Does a wild Greater Green Snake bite? Price, food, and doubts about keeping one as a beginner

The Greater Green Snake belongs to the family Colubridae and the genus Cyclophiops, and is often active on the ground or in trees in cultivated areas. So, does a wild Greater Green Snake bite? How much does one cost? What food does it eat? Is it suitable for beginners to keep?

1. Does a wild Greater Green Snake bite?

A wild Greater Green Snake will not actively attack people, nor will it bite. The Greater Green Snake is a very docile, non-venomous snake with an “introverted” personality; when it sees a person it seems especially “shy”, always anxious to avoid them as much as possible, neither attacking nor biting. In midsummer, because the ground is scorching hot or the weather is muggy, the Greater Green Snake often climbs up trees and lies still to cool off, only coming down at night to hunt earthworms, insects and their larvae around farmland for food.

2. How much does a Greater Green Snake cost?

The market price of a Greater Green Snake is about 66 to 100 yuan each. In folk tradition the Greater Green Snake is affectionately called “Xiao Qing”, and its price is fairly cheap; generally you can easily get one for under 100 yuan. When buying, you can look in pet shops or flower-and-bird markets; if you really cannot find one there, you can look online, but be reminded to avoid being cheated.

3. What food does the Greater Green Snake eat?

The Greater Green Snake likes to eat earthworms, tree frogs and rain frogs. The food fed to a Greater Green Snake should be mainly earthworms, but note that the Greater Green Snake only eats blue-grey earthworms and will not eat red earthworms. If it is a small snake, it is best to feed it every other day; for an adult individual, feed it once a week. In winter the Greater Green Snake hibernates, and it will not eat even if you feed it, so before winter arrives you should make preparations to let it enter hibernation.

4. Is the Greater Green Snake suitable for beginners to keep?

The Greater Green Snake is not easy to keep. It is generally not recommended for beginners to keep; it is famously difficult to raise, and even with some experience, keeping one alive for half a year counts as good luck. Because the Greater Green Snake is timid and has high environmental requirements, the keeping environment must closely imitate the natural environment. If you do not have these conditions and are not a professional snake keeper, do not keep a Greater Green Snake; even if you keep it for a relatively long time, there is still the possibility of sudden death, so it is not suitable for beginners to keep.