rough greensnakes

HABU · #1 (**permalink**) 11-05-2008, 11:05 PM

Green Snakes
Opheodrys

There are two species of green snakes within the Opheodrys (sometimes spelled Opheodryas) genus: the Rough Green Snake, O. aestivus,
and the Smooth Green Snake, O. vernalis. In older publications the smooth green snake may also be referred to as Liopeltis vernalis. There
are also numerous local names these snakes may be known by, such as the keeled green snake (rough green), green whip snake, garden
snake, vine snake, and grass snake. The scientific names themselves can be broken down into meaningful terms. The genus Opheodrys can
be translated as "tree serpent," Ophios is Greek for "serpent" and -drys is Greek for "tree." For the species, aestivus is the Latin word for
"summer" and vernalis for "spring". The "rough green snake" therefore can be translated as the "summer tree serpent" and the "smooth green
snake" as the "spring tree serpent."
Both species can be found in the US, with the rough green extending its range down into isolated parts of Mexico, while the smooth green
reaches into some southern portions of Canada. The rough green typically occupies the mid and southern reaches of the eastern half of the
United States while the smooth green is found in scattered portions of the northern United States and some isolated populations in the west and
southern Texas.

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The rough green snake averages 22 to 46 inches in length; the smooth green snake is typically 14 to 26 inches in length. These snakes are
also a bit dimorphic in that adult females are usually larger in size and heavier than the males are. Green snakes are semi-arboreal in nature
though the smooth green snakes tend to keep more to low ground. Rough green snakes typically can be found in trees, bushes, and vines near
or overhanging bodies of water and are fairly good swimmers. Smooth green snakes, keeping to their more terrestrial habits, are typically found
in meadows, grassy marshes or fields, usually along forest edges.
Both green snakes breed in the spring. Nesting normally takes place from June to July. Sometimes these snakes will go through a second
breeding season, with the rough green often breeding again in the fall and the smooth green again in late summer. Nesting sites are chosen
where there is sufficient moisture; under flowerpots, in and under rotting logs, in tree cavities, and under boards or rocks with loamy or sandy
soil all make for good nesting spots.
Females are known to sometimes lay their eggs in communal nests if the nest is in a prime spot. Two to fourteen eggs are laid, with 4-6
being average. Incubation of eggs for rough green snakes is typically 30 to 45 days, though sometimes it may take up to as many as 80 days
if the temperature is on the cool side. Smooth green snakes, however, have incubation periods of about 4 to 23 days.
Hatchling green snakes are 4-6 1/2 inches long. Green snakes mature when they reach a size of about 14-16 inches snout-vent length which is
typically attained in 2 years. Longevity is estimated to be around 6 years.
Green snakes are considered to be insectivores and feed on a wide variety of insects and spiders. Some foods known to be taken in the wild
include grasshoppers, cockroaches, hover flies, crickets, dragonflies, noctuid moth caterpillars, butterfly caterpillars, harvestmen, wood roaches,
land snails, and fly larvae. They are ferocious hunters capable of catching prey in the air. They seem to rely most heavily on their keen
eyesight and prey movement to detect their prey, rather than their sense of smell.
When excited, these snakes tend to take on some bluish coloring on their body. In my experience with a few wild-caught rough greens, this
has often leaned towards a beautiful turquoise blue showing up in the skin between the scales on the snake's body. Set against the snake's
natural emerald/grass green color, it is really a beautiful color combination.
As was noted earlier, green snakes are somewhat arboreal in nature, the rough more so than smooth, so their caging requirements must reflect
on this. A 30-gallon aquarium tank with a securely locking, fine-mesh screened lid, will provide a decent amount of room for housing 1-3 green
snakes. These tanks are often tall enough to provide the arboreal setting of overhanging branches that is needed.
One of the tricks to keeping green snakes is making sure you provide them with plenty of the hiding places that they require due to their shy
nature. Normally, hiding areas for captive snakes would simply be provided by a hide box, but for green snakes that is not the best option.
Green snakes do best when they are provided with lots of leafy greenery to blend in with. This can be accomplished with making use of
houseplants, such as live philodendrons, that willingly vine all over the place, or you can easily use fake silk or plastic plants from a craft
store. Fake plants are much easier to care for and clean than are live plants.
The greenery should take up about 1/3 to 1/2 of the cage's space and should be interspersed at different heights from ground to top levels.
Calci-sand works well as a bottom substrate and is heavy enough to help anchor some fake plants in place.
A water dish needs to be provided, however, many green snakes prefer to drink water droplets off of leaves; this means a daily or twice daily
misting of the cage is also needed.
Being diurnal snakes, some UV fluorescent lighting is necessary for their well-being.
Supplemental temperature-raising elements, such as CHEs and heat pads (no hot rocks!), may be needed if the natural ambient room air
temperature where the snake is housed does not meet the 75-80 degree F range during the day cycle. Never set a glass tank in front of a
window where the sun can bake an animal to death in a short time.
Often slow to adapt and to accept food, once green snakes do eat they are often voracious and consume a lot. They require a variety of foods
to help ensure proper nutrition is met. Creatures such as earthworms, moths, crickets, grasshoppers, spiders, etc., may be fed. Insects like
mealworms are acceptable on a limited basis, but it is suggested to keep mealworms to a minimum to decrease the risk of impaction caused
by their hard exoskeletons. Whenever feeding meal worms, always look for the most freshly molted ones to feed; they will be pale cream in
color.
In captivity, crickets are likely to make up the bulk of the snake's overall diet as they are quite easily obtained, but they should be gut loaded
a few days prior to giving them to your snakes. Gut loading is preferred over "dusting" as dusted material easily falls off, especially if the
cricket or other insect takes a quick hop or swim through the water dish. One of the easiest of the gut loading recipes is ground up Zoomed
Iguana & Bearded Dragon pellets, mixed with Tetra's Reptomin floating turtle sticks, to which is added some fresh pieces of cut up carrots and
collard greens/stems for moisture.
Unlike some other snakes, which normally are capable of taking prey that is half again as wide as the girth of the snake, green snakes should
be given food that is never wider than their body is.
When feeding live insects to green snakes (or any other reptile), it is a good idea to provide food for the insect in the cage. This helps cut
down on chances of the insect munching on the snake when it gets hungry or thirsty during the night hours when the snake would normally be
asleep. Small crickets and other insects often can be contained in wide mouth containers (such as deli cups) with a food supply to sustain
them. When the snake is on the hunt it should easily find them in the container placed in their enclosure, making feeding much easier and
helping you keep track of how much the snake has actually taken. My own two-year-old green snake has often told me it's feeding day as he
will now willingly come out into the open to drape himself on the edge of the empty insect dish.
Green snakes are normally considered to be difficult snakes to keep and those who are new to snake keeping hobby are often recommended to
not start out with them. These snakes are not readily bred in captivity so usually what you see available in the pet trade are wild-caught
specimens which do not easily adapt to a life in captivity, not to mention a life infested with internal and external parasites. They are also
naturally shy animals and quite high-strung, thus making it necessary to restrict handling to the absolute minimum needed to ensure their care
and well-being. In other words, these are definitely a "look, but don't touch" type of pet. However, while these snakes are challenging and often
frustrating, they can also be rewarding when you finally hit on a successful method for keeping them.

Opheodrys · #2 (**permalink**) 16-05-2008, 10:02 PM

Very good caresheet HABU!

grumpyoldtrout · #3 (**permalink**) 16-06-2008, 12:56 AM

Superb work, thank you, superb photo as well.

Opheodrys · #4 (**permalink**) 16-06-2008, 02:09 AM

grumpyoldtrout, I hope you enjoy it here.

Crownan · #5 (**permalink**) 04-08-2008, 09:09 AM

Perfect, just what I was looking for

HABU · #6 (**permalink**) 04-08-2008, 09:15 AM

i did good?

Crownan · #7 (**permalink**) 04-08-2008, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HABU

i did good?

Well I dont know actually but as I just got 6 of these babies, I'm on the hunt for info!

ian14 · #8 (**permalink**) 04-08-2008, 03:52 PM

I recently picked up 4 captive hatched babies. They are currently housed in a small Hagen/small pals pen tank, with a substrate of barkchips, several cork bark hides, climbing branches and loads of artificial plants. I lightly spray mine once a day. I have yet to see them drink from the water dish, but they do drink water droplets when sprayed.

They are heated by a small heatmat fixed to the outside of the tank, on the side rather than underneath, and also have a 5.0 UV light placed on the top of the lid of the tank.

Eventually I am planning on housing them in an exoterra with live plants as a display in my front room.

Crownan · #9 (**permalink**) 04-08-2008, 03:53 PM

Pm coming your way Ian

corpselight · #10 (**permalink**) 16-05-2009, 04:31 PM

sorry to resurrect an old thread but i am wanting to get some of these again, and so am in "research" mode.
thanks for the comprehensive caresheet, Habu! just one question, i've read that uv light isn't necessary but that some full-spectrum light may assist breeding. what's your thought on that?
also, if you have got a specimen that is a reluctant feeder, what sort of methods do you use to stimulate feeding?

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