Care Sheet Green Bush Rat Snake

Rhadinopsis prasinus picture by Jan Hbal

Scientific Name
Rhadinophis prasinus
Range
Burma, China, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam
Size
90 to 120cm
Life Expectancy
Should be 15-20 years.
Habitat
Principally arboreal and found in Tropical Mountain rain forests and bamboo thickets
Housing
Vivarium or plastic tubs
Plenty of greenery in the vivarium/tub helps them to feel more secure which appears to make them
more confident.
Dcor
Suitably large water bowl for them to drink and bathe
A minimum of 2 hides (1 in the cool end and 1 in the warm end) one of which should be
moist
Climbing branches are advantageous but not essential
Substrate
Use Aspen or Forest bark coconut husk and provide a moist hide of damp moss.
Temperature/Humidity
22C (72F) to 27C (81F)
Heating
1

Viv - Guarded Ceramic heater or heat mat

Tub - Heat mat
The temperature should be controlled by a suitable thermostat and monitored using a digital
thermometer
Feeding
In the wild Rodents, Lizards
In captivity mice and rats of appropriate size
Comments
Is a small diurnal ratsnake who is considered by many to be semi arboreal although some specimens
are practically terrestrial.
In their natural habitat they have high humidity but in captivity they do better in a drier setup with a
moist hide, which they do not appear to use very often. Since keeping them in a drier environment
they have never experienced any shedding problems (which they did frequently previously) and
their skin is in much better condition.

John Gamesby