald tree boa packs a punch, as they have the largest teeth of any non-venomous snake in the world! An adult emerald will have teeth nearly two inches in length. Injuries from this species’ bites have included several stitches, infection, and even permanent nerve damage.
Handling your emerald tree boa haphazardly can also cause severe injury, or death, to your snake. The vertebra that connects an emerald’s spine to its cranium is especially fragile, so it’s important to remember to never grab it behind the head. If your snake manages to bite, there are several different ways your snake could become injured. The most common injury a snake can endure from biting is snagging its tooth. While not fatal, this is a painful injury for both you and your snake, and can lead to a severe infection of your snake’s mouth. Another common, and fatal injury that can occur when an emerald bites, is the separation of their spinal cord. This happens when the boa latches on hard, and the subject on the other end of the bite pulls away instinctively. For these reasons, it’s so important to avoid being bitten at all costs, but if you do happen to be tagged, try your absolute hardest not to react.
The absolute safest way of picking an emerald tree boa up out of their enclosure is to use a snake hook.
Handling your emerald tree boa haphazardly can also cause severe injury, or death, to your snake. The vertebra that connects an emerald’s spine to its cranium is especially fragile, so it’s important to remember to never grab it behind the head. If your snake manages to bite, there are several different ways your snake could become injured. The most common injury a snake can endure from biting is snagging its tooth. While not fatal, this is a painful injury for both you and your snake, and can lead to a severe infection of your snake’s mouth. Another common, and fatal injury that can occur when an emerald bites, is the separation of their spinal cord. This happens when the boa latches on hard, and the subject on the other end of the bite pulls away instinctively. For these reasons, it’s so important to avoid being bitten at all costs, but if you do happen to be tagged, try your absolute hardest not to react.
The absolute safest way of picking an emerald tree boa up out of their enclosure is to use a snake hook.
A snake hook is an important tool when working with both arboreal and aggressive snakes. It allows you to control the head of the snake while still maintaining a proper hold of the body. Arboreal snakes also feel much safer when they have something to cling to, and a hook allows them this option without you having to get uncomfortably close. Emerald tree boas can reach lengths of over six feet, and have a strike range of two thirds that, so keeping a distance is advisable.
Common ailments:
Emerald tree boas are especially prone to certain health problems. Some things to look out for are dehydration, lethargy, open mouth breathing, regurgitation, and burrowing and/or a good amount of substrate stuck in the mouth.
Dehydration will come in the form of loose skin and sunken eyes. If you happen to notice this, increase humidity and offer more water, both in the form of a water bowl and a thoroughly misted enclosure.
Lethargy, open mouth breathing, and burrowing are typically signs that your enclosure is far too warm. If you find your snake exhibiting these behaviors, take your heat source out of the enclosure. If your snake continues to do these things, you may want to relocate the enclosure to a cooler part of the house, like a closet, bathroom, or basement, or near an air conditioner or fan. Open mouth breathing and lethargy can be a symptom of a more serious ailment, so if your temperatures have been adjusted and you still see this behavior, contact your herp vet.
Regurgitation is one of the more common problems of this species. This usually occurs when prey items offered are too large, or your temperatures are too cool. Regurgitation can also be a sign of intestinal parasites, so be especially cautious if your snake is an import. With all regurgitations, a fecal sample should be dropped off at the vet.
Some more serious ailments to watch for are mouth rot, scale rot, respiratory illness, and abscessed teeth. If you note any signs of these, contact a qualified herp vet immediately.
Common ailments:
Emerald tree boas are especially prone to certain health problems. Some things to look out for are dehydration, lethargy, open mouth breathing, regurgitation, and burrowing and/or a good amount of substrate stuck in the mouth.
Dehydration will come in the form of loose skin and sunken eyes. If you happen to notice this, increase humidity and offer more water, both in the form of a water bowl and a thoroughly misted enclosure.
Lethargy, open mouth breathing, and burrowing are typically signs that your enclosure is far too warm. If you find your snake exhibiting these behaviors, take your heat source out of the enclosure. If your snake continues to do these things, you may want to relocate the enclosure to a cooler part of the house, like a closet, bathroom, or basement, or near an air conditioner or fan. Open mouth breathing and lethargy can be a symptom of a more serious ailment, so if your temperatures have been adjusted and you still see this behavior, contact your herp vet.
Regurgitation is one of the more common problems of this species. This usually occurs when prey items offered are too large, or your temperatures are too cool. Regurgitation can also be a sign of intestinal parasites, so be especially cautious if your snake is an import. With all regurgitations, a fecal sample should be dropped off at the vet.
Some more serious ailments to watch for are mouth rot, scale rot, respiratory illness, and abscessed teeth. If you note any signs of these, contact a qualified herp vet immediately.
