The Surinam variety of the sub-species is a long snake and is more lime green in color. There are also dominant patches of yellow on the skin and the dorsal markings are broken white shades of white mixed in with blue, giving a sawtooth pattern. It has large plates on the head. This snake is very irritable and is harder to tame than the Amazon Basin variety.

The Amazon Basin snake, on the other hand, is a true emerald color and tends to have more of a square shape to its body. The color tends to darken as the snake matures, so much so that some adults of this sub-species appear almost black in color. The dorsal markings are white and are almost connected and there are vibrant yellow colors on the underside and labials. The snout area of the head is covered with small scales. This snake is the best one to choose as a pet because it is very docile and easy to train.

Whichever of these snakes you have as a pet, there are some basic rules that you must keep in order for the snake to remain healthy. You have to carefully monitor the temperature in the cage because it is important that they are not too warm. The humidity cycles have to be properly maintained. While you do have to feed them the proper size of meals, you should not feed them too often. Since these snakes are tree snakes, you do need to have climbing features in the cage. In the jungles of South America the temperature and humidity is highest on the jungle floor and lower in the canopy. This is how you should have the temperature regulated in the cage ?high on the bottom and low on the top.

These snakes thrive in a cage where the temperature is hot and humid during the day and cooler, with lower humidity at night. When you spray the snake, do so early in the morning. The worst kind of humidity you can have in a cage is stagnant humidity. For this reason, you should have a fresh-water misting system in the cage to keep the humidity levels where they should be.

Young growing snakes of this sub-species should be fed every ten to fourteen days. If your snake doesn??t eat a lot at one feeding, you can feed it sooner. The same thing applies if it is active and gets a lot of exercise. Adults don??t need to each this often at all. You should only feed an adult female once every two weeks and an adult make once every three or four weeks. Feeding the snakes too often will cause regurgitation, which can be deadly. The prey must be dead and no larger around than the size of the emerald boa. One medium size rat every few weeks is sufficient food for an adult.