Emerald Tree Boa Vs Green Tree Python

[RoTTen2TheCore 0]

I am thinking of adding an emerald tree boa to my collection and I have noticed that they are not as available as green tree pythons. Is there are reason for this? Is one more preferred than the other? Easier to breed?

[mtlsir 0]

I know that Wyz breed atb and he has few left a couple month ago.

[RoTTen2TheCore 0]

Awesome thanks! J'ai trouve une couple d'autres personnes qui les ont a vendre, mais il me semble que beaucoup plus vendent les green tree pythons. Je me demende pourquoi? Personellement je trouve les ETB plus beau. Jaime les traits blanc sur le dos

[Amy03 0]

Rob mcrobbie has nice emerald tree boas, he's on the forum too.
Those two species aren't comparable at all... Price wise, it's less expensive for a green tree python though. As for the attitude of the snake, they're just not the same. Emerald tree boas are slow snakes... extremely slow! They're not more agressive, that is just a myth. Both can be tame as both can be crazy.
Green trees are just more common and there's a lot of WC's on the market too.
They've been around for a much longer time I think, and I think WC gtp have more chance to survive in captivity also.
It may also be because emerald tree boas are harder to breed... That I'm not sure, but it makes sense.

As for which species is easier to keep, that's for you to decide. I've had a lot of problems with green tree python in the past. My boyfriend had one who died the first 24 hours he had it. The second met the same faith. 3 years ago, I was doing monthly payments for a couple of adult green trees and before I even finished paying for them, the owner e-mailed me to tell me the male died. I got really discouraged and went with the emerald tree boa. So far, I never had any problems with him and it's one of the easiest snake to maintain in my collection.
When I got him, he had mites, he was on the skinny side and was eating live mice... all that changed in a matter of weeks! It's seriously my favorite snake to take care of.

The choice is yours... If you're up to the challenge, both species can make great addition as long as you have basic knowledge in reptiles.
You just need a good enclosure that will maintain a good humidity level, stable temperatures and provide them with the special feeding care they need.
Just read more on the subject and all will be fine.
When there's a will, there's always a way.
Any snake will be hard when you don't know what you're doing.
Emerald tree boas and green tree pythons aren't that hard to take care of.
They're just more fragile then other species, so big mistakes will be more fatal for them then for other snakes.

So bottom line is: People tend to think emerald tree boas are way more fragile and hard to take care of, they also think that they are more agressive then green trees and should only be kept by professionals.
So people go with the green trees thinking it's okay to make mistakes with these ones instead of emeralds lol.
Personally, for me, one is a python, the other is a boa. that's the major diff.

you should PM RobMcrobbie on the forum. He owns and breeds both species so he can exactly tell you what makes each species special in their own way.

[RoTTen2TheCore 0]

Thanks, great great info! Sorry to hear about you are your bf's bad experience with the pythons. If you don't mind me asking, why did they die? I have been reading quite a bit in the past month on them. Seen some nasty pictures of WTB bites requiring stitches! But i know that the fact that they are all insanely aggressive is simply not true. I think the myths about how difficult it is to keep them and how aggressive they are were probably created to keep people from simply impulse buying this species of snake. After some research, many will find that they can be tame and care is reasonable and not beyond the average reptile keeper's capabilities.

My mind is pretty much already made up on getting the ETB over the GTP. I just noticed that the availability of the GTP outnumber the ETB in pet stores and shows. Was just wondering why. For example, i know that ball pythons most likely outnumber ETB's in pet stores and shows because they are a great beginner snake, they are cheap, rarely aggressive, simple care, etc.

The reason why I ask this is because I have never seen an ETB in a pet store and only once in a reptile show. While GTP's seem to be fairly common in these places. This is only for my curiosity since when i get one it will certainly be from a breeder.

[Amy03 0]

They're rarely in petstores cause of the price... it won't sell. Emeralds are around 700$ at a breeders, while gtp's are 300-400.

My bf's first 2 gtp's died probably of stress from moving and stuff, or possibly an RI. As soon as he got the first, he already had an enclosure ready with the right temps. Next morning, he woke up to find him on his back. Then he contacted the breeder afterwards and received a second gtp for half the price (4 years ago a gtp was 700$ minimum so he paid over 1000$ for the 2) Same thing happen, found him dead after... he got really discouraged, especially from the fact that he had been keeping reptiles for a couple of years already and the deaths we're out of his control. Then a year after, same thing again, the male we we're supposed to buy dropped dead. Female had an RI so we said f*** it!

We waited 2 years and a half to get into emerald tree boas and we love it.
We're sexing our little guy soon to make sure he's really a male, then we're buying a female.

I truly prefer the emerald tree boas over green tree pythons... same thing with my boyfriend... but 4 years ago, imagine how hard it was to find one... and the price!!! it was crazy... that's why we went for the gtps.
Kinda glad we had this badluck cause maybe today we wouldnt have an emerald so...

So yeah the myths are there to discourage people for sure.. but anyone who isn't dumb can take care of this species. A little experience helps, but it's not rocket science!

Did you ever went to the reptile show in montreal or do you plan to go this year?
You'll see Rob for sure at the pointe-clair show, I dont know if he has baby emeralds available, but he brings his adults sometimes at his table.

[J-N Turcotte 0]

First I need to ask yourself how much experience you have with snakes ?

Neither of them are for the newcomer. There is basicly no handling (some exceptions but still) and the requirement need to be met otherwise, as you can see they can die fast.

But I am pretty sure you can find nice stuff around but not at any normal pet store, they wouldn't be able to care for it and the asking price is probably to high for their customer.

Contact Stav or Bobspike here on the forum, they had 3 GTP at their store.
And they will gladly help you in finding what's best for you.

[jonton 0]

I got my first emerald from Rob mcrobbie 2 years ago and i had no problems so far.

As long as you get a cb animal you should not have regurgitaitons, parasites, crazy striking problems.

I think the wc imports is the main reason for the bad reputation of etb's.

I strongly suggest you to buy from rob since he is in montreal and you can pick the snake and reduce transport stress. Also because he really know his stuff he got some adult emeralds so you can see how beatifull they get, how its cage are sets...

[RoTTen2TheCore 0]

Wow Amy, yeah i can see how you guys got discouraged, but I'm really glad it worked out for you in the end.

Yes i have been to the reptile show. Went to the last one and 2 others before that and will almost definitely be going to the next one so I will certainly keep an eye out for Rob . Hopefully by then ill be finished building my "rack" and also finish building another enclosure for the ETB. By the way, when is the next reptile expo in PC? I went on the site and there is no new date.

J-N I have some experience with snakes, I currently own a rainbow boa and I work at a pet store so have had the opportunity to take care of many other species. I will admit i have never taken care of any snake that requires the care of an ETB, but after what I have read, I'm pretty sure i can handle it and look forward to the challenge. Handling is not my main concern, I have my rainbow for that. The ETB would be more of a display animal (unless it is docile, to which I will definitely take advantage of from time to time:)).

I can tell you the reason why we do not carry them at my work is because our supplier never has any in stock, and second (and most importantly), even if they did, they would be selling it to us for about 700$ and after the store puts their profit on top of that, it just would not be worth it since people who are experienced enough to care for these animals know about buying from breeders and reptile shows, so i do not bother. The latter is also why I don't carry any ball python morphs lol. Usually when customers ask me for morphs, I tell them to wait for the reptile show, since they usually have some pretty awesome stuff at a much cheaper price.

Thanks Jonton. For an ETB, cb would be the only way I would go about it and I would agree that wc boas play some part of the bad reputation. Having an aggressive snake would not bother me too much, it's more the parasites that I am worried about. I have a tortoise who had hookworms when I got him... Yeah no fun.

Oh and if anyone is wondering, I didn't exactly answer my own original question back there lol. I know why regular commercial pet stores do not carry them. I meant specialty reptile stores where the owners usually breed their own snakes.

Once again thanks for all the suggestions folks, really big help!

[Amy03 0]

The show should be Sunday march 20th I think... it's always around that date pretty much.
Emeralds are certainly display animals the first months, but I ''pet'' mine every night before going to bed and handle him for about 20 minutes 3-4 times a week.
You NEED to handle them, they need the exercise. If they don't move and they're always in the same position, they will get constipated like any arboreal snake.
If I don't touch mine, he will remain motionless til his next meal.
I waited a full month without handling, then started handling him once a week, then more and more. He bit me once and it was my fault and I even saw it coming a mile away... slow creatures. I let him bit me cause I didn't want to startle him or break his teeth. Besides that, never shown any agressiveness again, and I handle him like any other snake.

I can see you'd make a good candidate for this species. The only people who have a hard time with pets are impulsive buyers that won't take the time and read on the animal itself.
As soon as you read on the emeralds and take everything seriously, you should be fine. I'd recommend you to start with a rubbermaid though... I know it sucks having such a beatiful specimen in those, but even the experts will recommend it to you. It's the only thing that will keep good stable humdity and temps. After that, you gotta learn about the prey size and frequency of lunch time. That's it really... You just need to be informed and do what's right for the animal and you shouldn't have any problem cause the rest is just like any other reptile. You clean when it's dirty, you leave them alone when it's feeding time.

I don't think there's much difference between a regular pet store and reptile store... You wouldn't want to sell any species to anybody. Anyone with money can buy an emerald tree boa, and how do you judge if he's competent enough to have that in his care? Everytime I hear someone saying he had over 40 species of reptiles in only a couple of years, something tells me that it's only a compulsive buyer with no head on his shoulder. Having 150 reptiles at home doesn't make you an expert... far from it. It's better to sit down with one snake and learn from it for years than not even having the time to properly care for a big population.

Just with your rainbow boa experience, it should be plenty. It's nice to see people who know what they love and what to take real good care of it.

Don't forget to contact Rob, he's a really nice guy and he'll tell you everything you need to know to get started. Any question of yours will be answered.

[RoTTen2TheCore 0]

Cool, yeah i figured it was on a Sunday in March. Was nervous that no date on the site meant that they were skipping it this time.

I absolutely agree with your views on experience regarding quantity over quality. Hence why i only own 1 snake and after the ETB that will likely be all i will get. But then again, I'm sure we have all said this before buying yet another lol.

Yeah i have heard rubbermaids are they way to go for the same reasons. I use a thermostat and hooked up a ultrasonic humidifier with pvc piping to my rainbow boa cage(which I covered the top partially with glass) and give a little spray here and there and all that keeps the heat and humidity pretty stable. Would the same thing work for an ETB if i wanted to skip the rubbermaid and put it in an enclosure straight away? If not, no big deal, the snakes health is obviously far more important than just being able to see it.

The main diff between specialty pet stores and commercial, I find, is mostly just the price which is usually much higher in commercial pet stores (around here anyways) and specialty stores tend to have rare finds more often. It is pretty much impossible for me to be able to tell if someone is truly competent enough to buy an animal as they can simply walk in and lie. But i have refused to sell animals because the person basically told me they would not give it the proper care. The most I can do, when it comes to making sure a person is competent enough to take care of an animal, is help them become competent by telling them what I think is the proper care and never to take only one person's opinion (including my own), but rather research as much as you can many different opinions. It is a shame pet stores in general have such a bad reputation. I understand where it comes from and in a few cases i agree completely. But there are also many pet stores which take great pride in taking good care of their animals as well as their clients.

All in all, it boils down to what you said, "as you read... and take everything seriously" it is hard to go wrong.

And I'll be sure to contact Rob for some ETB answers thanks!

[Forked Tongue1 0]

I never saw CBB GTP sold for 300-400$ by the breeder himself. It would be IMO a ridiculously low price.

[Amy03 0]

your cage set up sounds perfect for your rainbow, and it will also suit an adult emerald well. We mostly recommend rubbermaids because of the size of the snake. It's so small, you don't want to put it in a 2X2X2 right away..

I've built my own emerald cage 2 years ago, and the snake is still not in it. I've changed rubbermaids 3 times to accomodate him. You also need to change the perch size according to his body, so it's always about redoing a cage every couple of months. If you would put him right away in a huge cage, he would stress out and probably stop eating, so that's why it's best to keep in a small enclosure while he's young. Also, I've noticed my emerald doesn't always go in the hot spots of his cage, and never changes perchs. I imagine it would be worse it a bigger place...

If you make really small holes in your rubbermaid, you won't have to mist every night. I mist once a week, the humidity stays for a long time. Just need to make sure it's not to wet, it still has to be well ventilated. You just make bigger holes til you find the right humidity level.

Even if you buy an adult emerald, I think it's best to put him in a rubbermaid for the first weeks. I always do that when it comes to uncommon species with special needs and you can really see the stress level being reduced right away when they're in there. As soon as they are eating well, I transfer them to their cage.

I totally know what you mean about petstores, I've worked in one for a while and I refused so many sales, even for rabbits and fish!!
Some people are just incredibly stupid and fail at life period. Wether it's the client or the owner of the store. It's too bad the good stores are so rare... I live in Ottawa close to Gatineau and I can only count 1 petstore in these 2 towns that deserves every penny from my pocket. Luckily, you're in Montreal and there are a couple of petstore owners on this forum who are real animal lovers. But for some things, it's best to go see an expert who's really into this one thing.
But yeah, reptile stores are fun cause they can mostly get you anything, even if it's WC, it's fun to have a vast selection of reptiles for a good price.

Anyways, Good luck with your search and feel free to post some pics of your rainbow boa too!

[Amy03 0]

Forked Tongue a écrit:

I never saw CBB GTP sold for 300-400$ by the breeder himself. It would be IMO a ridiculously low price.

V'la 3 ans j'voyais souvent des gtp a 700$, des couple a 1000$.
J'connais quelqu'un qui breed juste du gtp, il les vend 400.... j'trouve souvent des adultes CB a ce prix la en plus sur reptiles canada. Ca depend du breeder le prix... J'ai acheter mon bebe emerald tree boa pour 350$ CB aussi.
Y'a pas une liste de prix ferme pour les reptiles nul part...

[jonton 0]

Amy,
je ne veut pas critiquer ta facon de faire.Mais si tu arose
seulement une fois par semaine et que l'humidité reste environ a 80% il y
a forcément un manque de ventilation. amoin qu'il y ait une autre
source d'humidité dans la cage ou que ta piece soit excessivement
humide. Pour ma part j'arose 2-3 fois par jour surtout l'hiver et
pendant la nuit l'humidité tombe a 60%. Et je doit meme couvrir une
partie du top avec un linge humide pendant la journée. Ma nouvelle cage
en pvc(pas encore utilisée) retient beaucoup mieux l'humidité mais
encore je doit aroser au moin une fois par jour. P-e que je m'en fait
trop avec l'humidité stagnante mais une semaine sans aroser ca me semble
beaucoup trop.

[Amy03 0]

Je sais ca peut parraitre beaucoup comme ca, mais c'est vraiment pas de grosses goutellettes et c'est sure qu'apres 2-3 jours, le taux diminue donc ce n'est pas stagnant. J'rajoute un peu d'eau de temps en temps dans son bol d'eau qui est placer juste au dessus du pad chauffant, ca m'évite de mister, comme ca c'est la plafond du bac et les parois qui sont humides, et non les perches et son substrat qui est trempés.
La cage est humide juste a moitié, donc un coté qui n'a presque pas de condesation. Mon humidité dépasse pas le 70%, j'suis pas mal sure.

De toute facon, si sa serais trop, j'aurais remarquer de la moisissure sur mes perches de bois non vernis.

[bistrobob85111 0]

Amy a écrit:

J'ai acheter mon bebe emerald tree boa pour 350$ CB aussi.

Hahaha, où va le monde . J'ai envie de le dire mais je me garder une petite réserve...

Mine de rien, c'est important que ce soit des animaux de plus en plus nés en captivité. Ça c'est la bonne nouvelle.

phil.

[Rob McRobbie1 0]

Rubbermaids are best!!!

[RoTTen2TheCore 0]

Snazzy! What do you use as a heat source for a rubbermaid? Most heat pads i've seen specify for glass tanks only. Just had an idea. Would a heat cable running through a pvc perch work? Or are they better off with heat comming from the top/bottom?

[Amy03 0]

I use heat pads, just don't stick them on the rubbermaids. I usually remove the plastic and apply a sheet of aluminum paper on it. Just get a good quality rubbermaid on wheels or leave a space underneath it to slide the pad. It's gonna work great!
You really need to have heat on the bottom so it goes upwards. Plus, with a water bowl placed right above the pad, it will probably give you enough humidity without having to mist constantly.

[RoTTen2TheCore 0]

Thanks again. Would have never thought of using aluminum lol brilliant!

[mtlsir 0]

tu nous donnera des nouvelles quand tu aura fait ton choix!

[RoTTen2TheCore 0]

Hehe bien sur!

[RoTTen2TheCore 0]

Update!!
So I was able to find (more like stumble upon) an emerald tree boa for a price I just could not refuse. It's a baby and very friendly. Luckily i have a ton of reptile stuff lying around and was able to quickly set up a decent enclosure.

Right now, he is sitting in in a small 12x12x12 inch exo terra (since my rubbermaids are currently containing my gecko's insects). I covered the top with plastic to keep in the humidity in and the holes in the front as well as around the doors seem to be providing descent air circulation. I have a heat pad covering the bottom and am using a bendable vine as perches. Put in a large plastic container with water and paper towel covering the bottom. The humidity is at about 78% and the temp is 84 on the floor and 76 at the top of the enclosure.

I have had him in there for about four hours now and for the first 2 hours he was moving around the enclosure and now he is just sitting at the bottom with his body on the base of the vine and his head in the corner on the floor. Is this a bad sign or will it take a little time till he finds a perch? Oh and pics coming soon!