Some GTP pics

[kristan]

My undocumented WC female





Cyclop x Sorong male



Lereh female

[vanckirby]

great looking gtps

[ballpythonluvr]

GTP's are soooooooooo gorgeous and yours are extremely beautiful!

[Kurto]

they are some sweet greens! id bet your happy with them!

[shorty54]

Wow............................................................................. .....................

[DavidG]

I had a sibling to your sorong cyclopes. It passed at the beginning of this year. Very beautiful collection.

[kristan]

Thanks for the compliments...not only do they look great, they're all completely handle-able..day or night.

David,
Did your sib look similar to mine? I've seen a few of these sibs around, most look identical to mine but one turned out to be a pretty nice melanistic critter.

[SlitherinSisters]

Oh man they are so awesome! I love that first one, all the yellow is sweet!

I knew I should have stayed out of this area of the forums! I've been poking around trying to read up on these guys, but it's hard to find a reliable source. I've been reading nothing but contradictions on keeping these guys. One place says they need huge tanks, another says they only require a small amount of space because they are arboreal. One says you can't handle them because they are evil and fragile, another says most are ok to handle.

Do you know of a good source I could read up more on these guys? They are my absolute favorite snake species, and I would absolutely love to own one some day! I understand they are harder to care for than bps, can you tell me what makes it harder and if it's truly that much harder? I'm totally fine not handling them, I would just really like to have one as a display animal. Is that possible?

[kristan]

I do not find these guys harder to care for than any other snake. Their spines are very fragile under a year of age so most people do not recommend handling them until they hit that one year mark. They also have thinner skin than other snakes so stuck sheds can be a little more of a challenge, and they need higher humidity (easily obtained by a daily misting) than a bp. However, I have not found any of these issues to be problematic..I consider this species to be much hardier than people give them credit for. As far as cage size, some keepers prefer larger cages because they promote exploration/movement, which can help with muscle tone, bowel movements, etc. However, I've seen larger breeders, who are housing several gtps, keep them in small tubs with no ill effects - it's just a preference.
You could get one as a "display only" animal but I guarantee you're going to want to handle it Most individuals I talk to have handle-able animals, they just chose not to do so.
I would recommend picking up The More Complete Chondro by G. Maxwell and joining the morelia forums (moreliaviridis.yuku.com). I honestly didn't do any research, aside from a few google searches, before getting my first gtp (lereh female). I had talked to a friend of mine (who has worked with several reptile species and runs an educational program) about wanting to get one, in response to which he said "eh..you don't want one of those, they die pretty easy". So..I figured if I read about all of the possible health problems that could arise, I would end up talking myself out of it. My lereh was about 8 months old when I got her and she has never had any health problems. However, at that point, I had been keeping blood pythons for about 5 years, which have similar humidity requirements.
PM me about breeders and caging options if you start looking around, I think I can help you out.

These are my current enclosures, converted from thrift store furniture. The cages in the corner stand are 31" W at the widest point, 24" D, and 11" H - I would prefer these to be larger but they're working okay for now. I will need to upgrade this coming spring. The cages in the barrister bookcase are 34" W, 12" D and 13" H. I would ideally, in a year or so, like to have 24" cubes for use as adult caging.

[SlitherinSisters]

Thanks for your great response! I was hoping they would be a manageable species to own. It would be so awesome to have one of these guys sitting in a display! I love your displays! That's what I would like to do as a display, convert some sort of display furniture to a display 'tank'. I'm glad you think I could handle caring for one! That makes me happy It don't think I'll be getting one any time soon, but I'm thinking it's a serious possibility by summer!

Are they easy-ish feeders? Also, is that flexwatt you are using? I was wondering what type of heat source people used because they don't require belly heat. Back heat on one side or on top (if it's a tall cage) would be the best bet I take it?

I need to make a note to remember to PM you when I start getting serious!