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  1. #1
    BPnet Senior Member Skyrivers's Avatar
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    GTPs The good, the bad, the "truth"?

    Ok so... I have been reading about these lovely creatures for months and been drooling on their beauty. I have read quite a few articles and watched youtube videos. I am almost to the point of shopping and building a nice enclosure to get ready and then........ well?

    The "attitude" was the major draw back for me. It is what has kept me away from the species. So I started looking for information to verify or advice on "taming" one. This was a good read.

    http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Care...n-Tree-Python/

    "Green Tree Python Handling and Temperament Rico could write an entire article on green tree python handling and temperment. Wait; he already did. If you’re a lifelong subscriber to REPTILES magazine, you can find the article in the April 2006 issue. If you’re not, here’s a quick overview.
    Green tree pythons have gotten a bad rap over the years. They have a reputation of being aggressive, but for the most part this is untrue. Their attitude can be a reflection of how they’ve been treated. If they are grabbed, physically restrained and treated roughly, they will become defensive and appear aggressive when approached.
    The best thing to do when you want to handle a green tree python is to remove the animal from its enclosure while it is still resting on its perch. Remain calm and deliberate in your movements regardless of how the animal reacts. It is best to approach the snake from below with your free hand. This is far less threatening than approaching from above. Gently support the snake’s lower coils, and allow it to begin leaving the perch voluntarily. Raise the coils with your hand as the python begins to leave the perch. Never pull the snake from its perch. Instead, offer it another secure perching location. With a gentle and calm approach most green tree pythons will tolerate handling for short periods."
    This section was related directly to the handling of them.

    1. So I am looking for personal experiences of dealing with them. Give me the good and the bad.

    2. I know I want CB not "wild caught". Good breeders? Would like one that will also talk to you about their experience and help if you have questions later down the road.

    3. I know there are a few different kinds of GTPs. What are the pros and cons of the different kinds and colors and sex?

    I am wanting to learn. Give me the good, the bad, and most importantly the truth about these guys.

  2. #2
    BPnet Veteran Alter-Echo's Avatar
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    Well, I had for many years (maybe 20?) A biak locality female that was only a serious problem if confronted after dark. During the day, she could be handled without issue, but at night, she would strike anything that moved, it made her easy to feed but impossible to hold.

    Not much of a sample size, I know, but I'm told biaks are the most aggressive of the gtps, so it should only get easier from there. She was wild caught, so again, cb should be a bit better.

  3. #3
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    My baby biak (i believe to be farm-bred) is a feisty little guy. He eats like a champ though. A user on here recommended injecting his food with water, and since then he seems to have lost all his wrinkles which pleases me.

    My year-old Sorong is awesome. He has bit me a few times, and strikes when I mist the cage sometimes, but once i get him out, he's usually concentrating on something else and is quite tame.

    My adult Aru is my favorite of my snakes - never shown any sort of aggression or anything. I believe he is wild-caught and has had a healthy dose of medication to combat the parasites. If you want to avoid that headache entirely, buy a US CBB (price is usually reflected in CBB specimens)

    Even my biak's bite hurts more than my white-lip python, or any of my ball pythons, which leads me to believe that getting tagged by an adult would not be fun. That being said, I have just acquired an emerald tree boa, so I'm less concerned with GTP teeth now

    They are delicate and their vertebrae are especially fragile the younger they are, so you must take care when handling them. They can hold most of their body out, but like any muscle, can fatigue and then fall from great height.

    All that being said - I highly recommend buying "The More Complete Chondro" for reference. There's no reason why you shouldn't keep one!
    Last edited by PiperPython; 05-25-2018 at 11:11 AM.
    Too Many...

    That's what my wife says



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  5. #4
    BPnet Lifer ladywhipple02's Avatar
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    Re: GTPs The good, the bad, the "truth"?

    GTPs aren't really a handling snake. They are very delicate and can be injured or injure themselves. They're gorgeous and meant for observing. I know a lot folks that keep them don't typically interact much except to use tongs to dangle food in front of them.

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  7. #5
    BPnet Lifer Sauzo's Avatar
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    Re: GTPs The good, the bad, the "truth"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Skyrivers View Post
    Ok so... I have been reading about these lovely creatures for months and been drooling on their beauty. I have read quite a few articles and watched youtube videos. I am almost to the point of shopping and building a nice enclosure to get ready and then........ well?

    The "attitude" was the major draw back for me. It is what has kept me away from the species. So I started looking for information to verify or advice on "taming" one. This was a good read.

    http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Care...n-Tree-Python/



    This section was related directly to the handling of them.

    1. So I am looking for personal experiences of dealing with them. Give me the good and the bad.

    2. I know I want CB not "wild caught". Good breeders? Would like one that will also talk to you about their experience and help if you have questions later down the road.

    3. I know there are a few different kinds of GTPs. What are the pros and cons of the different kinds and colors and sex?

    I am wanting to learn. Give me the good, the bad, and most importantly the truth about these guys.
    So far for me, GTPs have not been any different than other snakes in terms of difficulty of keeping. They have some specific requirements which if met, makes them as easy as other snakes.

    They arent a 'pet' snake in the terms you are going to drag it out and throw in the shoulder and wander into the back yard. A boa, sure. A retic, yeah most of the time, a dumerils, sure, but not a GTP.

    Pat tolerates me taking him out with him on his perch and usually putting him down in my other hand when cupped a little. He will sit there and sometimes even crawl onto my hand half way. But GTPs are more of a display animal. I am happy that Pat doesnt go psycho on me when i take him out on his perch. He did strike out at the blinking green lights on the computer router when i sat down with him and was holding his perch. First time he ever struck at anything other than food.

    As for USCBB or CB/import, you are going to start out with a higher chance of success with a USCBB. That's not to say an import is bad. Pat is a CB/import and he is fine. Key is to know what they need and have their set up ready.

    Also a USCBB is going to run you A LOT more than an import. On average, you are talking about $1000-1500 for a USCBB and it just goes up from there depending on the local. You can get good imports from people who work with BushMaster and they will still run you around $400+

    As for locales, biaks get a bad rep. They are the most common but also take the longest to change color and from people i've talked to, are awesome to use in breeding projects because they offer such a color/pattern variety. They do tend to be nippy. But like Pat for example, he has never taken a shot or bitten me. As for the others locales, they tend to be more laid back but again, each snake will have its own personality.

    Also there is no difference between red and yellow neos as far as temperament. I have been told red neos tend to develop more blue into adulthood than yellow neos but thats it. Also red neos are from the northern locales. Southern locales are all yellows as neos. So like Biaks, Sorongs, Manoks, and Jayapuras can all have red or yellow neos. Aru and Meraukes are yellows only.

    The sex makes no difference on temperament but again, from people i have talked to have said, males tend to be more active where as females tend to like to find a favorite perch or 2 and move between them and drink water.

    Definitely do your research. I wanted one since i was a 12 year old kid and it took me like 30 years to actually pull the trigger after doing research and stuff.
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  9. #6
    BPnet Lifer Sauzo's Avatar
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    Re: GTPs The good, the bad, the "truth"?

    Quote Originally Posted by PiperPython View Post
    My baby biak (i believe to be farm-bred) is a feisty little guy. He eats like a champ though. A user on here recommended injecting his food with water, and since then he seems to have lost all his wrinkles which pleases me.

    My year-old Sorong is awesome. He has bit me a few times, and strikes when I mist the cage sometimes, but once i get him out, he's usually concentrating on something else and is quite tame.

    My adult Aru is my favorite of my snakes - never shown any sort of aggression or anything. I believe he is wild-caught and has had a healthy dose of medication to combat the parasites. If you want to avoid that headache entirely, buy a US CBB (price is usually reflected in CBB specimens)

    Even my biak's bite hurts more than my white-lip python, or any of my ball pythons, which leads me to believe that getting tagged by an adult would not be fun. That being said, I have just acquired an emerald tree boa, so I'm less concerned with GTP teeth now

    They are delicate and their vertebrae are especially fragile the younger they are, so you must take care when handling them. They can hold most of their body out, but like any muscle, can fatigue and then fall from great height.

    All that being said - I highly recommend buying "The More Complete Chondro" for reference. There's no reason why you shouldn't keep one!
    Think you were the one i mentioned injecting food with water too. I inject all of Pat's food with about half an insulin syringe of water. Helps to keep them hydrated.

    And actually this book is a more updated book with regards to keeping GTPs. The More Complete Chondro is a good book still but I have lots of people recommend the one in my link as the more updated husbandry.
    https://www.amazon.com/Green-Tree-Py...hon&pldnSite=1
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  11. #7
    BPnet Lifer redshepherd's Avatar
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    GTP really aren't a handling type of snake, as others have said. If you're expecting to tame a GTP to the comfort level of say a ball python or boa or retic, it's not going to happen. There are very very few GTP individuals that are easygoing enough to handle without nervousness, but 99.9% of them are innately going to be nervous when being handled, and sometimes act a bit defensively.

    My 10 year old USCBB GTP female is Aru locality, generally considered the most docile for the species. The meaning of "docile" in GTP simply means they won't snag your hand or strike at you when you open the cage. It doesn't mean they are chill with handling.

    I initially had a scheduled handling session the first few months I had her, gently and deliberately. At best, she is not defensive but clearly nervous and uncomfortable, and does not like being touched. When I get her off the perch, she tries to escape or reaches upward for either my head or anything branch-like to escape into. At worst, the stress that handling clearly puts on her might weaken her immune system and get her sick. (similar to over-handling a ball python or any other species)

    During these gentle handling sessions, she's randomly tried to bite me two times (both times when I was barely even moving, and she missed both times, because she's not very bright + is stressed by handling). I decided in the end to just let her live her life as she wants to in her enclosure, and she's never going to be comfortable being handled.

    All across the board though, don't stick your hand into their enclosure at night- their feeding response is ON and nothing turns them off of it. You'll see why if you ever get one. LOL
    Last edited by redshepherd; 05-25-2018 at 06:27 PM.




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  13. #8
    BPnet Lifer Sauzo's Avatar
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    Haha yeah i dont reach into Pat's cage at night. Mostly because he is usually on the front perch at night lol. During the day, i reach in and will change his elevated water bowl which is right next to him. The biggest response i get from him is he will look at my hand and flick his tongue a few times and maybe move a little closer. Then usually he will either just sit there or lay back down and ignore me. He is actually pretty laid back for a GTP and is a very polite eater. Never really goes crazy with food. Mostly inspects it first, then will just latch onto the head and hang down, wrap it and then swallow.
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  15. #9
    BPnet Senior Member Skyrivers's Avatar
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    Re: GTPs The good, the bad, the "truth"?

    Thank everyone for the helpful advice.

    Still trying to get over Lucy but trying to pick myself up and back on track.

    Are there any morphs in the GTP world? I see there is a blue line that the green is more blue but haven't seen any morphs as of yet.

  16. #10
    BPnet Lifer Sauzo's Avatar
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    Re: GTPs The good, the bad, the "truth"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Skyrivers View Post
    Thank everyone for the helpful advice.

    Still trying to get over Lucy but trying to pick myself up and back on track.

    Are there any morphs in the GTP world? I see there is a blue line that the green is more blue but haven't seen any morphs as of yet.
    There are designer stuff like Ben Stegall with 'the sickness' GTPs which are black, green, yellow and blue. He actually just had a clutch of them and the list is longer than the number of animals he has available lol. I would be careful of so called blue line. Adult female GTPs can become blue when they are gravid and will hold that hormonal change for a while. There are true blue ones though but they command big dollar.

    Thing about GTPs is they vary greatly. So just because the parents look one way doesnt mean the babies will. Generally red neos will develop more blue assuming its a northern but that is generally, not a guarantee. Also certain locales will have certain traits like Sorong type and Jayapura type will generally have a blue dorsal stripe. And no southern locales are blue. Those are white like Aru unless they are a cross

    Just be prepared to shell out serious cash for a designer morph. I've seen them from $2500-5000+.
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