There's just that something about a green snake! Whether they are of the comparative chunkiness of a tree viper or the slender build of a rat snake, it seems that snakes of green color are hobbyist favorites.



The racer-thin, rodent and bird eating, red-tailed green rat snake, Gonyosoma oxycephala (this snake also occurs in less popular blue-gray and reddish-brown phases) is one of the latter, an aptly named arboreal beauty. Adult at 6 to 7 feet in length, occasional examples can exceed 8 feet. Females are often the larger sex.

Although this large and beautiful Southeast Asian snake is occasionally bred in captivity, many that become available are wild caught imports. If freshly collected before importation, survival rate may be termed "fair." But if held at a collection facility for days or even weeks (as is often the case) stress, dehydration, and endoparasites will have weakened the snakes rendering them difficult to acclimate.

Although I seldom advocate routine purging of endoparasites, I have found that it does seem to benefit the newly imported examples of this taxon.

Captive hatched examples are often as feistily defensive as the adults. With a bit of teasing, hatchlings will accept pinky mice from forceps. Be aware that as an arboreal species, examples of all sizes may be reluctant to drink from a water dish. This reluctance can usually be overcome by placing an aquarium air stone (attached to a small vibrator pump) in the water and/or elevating the water dish to perch level.

This taxon is not for all hobbyists, but for those having interest, they are well worth the extra effort that is often required.