Asian Vine Snake — Fact Sheet

Ahaetulla prasina · Asian Vine Snake

Full care guide and sources

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

Provide at least 120 × 60 × 120 cm for one adult, with a larger footprint for a long individual. Build a network of thin and medium branches across several heights, dense foliage, cork retreats and unobstructed basking routes. After quarantine use 6-8 cm of well-drained soil and leaf litter. Front openings need locks and cable gaps must be sealed.

🪨 Substrate and furnishings

House singly in a quiet room. Quarantine in a simple but vertically furnished enclosure with visual barriers, elevated hides and separate tools. Record weight, drinking, faeces and every offered prey item. Avoid repeated handling and exposed glass on all sides; chronic visibility and keeper traffic commonly suppress feeding.

💡 Lighting

This is a diurnal visual hunter. Provide bright full-spectrum light for 11-13 hours and measured UVB in Ferguson Zone 2 over part of the upper canopy. Create dense shade at the same temperature range so the snake can choose exposure. All lamps must be guarded from the animal’s long body.

🌡️ Temperature

• Basking spot: 30-32 °C
• Daytime air: 25-29 °C
• Cool zone: 23-25 °C
• Night: 21-24 °C

💧 Humidity and water

Aim for 60-80% humidity, rising locally to 75-90% during shedding, with daily drying and strong airflow. Provide a clean elevated water cup and droplets on foliage, because some new arrivals recognize moving droplets more readily than a floor bowl. Never allow constant condensation or saturated substrate.

🪳 Feeding

Many individuals specialize on lizards and frogs. A documented captive-bred animal already taking frozen-thawed prey is strongly preferable. Offer small whole prey every 5-10 days, keeping prey narrow enough for the snake’s delicate build. Transition with scenting and patience; do not use wild amphibians, and do not force routine live feeding or repeated manual feeding.

☠️ Safety

This species is venomous. Venom exposure can cause pain, swelling or other systemic effects, and severity varies with species, locality, bite site and the amount delivered. A small wound or apparently dry bite is not proof of safety; every bite or sting requires urgent medical assessment.

If an incident occurs, move away, call emergency services or a poison centre, keep the patient still, remove rings and other constricting items, and follow dispatcher instructions. Do not use a tourniquet, cut or suck the wound, apply ice or electricity, give alcohol or medicines as a home treatment, or attempt to catch the animal. Antivenom choice and dosing are hospital decisions; verify the relevant product and local availability in advance. Sources: WHO snakebite guidance and appropriate species-specific toxinology or medical references listed below.

🩺 Health — warning signs

The main problems are starvation during prey transition, dehydration, imported-animal parasites, rostral injury, retained shed, overheating and respiratory disease in stagnant wet air. Track body weight rather than relying on the naturally thin appearance. Continued weight loss, weakness, regurgitation or breathing changes require an experienced reptile veterinarian.