Green Tree Python Care Sheet:
Congratulations on purchasing your Green
Tree Python! Green Tree python Care sheet
Keeping Green tree pythons is not rocket science, but it definitely
takes a little more precision and expertise to keep them healthy. I
would recommend that you start with another species as a first snake
to help you learn to recognize behaviors and certain aspects of keeping
a snake to avoid pitfalls from ignorance. That said, if you do your
homework, you can keep these animals with a high degree of success.
First off: Buy captive born and bred. Your chances of success go up
exponentially when you buy from a breeder. The animals are in general,
healthier and parasite free. You will have the benefit of having the
animal’s history and also the assistance of the breeder if you
should encounter problems. Make sure you aren’t confused by “captive
born” as being captive born and bred. Many times captive born
means they were born at a farm in Indonesia and then were imported.
Not necessarily wild caught, but still a risk. Stick with captive born
and bred.
Housing:
Adult chondros can be housed in cages that measure 24” X 24”
X 24”. I prefer to house adults in something larger as I feel
that it keeps them more active at night when they move around. I house
mine in 36” X 24” X 24” cages that are designed for
the higher heat and humidity required by this species. Heat panels in
the roof are ideal for heating these arboreal animals. You can purchase
something as fancy as a Pro Panel heat panel, or go with Desert Heat
panels available from Big Apple Pet Supply. I now use Desert Heat panels
exclusively for all my arboreals and find they do a great job for a
much lower price.
Chondros most often stay perched day and night. They should have branches
at several levels that are the diameter of the widest part of their
body. I usually place one high about 6” from the heat panel and
one lower that’s about 6-8” below that. This provides areas
where they can have a temperature gradient.
Babies should be housed in Rubbermaid tubs. Neonates can go in something
as small as a shoebox, and animals of several months old can go in a
mid sized tub heated with either heat mats on the lid and sides or with
a heat lamp. Plans for setting up a baby tub can be found on Greg Maxwell’s
site under housing. It shows you complete pictures of the tubs and their
setups.
Here are my adult cages that were built on Greg Maxwell’s plans.
They keep the heat and humidity perfectly and are beautiful to boot:
Cage Décor:
I like to decorate my cages with vines and plants. I use live pothos
as it is a hardy plant that doesn’t mind low light or the heat.
It also holds up well to climbing chondros and it requires little care.
It is also completely non-toxic. I recommend washing all the leaves
and removing some of the potting soil and replacing it with clean, non-toxic
soil. Many plants from the store are sprayed with pesticides and have
had fertilizer in the soil.
Temperatures and humidity:
These animals require temperatures on the warm side to be from 82-85.
Most recommend 85 degrees, but some thermal studies show that temps
of 85 degrees have body temperatures in the 90’s. I now set my
cages at 82 and find the animals are much more active and eat better.
Anywhere in that range should be sufficient. Cool side temps will range
from the upper 70’s to 80 degrees.
Humidity for babies should stay at a relatively steady 80%. Adults should
be allowed to dry out daily to around 60%. This is accomplished by misting
once a day and then letting the cage dry out the rest of the time. I
usually spray at night when the animals become active as they tend to
drink off their bodies at this time. I also provide a large water bowl
on the cool side for them to drink and soak in.
Substrate:
You can use anything from paper towels, to regular wet towels to something
like shredded cypress or sphagnum moss. I used cypress for quite a while
and then when I was at a friend’s house, saw how his animals liked
the moss. I’ve been using moss now and really like it. It’s
has a natural resistance to mold, and the animals seem to like to crawl
in it.
Feeding:
Most chondros will readily take frozen/thawed mice and small rats off
tongs. I feed in the cage just after dark and usually never have a problem.
Chondros eat right off the perch. Babies will eat f/t pinkies off small
plastic tongs. I recommend that animals are not overfed. Pythons and
boas tend to have slow metabolisms and overfeeding can result in obesity
and in some cases with these animals, prolapse. Babies can be fed every
5-7 days when on pinkies, but after they transition to fuzzies, I go
to every week. Once the animal reaches 2 years or older I usually feed
only every 10-14 days. An animal the width of the body and no larger
should be sufficient. Make sure the food item is well heated as chondros
hunt by using heat pits. Keep fingers away from the food item!
Handling:
These snakes are more of a look and not handle type. I do have several
that are quite docile and seem to tolerate handling well. Others stress
and will bite if taken out . I don’t handle these much. Babies
should be handled as little as possible. Their spines are quite fragile
until they are over a year and so should just be taken out on their
perches without trying to remove them. Kinking of the spine can occur
if the snake is forcibly removed when it’s young.
Sexing:
Chondros should not be sexed until a year of age and over 100 grams.
Damage to the spine can lead to kinking. Never purchase a baby that
has been sexed-no matter how gentle they say they were. Once at the
proper size, young snakes can be sexed using sexing probes. This should
be done by someone with experience to avoid injury to the snake.
Chondros are completely addictive and most likely you'll never own only
one. Their beauty and diversity is hard to pass up. Proper care and
husbandry will lead to years of enjoyment.
Thank you for choosing
Francly Corns and Chondros
www.Franclycac.com