Anaconda Care Sheet
Green anaconda: Eunectes murinus
Yellow anaconda: Eunectes notaeus
Life Span: up to 30 years in captivity
Size:
Green anaconda: males 10 to 15ft, females 16+...up to 28ft
Yellow anaconda: males 7 to 9ft, females 8 to 14ft...
Weight: female can reach 300lb
Range: rainforests and floodplains of South America
Temperament: generally considered aggressive especially wild caught specimens. These guys do get huge and usually are aggressive feeders. However if handled frequently they often become quite tame and manageable even though some individuals just don't like to be touched. They can inflict serious injury. Always be gentle and try to avoid sudden movements. If the snake wraps around your arm or neck, you can unwind it by gently unwrapping it starting at the tail end, not the head. A second person should always be present when handling or feeding constrictors over 10 feet long.
Housing: A 55 gallon tank is fine for a baby but as the snake grows, a larger and stronger enclosure will be necessary. Anacondas are especially powerful when it comes to breaking out. Your snake will grow fast first 2 years so you must always buy or build an enclosure much bigger than the present size of your snake. For a substrate you can use ground cover such as commercially prepared shredded cypress, aspen or fir bark; do not use orchid bark. Pine, cedar and redwood shavings should not be used as they can become lodged in the mouth while eating, and due to the oils may cause respiratory infections and other problems. The enclosure must be monitored closely and all soil removed to prevent bacteria and fungus growths. Much preferred is newspaper. Anaconda's cage has to be cleaned more frequently and newspaper makes it fast and easy. The substrate should be kept dry to avoid scale rot. Humidity should be around 70% - daily misting helps to increase humidity if it's too low. Screen tops for the enclosure are not recommended and if you are keeping your baby anaconda in a tank with a screen top most of it should be cowered with a plastic wrap to keep in the humidity.
Hide box is very important and the snake will spend a lot of time in it. It should be easy to wash. For the larger animals a plastic dog house works well. Make sure there are no sharp edges.
The enclosure should be kept as simple as possible - the more you put in the more you clean - they do not need a fake greenery and branches - your snake will stay in the hide box, water tub or will bask under the light.
No special lighting is needed.
Temperatures: basking spot of 88-92F, ambient temperature of 72F(cool side)-85F(warm side) during the day and 70F to 75F at night. The temperature should never fall below 70F. Spotlights, ceramic heat elements, and heating pads can be used to maintain temperatures. The light fixture should not be accessible to your snake to prevent burns. Large heat pads are a good choice for a safe source of heat. (here is a link to a site that offers them: http://osborne-ind.com/petsub/heatpad/heat_pads2.htm)
Water: A large water tub has to be placed close to the heat source as anacondas love to soak and it is important that the water doesn't get cold. This also helps to keep the desired humidity level. The water should be changed very often as anacondas like to defecate in their water tubs.
Feeding: It is expensive to feed! ... Babies can be fed mice or fuzzy rats, moving up to rats and eventually rabbits and domestic pigs as the snake grows (feed prey pre-killed to avoid snake's injury). They also love chickens. The finicky eaters often cannot resist a chicken or a quail. The prey should be no larger than the the widest part of the snake's body. Anacondas would eat prey that is too large for their size but, they could regurgitate the prey item after a day or two. Babies can be fed once a week but larger snakes only need to be fed every 2 or 3 weeks and once they move to a really large food items once a month is sufficient. Just feed enough to keep it healthy, not obese. Care must be taken not to overfeed or you will end up with an obese snake.
Breeding: Males usually reach sexual maturity at 18 months, females at 3.5 to 4 years. It is important to make sure the female was heavily fed prior to breeding as she will not eat through gravidity and may stop eating as soon as she will start mating even though most females wouldn't stop eating until they ovulate. That means the snake may go without food for a year. Female will loose a lot of weight through gravidity but after the birth will gain it back very fast... Anacondas are live bearing snakes and give birth to 10 to 50 live young ones. Babies are about 24" and usually do not feed until the first shed.
Breeding season starts in fall - adjusted photoperiod, misting with warm water in the mornings and lowering the temperature to 68 to 70F at night will stimulate mating. Male should be introduced to females cage. It is important to leave him with the female until he completely looses his interest - this may take several months. If the male is not interested second male may stimulate the mating behavior. Gestation period is 115 - 135 days. Female will need a basking spot of 98F and will spend a lot of time under it. About a week before birth she will defecate and may do so daily after this. The last two days she will become very restless. The birth itself may last several hours.