Amazon Basin Emerald Tree Boa (Corallus caninus)
Basin Emeralds are very rewarding and easy to maintain when set up properly. Though they are native to the Amazon region they require cooler temperatures than one would expect. When kept at these cooler temps and fed less frequently, emeralds thrive in captivity. At this time the two forms of caninus are not recognized as separate taxons but it's quite obvious they should have species recognition. Pronounced differences in morphology and DNA have been documented. There has been a disturbing trend in recent years with some breeders interbreeding the two forms. The resulting intergrades, while interesting, forever pollute the captive gene pool. This is one of the few boids that can be maintained in naturalistic vivariums and that is what we have done with ours. There is nothing as beautiful as a healthy emerald in a well planted vivarium!