Emerald Tree Boa a.k.a Corallus caninus & Corallus batesii
Intro to Emerald Tree Boa
Emerald Tree Boas are famous for their impressive display and huge teeth. Young emerald tree boas are typically born red and as they mature their color changes into an outstanding bright green. There’s a northern variation that is commonly found in Guyana and Suriname, and the Amazon Basin variation are a much more impressive animal. Adult northerns average 4-6 feet, whereas Basins can get up to 9 feet. Babies are usually ~10 inches long. We recommend these for advanced keepers as they can be finicky and live a long life of 20+ years.
ETB Care
Housing ETB’s is fairly easy because of the variety of arboreal cages that are in the market. Many “Mini or Small” Exo-Terra or ZooMed Enclosures are great for babies. Into adulthood we recommend 4 foot high enclosures minimum. They need a basking temperature of ~90 degrees F with an ambient temperature of 78-82 degrees F. A very important part of their care is their need for a humidity of 60%. To achieve this you can regularly mist their enclosure and use an appropriately sized Basking Spot Bulb and a Tropical UVB.
You should decorate their enclosure with foliage and branches to help with enrichment. For these boas we recommend Coco Mulch mixed with Moss, Eco Earth, or ReptiSoil as a substrate. We also recommend feeding babies a pinky mouse every five to seven days. Older juveniles and young adults can be fed a hopper or medium mouse every seven to 10 days. Adults can be given a meal of one or two adult mice, or a small rat every 10 to 14 days.
Emerald Tree Boas For Sale in the Pet Trade
Dialing in all of their parameters perfectly is key for breeding success. More people are working with Captive-bred tree boas as they are growing in popularity. However, wild caught imported animals are much more common. Imported animals may have a negative stigma, but these are brought in legally with proper paperwork and in quantities that are allowed through governing laws. This species can be difficult or bite-y when handling. Once your new pet Emerald Tree Boa is established, you can have a beautiful long term display animal.