How to Set Up an Emerald Boa Terrarium

The emerald tree boa (Corallus caninus), often referred to as a green tree boa or an emerald boa, is native to the rain forests of northern South America. This snake is arboreal, or tree-dwelling, spending much of his life in the trees. An emerald tree boa is a hard snake to keep in captivity because of his bad temper and regurgitation problems, but with the right keeper, the beautiful snake can live in an arboreal setup for up to 20 years.

  1. Enclosure

    • There are three things you want to consider when choosing the enclosure. It needs to be tall. It needs to be able to hold humidity, and it needs to have good ventilation. A glass or acrylic aquarium with a screen top will be able to hold humidity and provide air flow. When housing an adult emerald tree boa, you want the enclosure to be about 24 inches by 48 inches. A baby or juvenile emerald tree boa can be housed in a smaller enclosure that measures about 12 inches by 30 inches.

    Temperature

    • The enclosure needs to have a daytime temperature between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. There needs to be a basking place with a temperature between 90 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit. A digital thermometer will help monitor the temperature within the enclosure.

    Lighting

    • In the wild, the emerald tree boa stays high in the trees and is exposed to natural sun -- so in captivity, you should add a UV light to the enclosure. Set the UV light on a timer for 10 to 14 hours of light during the day. You can purchase either a UV bulb or a UV tube. The bulbs are long-lasting and produce both heat and UV light; the UV tubes must be replaced every four to six months and produce only UV light.

    Humidity

    • Being native to the rain forest, humidity is a must. You can either set up a misting system or a fogger, or you can manually mist the enclosure morning and night. The daytime humidity level should be 70 percent or higher. Nighttime humidity level can fall slightly below 70 percent. Use a humidity gauge to monitor the level.

    Substrate

    • You want to use a substrate that will hold humidity but will not mold. Newspaper and paper towels are easy and disposable, but neither are aesthetically pleasing. Coconut coir, peat moss, cypress mulch or a reptile bark are more natural and will hold humidity well. If you use something disposable, put two or three layers at the bottom of the enclosure; if you use a more natural substrate, put between one to two inches of it in the enclosure.

    Decorations

    • You want to create layers within the setup using vertically and horizontally placed branches. An emerald tree boa will coil around horizontal branches and slither up and down the vertical ones. Add two to three horizontal branches so the snake can regulate his body temperature at different heights of the enclosure. You can use PVC pipe or natural branches -- when housing an adult emerald tree boa, they should be at least 2 inches thick. A bird nest box and cork tubes make great caves; when stuffed with moss or vermiculite, they make perfect humid hides.