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Green
Tree Pythons (Morelia
viridis)
Green Tree pythons are among
the most beautiful snakes in
the world. These snakes
inhabit the rainforests of
Northern Australia, New
Guinea, and some of the
surrounding islands. There
are several races of Green
Tree pythons and these are:
Aru Island, Biak Island,
Cape York or Merauke, and
the mainland forms of New
Guinea. Green Tree pythons
are usually found in trees,
but occasional venture down
to the forest floor. This
snake is most active at
night, when it feeds on
rodents and other small
mammals. As babies Green
Tree pythons are usually
colored red, maroon, brown,
or yellow. This color
changes as the animal
matures until it reaches its
adult coloration. Some
Green Tree pythons take
several years before this
transformation is complete.
Adult pythons have a wide
range of coloration and
there are many high end
morphs such as: High Yellow,
Blue, Calico, Mite Phase,
Mustard, High White, and
even Albino.
Temperature
Green Tree pythons should be
maintained between 84-88
degrees during the day.
Nighttime temperatures need
to range between 75-80
degrees. Green Tree pythons
come from a tropical
environment and humidity is
important for proper
health. You should mist the
cage once a day to increase
humidity and condensation
should be present on the
glass. Do not mist your
cage to the point that the
bedding is soaking wet, your
cage should start to dry by
the next scheduled misting.
Green Tree pythons should
have a day and night cycle
of 12 hours light and 12
hours dark.
Housing
Baby Green Tree pythons can
be kept in 10-29 gallon or
larger terrariums. Ideally,
as the snake matures, the
more room you want to
provide. Wood cages are an
excellent choice to house
Green Tree pythons and a
pair of adults can be housed
comfortably in a 4 x 2 x 2
cage. The cage needs to be
setup so there are multiple
branches for the python to
perch. When choosing a
cage, always make sure there
is some type of
ventilation. However,
excessive ventilation will
dry the cage out to
quickly.
Bedding
Our recommendation for
bedding is bark, coconut
bark, or cypress mulch.
These types of beddings hold
moisture very well and
duplicate their natural
environment. It is possible
for a snake to accidentally
ingest its bedding and cause
some type of impaction in
the intestines. We feel
that this type of impaction
is rare and we have never
personally encountered this
problem.
Food
Green Tree pythons feed on
pinkie or fuzzy mice as
babies and juveniles. As
your snake grows it will
soon move up to adult mice
and small rats. We
recommend that you feed baby
and juvenile Green Tree
pythons 1-2 times per week.
Adult pythons can be fed
once every 7-10 days to
maintain proper body weight.
Like most snakes, Green
Tree pythons typically will
not eat when they are
preparing to shed. After
your snake has shed you can
return to your normal
feeding regiment. If your
snake doesn’t eat make sure
you remove the rodent from
the cage. Rodents can bite
snakes when they are hungry
and can injure or kill your
snake.
Cleaning and Handling
The terrarium should be
cleaned as necessary. Any
fecal matter should be
cleaned out several times a
week. The bedding should be
completely changed once a
month and fresh clean water
should be provided at all
times. The inside of the
terrarium can be cleaned out
with an appropriate reptile
cage cleaner, we recommend
Natural Chemistry’s Healthy
Habitat. Baby Green Tree
pythons are very delicate
and should be handled as
little as possible.
Juveniles and adults will
tolerate some handling and
disposition will differ
between snakes. Always wash
your hands before and after
handling them.