Red-Tailed Green Rat Snake
(Gonyosoma oxycephalum)

The red-tailed green rat snake is found throughout southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, Phillipines, and Java. This arboreal snake has a prehensile tail which it uses to help hold on to tree limbs. Female red-tailed green rat snakes are generally larger than males, and adults can reach lengths of six feet, though some individuals can grow over seven feet in length.

The red-tailed green rat snake is emerald green with a reddish, or silvery tail. There is often a yellow band around the between the green of the body and the red of the tail. There are many color morphs with the red-tailed green rat snake. In Thailand and the Philippines there have been reports of totally yellow red-tailed green rat snakes and in Java gray varieties have been reported.

Difficulty

MODERATE: Because of their temperment and slightly more involved care, the red-tailed green rat snake is not the best for new hobbyists.

Requirements

An enclosure, such as:

• Glass or acrylic aquarium (20 gallons for juveniles, larger for adult red-tailed green rat snake) with a secure lid with clamps
• Custom Constructed Caging

Substrate, such as:

• Crushed Cocounut fiber

A heating element, such as:

• Under the tank heater
• Incandescent heat bulb
• Ceramic infrared heat emitters

Enclosure

Young red-tailed green rat snakes can be maintained in a 20-gallon aquarium, but adults will need to be moved to a much larger enclosure. Because the red-tailed green rat snake is an arboreal snake, a tall enclosure is needed. Generally this means constructing an enclosure that is at least half the length of the snake wide and long, and at least the length of the snake tall. For a six foot snake, this would mean an enclosure that is three feet long by three feet wide by six feet tall at the minimum for the red-tailed green rat snake.

The enclosure shoudld be decorated with several vines and branches to provide climbing places as well as fake or real plants to provide places for your red-tailed green rat snake. The enclosure should also be misted once or twice a day to maintain a relative humidity of 70% - 80%. Hide boxes and humidity chambers should also be provided. Hide boxes can be constructed out of flower pots, plastic boxes, or wicker with appropriate sized holes for the red-tailed green rat snake to climb in and out. Humidity chambers can be contructed out of plastic boxes with damp sphagnum moss and a hole for the snake to enter. The humidity chamber will aid in shedding for the snake.

Heating and Light

Red-tailed green rat snakes like an ambient daytime temperature of 80°F to 83°F with nighttime temperatures of 70°F to 75°F. A basking spot of 85°F should be provided during the day. These temperatures can be achieved by using under the tank heaters, incadescent basking bulbs, or ceramic emitters. While the red-tailed green rat snake does not require UVB light, if live plants are used in the enclosure, then appropriate grow bulbs shoudl be utilized to keep the plants alive and healthy. We recommend using a timer to automatically turn off your daytime heating and lighting elements at night. It's important to check these temperatures regularly with a thermometer. Many hobbyists will install thermometers or thermostats in the enclsosure to be able to accurately maintain these temperatures. We do not recommend the use of any kind of heat rocks as they can often lead to burns on your red-tailed green rat snake.

Diet

Red-tailed green rat snakes can be fed mice or birds such as quail or chicks. It's important that you feed the appropriate sized prey to your red-tailed green rat snake. If the prey is too small, it may not be getting all the nutrtion that it needs, if it is too large it may spit the mouse back up. A good rule to follow is to feed prey that are about 1½ times the size of the largest portion of your red-tailed green rat snake's body. Generally your snake will only need to eat about once a week, but younger red-tailed green rat snakes may need to be fed more often. Fresh water should be provided at all times.

When feeding your red-tailed green rat snake, it is important that you feed it seperately from other snakes and in an area of the enclosure that is free from substrate other small items that could be inadvertently ingested with the food. We also find that thawed, pre-killed frozen prey to provide the safest food source. Live prey can injur your red-tailed green rat snake during feeding. The freezing process will also kill most parasites that the mouse may be carrying. Most red-tailed green rat snakes will easily take to the thawed prey with little effort.