How Much Does an Emerald Tree Boa Cost? (Prices)

With every new pet comes a certain expense. The emerald tree boa isn’t the most expensive snake on the block, but it certainly isn’t the cheapest, either.

These snakes are sensitive animals and need very specific care if you are going to keep the healthiest emerald tree boa that you can.

Let’s take a look at how much emerald tree boas cost. 

Since the emerald tree boa is not a species that is rife with morphs such as the ball python, corn snake, or other “beginner level” type snakes, we find a general baseline of price pretty easily within this species.

So, how much does an emerald tree boa cost?

As of this writing, you can expect to pay around $400 at most large warehouse-style breeders for an emerald tree boa. Should you decide to purchase from a smaller breeder, expect that price to go so far as potentially doubling for really impressive sub-adult specimens.

Adults, especially proven breeding females, are likely to reach anywhere from $750 to $1,400 depending on who you choose to deal with. 

Do remember that these costs are without shipping or international import fees (if you’re shipping across country borders). If shipping within the US, expect shipping costs via one of the common reptile shipping businesses to cost around $65. This is usually secure, insured shipping via Fed Ex. 

Setup Cost

This is where the bulk of your money will be spent. Your hygrometer/thermometer tools will cost $50 on the low end of things and up to $300 if you decide to shell out for the really impressive stuff.

Please keep in mind that both do the exact same task, but the fancy stuff just gives you more control and more options for monitoring your snake.

Do you need Ring-esque monitoring for your emerald tree boa, or are you home most of the time? 

Only you know these answers. 

The enclosure for en Emerald Tree Boa for will range from $400 to as expensive as you can imagine it being. A custom-made box with all the bells and whistles can cost $5000-$8000 if you really go all out.

Reptizoo Terrarium – 36Lx18Dx36H

• Front access will stress your snake a lot less than enclosures opening from the top
• Completely escape-proof
• Convenient inlets for heating cables, without any visible wires.
• Very sturdy, and easy to setup

Check Price

It’s up to you if you want a ceiling-to-floor custom cabinet for your emerald tree boa or if you want to go with something a bit more conservative, say a nice-sized ExoTerra. 

Hides run the gamut from $10 for a pack of butcher-casing style hides to hundreds upon hundreds of dollars for extremely custom made ones.

We’ll expect that you’re working with the cheaper end here at $10 per hide, so please correct your calculations if you are not. 

Whether you choose to heat your enclosure via heat lamp or heat pad, you can expect the cost to be somewhere in the area of $80. Add to that your needs for substrate, decorations, branches, and misters: consider a basic setup for an emerald tree boa to cost around $600-$750 by the time you meet their absolute minimum needs. 

Check out my complete care sheet for emerald tree boa enclosure setup recommendations.

Vivarium-Specific Costs

Since we can’t know if you’re intending to work within a vivarium or if you’d rather keep a more traditional enclosure, we thought we’d break down some costs related to vivariums, too.

A cleaning crew costs about $40 shipped if you look for reptile sites that offer them.  Looking at bug breeders may cost a little more, but not extraordinarily so. 

We’re going to assume you’re only using pothos planted in your vivarium since it is such a common and excellent starting plant.

Pothos from any reputable online herp store will start right around $15 per plant, though most of these are plants that will take up a decent amount of space in your vivarium.

You may need to trim them back or train them around branches to make them more effective cover for your emerald tree boa. 

Bioactive substrate will also be an additional cost that, depending on your source, may actually kick your bank a little bit. 

So, if you remain extremely conservative when building your vivarium with the intent to expand in later years, you’re probably looking to expect another $100-$200 on top of the initial $600-$750 expense.

So far, including the emerald tree boa (we’re going to assume you bought a sub-adult for $650), expect your start-up cost so far to be around $1,500 for a simplistic vivarium and your emerald tree boa.

Veterinary Check Prices

Every snake you bring into your collection, regardless of species, should have a veterinary check before settling in for quarantine.

Your emerald tree boa has undergone a lot of stress and climate change while trying to settle in to its new life and that makes it a breeding ground for illness.

Though emerald tree boas are definitely not the happiest of campers at the vet, try bringing kevlar gloves as a way to help your vet examine your snake.

Grab a pair for yourself while you’re at it because a new, young emerald tree boa is going to be very frightened during examination and very likely to strike. Gloves that prevent knives from puncturing you while in the kitchen work pretty well. 

Veterinary checks run an enormous variety in cost, though most we’ve personally experienced settle in between $100 and $200. So, we’ll add another $150 to that $1,500 total to bring us to $1,650 so far for your new emerald tree boa. 

Feeding costs and Feeding Accessories

If you have a reptile show in your area, expect to pay around $30-$40 for a 25 pack of rats appropriately sized for your emerald tree boa.

If you do not, shipping will be a bit more costly on top of that since it is a frozen product with dry ice included.

We’ll add on an additional $150 total assuming that you have to ship in your prey animals and that you’re buying a very nice set of feeding tongs.

While most of us remove the snake from its enclosure, most of us also use sterilite bins to feed in and the cost there is minimal. 

If you run with these totals, you are looking at just around $1,800 to get your emerald tree boa set up and ready to thrive. Happy herping!