The Emerald Tree Boa is a non-venomous snake that is native to the Rainforests of South America. Its scientific name is Corallus caninus meaning it belongs to the Corallus genus of Boas.
The Corallus genus of Boas are a group of tree Boas that also include the Amazon Tree Boa, Cook’s Tree Boa and the Central American Tree Boa.
Emerald Tree Boa Description
As its name suggests, the base colour of this snake is a vibrant emerald green. They usually have white patterning of blotches scattered throughout their body. Juveniles however, are a very different colour and can vary from shades of light to dark orange, yellow or even bright red. As the juvenile grows, their colour will transform into the emerald green colour of the adults.
They are more heavily built that other Tree Boas and can grow to lengths of around 6 metres. The Amazon Basin Emerald Tree Boa is larger, growing to lengths of 7-9 feet. These two species were only separated in 2009 when the Amazon Basin Emerald Tree Boa was reclassified as Corallus batesii.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Emerald Tree Boa can be found in the Rainforests of South America. Their range extends from Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname down to the Northern parts of Brazil. They can also be found in Western Columbia.
They are generally found in lowland tropical areas that are heavily forested. They are not found in dry regions and their habitat consists only of regions that receive an enormous amount of rainfall.
Emerald Tree Boas as Pets
Emerald Tree Boas make great display pets. Most people keep these snakes in a naturalistic display cage. The vibrant colours of the snake sitting amongst the branches is a very appealing sight.
If you are looking for a docile pet that you can take out and play with, then an Emerald Tree Boa isn’t for you. These snakes can be very aggressive and will usually bite anything that comes within striking distance. They have extremely large teeth, estimated to be larger than any other non-venomous snake in comparison to the snake’s size.
This is not a beginner species due to their temperament and care requirements but if you are looking to move onto a more advanced species, an Emerald Tree Boa may be for you.
Feeding an Emerald Tree Boa
An Emerald Tree Boa is an opportunistic hunter. This means that they wait in ambush for a meal to pass by. As they are opportunistic, they will often readily accept a meal. Therefore, you have to be careful not to overfeed them.
An adult Emerald Tree Boa can be fed an appropriately sized meal every two or three weeks or so. This might not sound like a lot, but these snakes do not expend much energy and will spend most of their time motionless.
Hatchlings can be fed an appropriately sized meal every 10 days or so. Once the snake is around a year old, you can start to reduce feedings to once every two weeks or so.
Don’t confuse the snake’s willingness to eat with being hungry. In the wild, these snakes often go weeks without eating and can quickly become obese if overfed. Tree Boas are naturally slender snakes.
Emerald Tree Boa Housing
Most people house Emerald tree boas in wooden or glass vivarium’s. As this is an arboreal species, height is more important than length when it comes to choosing an enclosure. At a minimum, house your Emerald Tree Boa in a 3ft tall enclosure.
There are a number of benefits and drawbacks to the type of enclosure you use. Wood is an excellent insulator of heat so a wooden vivarium will make it easier to control the temperatures that the snake required.
The downsides to using a wooden enclosure is that they don’t last as long as glass enclosures and can warp and rot under high humidity.
Glass enclosures are very appealing and make great display cages, especially if you are creating a naturalistic environment for your snake. However, they are very inefficient at retaining heat and humidity so you will need to closely monitor and control this.
Light and Heat
An Emerald Tree Boa needs a basking area of around 88F. Heat mats are no good to these snakes as they are an arboreal species and will spend little to no time on the ground.
An overhead heat bulb is ideal for these snakes. You should aim for a temperature of around 88F on the top perch, closest to the heat source.
To light the enclosure we would use LED bulbs that do not radiate much heat or light. These can be on for 10-12 hours a day but should be turned off at night to ensure the snake gets a good day/night cycle.
Emerald Tree Boa Substrate
An Emerald Tree Boa enclosure must be kept very humid. These snakes like humidity levels ranging from 70-80%. To achieve this, regular misting is essential at least once a day.
The substrate you choose can also help to maintain the humidity in the enclosure. Try to choose a substrate that can hold moisture without moulding. Some good substrates to choose include Coco Fibre and Bark.
Some keepers also choose to use paper towel in their enclosure. When spraying down the enclosure, you can saturate the towel and as the moisture evaporates, the humidity levels in the enclosure will increase. If using this method, you will need to replace the paper towel every couple of days, even if the snake hasn’t gone to the toilet.
A large bowl of fresh water should also be present in the enclosure. This will need to be changed every couple of days to ensure the snake has a fresh supply of water to drink from.
Handling an Emerald Tree Boa
This is not a snake that should be handled regularly. Emerald Tree Boas are generally quite aggressive and will readily bite if you try to pick them up. They have very large teeth and can give a nasty bite.
These snakes are best kept as display animals and should only be handles or removed from their enclosure during feeding. This should be done using a snake hook and you must be careful not to hurt the snake while removing them from their perch.
A good idea is to have removable perches in the enclosure. That way, you can remove the perch that the snake is resting on without having to disturb the snake too much. This minimizes the chances of you injuring the snake and also reduces the likelihood of you getting bit.
Breeding Emerald Tree Boas
Before breeding Emerald Tree Boas, it is important to ensure you have a mature pair. Females can be bred when they are at least 3 years old and about 4 feet long. Males can generally be bred a year earlier providing they are healthy.
Male Emerald Tree Boas tend to be smaller than females. They also have larger spurs on either side of their vent and a hemipenal bulge is usually present below the vent.
In early November, you should drop the temperature in the enclosure by about 5F. If you live in a region that has cold winters, you may not need to reduce temperature as there will be a natural drop with the seasons.
It is recommended not to allow this temperature to fall below 75F. You should also start heavy misting at this time and try and maintain a humidity level of around 90F. The drop in temperature along with the rise in humidity will inform the snakes that the breeding season is coming.
You should start introducing the male into the female’s enclosure at this time. Copulation will usually occur fairly quickly. You can keep the male with the female or cycle him through a number of different females.
After around a month you can stop introducing the male. A gravid female should have access to a heat source that she can bask under for the duration of her ‘pregnancy’.
A gravid female will usually continue to feed initially but will eventually go off food until the litter is born. She will generally give birth after around 250 days. She will shed her skin a couple of days before giving birth, which is the best indication of when to expect babies.
Litters of 6-12 babies are common. Don’t be surprised if you find a couple of slugs (unfertilised eggs) and a big mess to clean up. This is completely normal. Babies should be removed and set up in individual enclosures.