ROUGH GREEN SNAKE (Opheodrys aestivus)

FAMILY      Colubridae

DISTRIBUTION      This fascinating snake is found in New Jersey, Kansas, and the the South right through to the Gulf Stream. There are also a few smaller populations in Mexico.

SIZE     The average adult size for this species is just 2-3ft with hatchlings measuring around the 6-9in mark.

LIFESPAN    In captivity the average lifespan for this snake is around 3-5 years.

INTRODUCTION      This snake is not a beginners snake and is better suited to the hobbyists with a few years experience behind them. Their colouration of bright green makes them a stunning snake to look at and the fact that their diet is one of insects makes it a suitable snake for those who dislike the idea of feeding mice to their snake.

HOUSING      This snake is an arboreal species and as such requires a vivarium that is larger in height than in length. An ideal size vivarium for a colony of up to 8 adult snakes would need to be at least 2ft long x 18ins deep x 3ft high.

The decor should resemble that of their natural environment, so it would need plenty of branches and leafy plants for shelter climbing and a floor covering that can retain a little moisture. There should be a small water dish present as well as a couple of hides.

SUBSTRATE     Because you want to try and mimic their natural environment a loamy based soil with some bark chippings and moss on top would be ideal but you could also use cypress bed or jungle bed with some coconut bark on top.

HEAT & LIGHT      As this snake is a diurnal species the use of an ultraviolet light would greatly benefit the health of the snake and should be set to give the snake a photoperiod of at least 12hrs.

The heat can be provided from a heat mat connected on a thermostat and the vivarium should be kept around the 24°-25°c (75-77°f) mark at the cooler end with the basking area reaching temperatures of around 28-29°c (82-84°f). These temperatures can be allowed to drop a few degrees at night with the cool end reaching around 16-17°c (61-63°f).

These snakes should also have a light misting on a daily basis to provide a small amount of humidity in the vivarium but also so that the snake may drink the water droplets created on the leaves of the plants in their enclosure.

FEEDING     These snakes are insectivores and their diet in captivity mainly consists of gut loaded crickets, wax worms, moths and other insects. They should be fed every other day with a few crickets etc placed in the enclosure. Try to give wax worms only as a treat as they are very high in fat.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS      If you try to keep these snakes as you would other colubrids it will only lead to failure. They must have a naturalistic vivarium and be sprayed on a daily basis along with being given an insect diet rather than a rodent diet.

If the humidity level and ventilation levels are wrong in the vivvarium it can lead to problems with shedding  and skin infections.