GREEN TREE PYTHON CARESHEETS

GENERAL INFORMATIONS

Green Tree Pythons are a small and slender species that are incredibly variable in color with most being green but with some having yellow and even blue colors. It's been the reputation of the Green Tree Python that they are somewhat vicious and aggressive. However, this reputation is undeserving for captive bred Green Tree Pythons since they are usually quite docile unless the handler does something that provokes it. The Green Tree Python are native to New Guinea, Indonesia and the northern tip of Australia and is almost entirely arboreal preferring to stay curled over a tree branch. In general, an adult Green Tree Python reaches sizes in the 4 to 6 foot range.

TIPS FOR YOUR FIRST GREEN TREE PYTHON

First you must decide to choose the quality breeders. You are not shopping for the right animals early as you looking for the right breeders! A committed breeder will be dedicated to your success and satisfaction, and chances are that even with the purchase of a healthy captive bred animal you will need some help and advice...know who you are buying from.

HANDLING AND TEMPERAMENT

Green tree pythons are long known to be very aggressive snakes. This is especially true with wild caught animals, but quite the opposite can be found with captive bred animals more accustomed to captivity. As with most arboreal snakes, GTPs also have very long teeth to help avoid dropping prey. These teeth make bites quite memorable. Because of this, handling is usually kept to a minimum.


HOUSING

Baby and Juvenile Green Tree Pythons can be set up in an enclosure as small as a 20 gallon (30" x 12" x 12"H) but adults will need to be housed in an enclosure that is 18" x 18" x 18"H or 24" x 18" x 24"H. The most important thing in the GTP's cage is that you provide a secure and steady perch for this is where most of your snake's time will be spent. The perch should be about as thick as the thickest part of your snake's body. Since like most snakes, Green Tree Pythons are escape artists, a secure screen top is absolutely critical to keep your snake from escaping the enclosure. The complete information about housing for Green tree python can be found in the other article.

FEEDING

Green Tree Pythons do well on a diet of mice or rats that have been fed a nutritious lab chow. Most Green Tree Pythons, especially non-gravid females and well-started juveniles, have hearty appetites. Getting these specimens to feed is not a problem. In fact, care must be exercised in approaching the animal with a food item after dark, as the feeding reflex can be can be quite strong, resulting in a strike at the slightest movement. In addition, tree pythons have heat-sensitive pits in their lips that can cause them to target your hand if it is warmer than the prey item. This is usually the case when feeding frozen and thawed rodents. All of this makes using a pair of long 18" tongs or forceps a necessity when feeding your animals. Using anything shorter while feeding adults will result in bites to your hand! Never expose a part of your hand or face to a Green Tree Pythons when opening the cage, especially at night.
Unlike most colubrid snakes, Green tree pythons should not be power fed to induce rapid growth. Keep meal sizes reasonable. A meal that makes a noticeable swelling, but not a huge lump, is about right. Baby Green Tree Pythons should eat every 5- 7 days, and every 7-10 days from 12 months and older. Large adults, especially females during non-breeding periods, may only need food every 12-14 days. Prowling for food, growth rates, and defecation cycles, can help determine frequency of feeding.
Always feed dead prey items to those animals that will accept them. This will be true of most Green Tree Pythons. A very useful trick that will often produce an enthusiastic response from an otherwise disinterested animal is to hold the head of the dead thawed rodent against a 100 watt light bulb for about 15-30 seconds and then immediately place it in tongs in front of the snake’s face. The heat pits located in the lips of the Green Tree Pythons will detect the heat and will often trigger a good response in slow feeders. The same is true for feeding neonates, except better results will be had by heating a mouse pinky or fuzzy in very hot tap water prior to offering it to the Green Tree Pythons. Almost all of the animals in my collection feed on frozen-thawed rodents. Green Tree Pythons get all the nutrition they need from being fed healthy lab rodents, and they do not need variety or supplemental food items such as chicks.

SHED AND DEFECATION CYCLES

Different Green Tree Pythons have different defecation rates, depending on growth, age, gender, and other factors. Older females frequently defecate less often than males, and young animals of both genders defecate more often than mature specimens. Some adults will "tail hang" prior to defecation. Although this often causes alarm among inexperienced keepers, it rarely is a problem.
There is a "rule" that has become somewhat popular, that says chondros should not be fed their next meal until they defecate from the last one. This policy will result in many specimens being under fed. However, if a particular animal has an obvious stool it needs to pass, wait until it does so before feeding the next meal. Environmental stimulation will often prompt regular defecation. Green Tree Pythons will usually defecate when shedding as well. The snake that sits day after day without any movement or environmental stimuli could grow bored, obese, and constipated. As veteran keeper and Green Tree Pythons pioneer Trooper Walsh says, "Change is good". Soaking and some gentle handling can help stimulate a bowel movement.
Shedding takes place often in growing juveniles, about once every 6-8 weeks. As the snake grows to adult size, sheds occur over a much longer time period, usually several months. Do not allow the humidity to drop too low during the shed cycle, which is a 10-14 day process that begins with a dulling of the colors and an opacity developing to the clear eye caps. In Green Tree Pythons, this milky appearance is much more subtle than in other snakes, and it takes some experience and a trained eye to discern the opaque period in some individuals. This is especially true with yellow neonates...these can be very difficult to when opaque. The python will almost always go off feed during this period, and may assume odd looking or unnatural postures, including coiling on the ground. Learning to adjust the humidity to a proper level to ensure good sheds is one of the skills needed for good husbandry. If the humidity is too low during the opaque period, the animal will have difficulty removing it’s old skin.
Do not attempt to handle, feed, or move Green Tree Pythons during a shed cycle. Needless to say, they should not be shipped or transported during this time either. Stress during the opaque period often results in poor sheds regardless of the environmental conditions.

References :
www.wikipedia.org
www.finegtps.com