Green Tree Python Info

[Jessica Loesch]

I have been looking at baby biak GTP for a while now, trying to figure out enough info for em, etc.

I am absolutely in love with these snakes. Red or yellow neonates are both amazing. But I'm unsure about how their genetics work. Is it a surprise when they grow up how they look?

I was thinking about getting a pvc cage from here, adding in 3 perches, light, and heat.

The humidity here in NE is high and just by having eco earth moist in my ball pythons tub, it shot up to 90% (15qt) so I'm not worried about having issues there.

I have a couple questions .... well, more than that...

If I get this cage with all of those options, will that be enough heat?

How long/big do they get?

How does one go about handling them? I hear you aren't supposed to do it as much when they are small because they have fragile spines?

What size foods do they take? (to start and how big do they eventually eat?) Will they take ASF?

What age do they start changing color?

ANY other advice. I am not going to be buying one for a while most likely, trying to get all my research done. I MAY be able to get one if they have one at the reptile expo in october in omaha, but I hear it isn't that big and who knows if I'll have the right funds in line to do so.

Thanks in advance ...

Jessica

[Jessica Loesch]

PS I'm not set on a biak, they are just the most cost effective and also gorgeous locality at the same time ... open to others though, and opinions between red and yellow.

Also would like opinions on male vs female.

[Jessica Loesch]

OHHH. One more question ... should I have the baby in a smaller tub set up before I get a cage like that (starting with a 24x24x24) and how do I go about that cost effectively?

[geckobabies]

Okay I'll try and answer a few of these. Def not an expert but we've had several of them before and our current one for seven years now.

I would not put a baby in a large cage. A smaller cage would be better IMO. A good adult size is 36" x 24" x 24" or even a 48". They are arboreal, but do better in wider cages IMO then taller cages. They will move left to right on their perch to regulate their temps. We use a radiant heat panel for heat which works perfect for their setup. (high humidity and wet at times)

Babies feed on pinky mice and will grow fairly slowly compared to a lot of other species. Our adult GTP is just about six feet but you would never know that bc she's always curled up on her perch (or sometimes the ground.) She eats a small rat usually about every ten days, but that really depends on her mood. Sometimes she will not eat for several weeks before she decides to eat again.

Handling them will depend on how aggressive your GTP is. The easiest way to move them is to have removable perches/branches and just remove the entire branch when you need to clean or handle them. Some will tolerate handling (our Aru has never struck) but many will not and should avoid it. A snake hook will work well for this if you have an aggressive one.

No clue on what is better a male or female. We have a female and have not had a problem with her. If you buy a baby you will probably not know the sex at purchase. Red or yellow does not really matter if you are just looking for a fun pet. There is a lot of debate on that however as far as how the color matures. I would buy a CB baby vs a CH.

As for types, that will also very greatly depending on their lineage. In general, Biaks tend to have more yellow and green coloration, an Aru is more bright green with white and blue markings, and Sorongs develop a nice blue stripe. It really just depends on the lines though as I have an Aru with more blue on her then a lot of Sorongs.

Hopefully that helps

[Jessica Loesch]

It helps a lot ... What should I do about a smaller cage? Should I make a DIY tub enclosure? I can purchase some lengths of pvc and mount them in a tub with some holes in the lid with coconut substrate to keep humidity high. I already have a decent sized tub, I think it is 24x12x12 ish. Is that still too large? How would I go about heating it? You mention radiant heat panels, which I know nothing about ... time to google
Where would it go, etc.

Plan on getting CB, especially if I'm able to get one at the expo as it is only CB things.

Didn't think about the sex being unknown, read about that, forgot

This gives me time to get an adult cage .. so I like that ... if the tub will work.

Should I interact with it a lot as a baby, not taking it out persay, but looking at it, talking to it, gently touching it?

[tcutting]

Ok so the first reply is pretty spot on. Small cage as a baby. helps you keep the humid. a baby can shrivel up fast if it isnt right so HUMID HUMID HUMID!!!! the guy i worked for(he specialized in GTPs and Amazon Basin ETB) used small DIY tubs and had small perches made for them. I have some pics of the perches if you need an idea and the tubs. Also as far as handling, really its hit or miss on there temper but they tend to have a HIGH feed response and can get nipping. Keep it to a minimum unless the animal is very tolerant of it but even still dont get carried away. snake hook a must because in most cases you will get a strong feed response.

and yes as babies they are very fragile. I wouldnt go over board with "interaction" either. its purely a personality of the animal that will determine how it will act.

As far as locality, I am a HUGE FAN of ARUs i can also provide pics of those if you want or ARU merauke crosses, or just meraukes, and Sorongs are nice too. But i would go ARU all day every day.

-todd

[tcutting]

ohh and canaries will always turn green it seems they just stay yellow much much longer then most(from what i have seen anyway), and they say the red babies from Arus are more likely to be blue, but there really isnt that big of a difference between yellow, red, chocolate, yellow blaze, or whatever color the baby is. look at the parents if you can and what the normal of the locality is.

[geckobabies]

24" x 12" x 12" sounds pretty big to me.. it might work, but I honestly can't say on that. Totes work great bc they are cheap and you can move up in sizes as they grow, but I don't have any good ideas on how to heat a tote not in a rack system. Sorry hopefully someone else will have some ideas

I would not handle a baby at all until it was very well established and eating. More than likely it's just going to stress them and they are very sensitive about their tails. I would consider them more of a display animal.

Anyone have any good ideas on how to heat an independent tote safely?

[Jessica Loesch]

Awesome ... thanks so far everyone ... I would LOOOOVVEEEE pics.

Still wondering at what age they start the transformation

What size tote should I get for a baby?

[geckobabies]

As far as locality, I am a HUGE FAN of ARUs

+1 lol

Our Aru