Green Tree Python

By Bruno Magana

Foreword on the species:

Green Tree Pythons - Morelia viridis, are an arboreal species from New Guinea and the North Eastern Rain Forest of Australia.The species ranges through several localities, all with their own unique characteristics that deal in aspects from their coloration, size, and sometimes temperament. This brings attention to the importance of knowing what kind of green tree python you're working with. Amazing as they are, they have been given a bad rep in the hobby due to the idea that this is an "aggressive" animal. This can not be accepted as a closed case. There are pivotal facts about the animal's natural lifestyle, that if understood - a person can work with these animals without getting bit! Keeping it safe for you, and more importantly - the animal.

A good rule of thumb with many species; Arboreal Animals bite first and ask questions later. Animals that live most of their lives in trees are subjected to a lot of competition from other animals. In an environment that is Eat OR Be Eaten, you could imagine that a snake would be on guard - ready to eat the next thing it can over power. And ready to preserve its own life if a predator comes along. So to better understand why Green Tree Pythons bite, you can break it down to these conclusions:

1). The animal is trying to consume a prey item - totally natural 2). The animal is scared and protecting itself from an invading threat

Notice general aggression is not listed. This is because the animal's default nature is to bite first and ask questions later - it's better to decided whether to eat or fight something once it's already in your mouth. This is exactly why you can acclimate green tree pythons into being manageable animals with a bit of focused work.

Tips on handling:

Most of the time Green Tree Pythons are an observational animal that displays extremely well in a captive environment. However, anyone who works with them for any extended period of time will eventually have to handle the animal, if not just for simple routine maintenance. This is where it is important to know what locality the animal is as their personalities can sometimes be a wide variable. In any case, most animals will be less inclined to bite once they are successfully removed from their environment and in a minimal to stress free situation. Consideration must be given to the animal's nervous nature when handling. So how do you remove a sleeping green tree python from its habitat? With particularly defensive animals - a hook can be used to gently lift the lowest coils of the snake's body from a perch. Of course with a more placid individual you can choose to do this by hand. The thing to remember when taking the animal out, is to do it gently and do it quickly. You want to be confident and assertive with your movements without giving the animal too much time to decide what to do - again, bite first ask questions later. Once an animal is removed from the habitat keep your hands under the animal to support it (this will keep them from squirming and biting). This is a good species to practice displacement with - and I'll tell you what I mean by that: displacement with snakes is a handling practice where you face the animal away from anything that may stress it out, like yourself or other people. The most effective way to avoid provocation is to remove anything that may provoke the animal right? With regular work Keepers can get to know their pet well enough to trustingly free handle.

Housing:

Green Tree Pythons are relatively inactive animals that spend most of their time perched across horizontal vines and branches. Most of the attention to their setup must be given to providing the animal with a couple perching sites. Another consideration must be given to the size of the enclosure and over all orientation of the habitat. Vertical tanks with height over floor space is always preferred. Baby pythons can spend their first year in a 12x12x18" tank with the exception of the BIAK locality (as the largest locality will outgrow that tank in about half that time). Larger animals will live comfortably in habitats that are approx. 24x18x24" or preferably larger. Vertical perches should be provided in both warm and cool sides of the tank to allow the animal to thermo regulate. With a vertical set up your warm side is at the top and your cool side is the bottom. So perches should be focused around both the mid upper and mid lower portions of the tank. Artificial or live plants make excellent decor and will help keep the animal in a better state of mind and health.

Lighting;

A photoperiod is important to establish with green tree pythons. As a nocturnal animal it's important for them to understand when it is day and when it is night. These pythons like pretty steady temps through the day and night. Daytime basking temps should rang between 75-89F and drop to 70-80 at night. Keeping the tank at it's coldest above 70F. Heat lamps should be provided for both day and night, a brighter white bulb will suffice for day, but should be switched to either a infrared, black, or blue bulbs at night. Additionally many people will include LEDs or UV lights for additional visual light - just to better see the colors of these beautiful animals.

Humidity and Hydration.

Being a tropical species, we can assume this is a thirsty animal that is dependent on a humid environment. In this regard these animals could even be considered sensitive. But before accepting that this is something that is challenging to provide, we must have a good fundamental understanding of how humidity works in a controlled habitat. You should average 60% humidity with 1 or 2 mistings a day to spike up to 90%. Humidity should have a peak that will decline throughout the day, and spike again if appropriate, when controlling this you must understand where the lowest point sits at a regular basis. Using a hygrometer will eliminate all the guess work. Let's make the account more personal, lets say you have a green tree python at home. You wake up in the morning and your hygrometer reads 60%, you mist your habitat and it peaks at 90%. Your goal when spiking the humidity is to keep that humidity back at 60% by the time you come home from work that evening. If you notice your decrease drops bellow 60% - you may require an automated misting system to back you up when you're not around.

When pythons go into shed it's important to peak your humidity more regularly. One cool and effective way of doing this is using a reptifogger, that brings humidity in the air. This makes the cloudy skin soft and loose, making the shedding process easy for the snake. Large water sources should be provided for the animals to drink and soak. Of course on the optimal side of things you could even provide a waterfall that will substantially balance humidity for you. But one of the key factors in maintaining humidity will be discussed next...

Bedding:

The floor of the terrarium should be MOIST NOT WET. It is of little consequence to the animal when deciding how to get there, there are many good choices. Orchid or Reptibark is a good choice, as well as anything with a coco base, weather they be fiber or chips. Mix them, layer them, lay them out uniformly - as long as it's kept moist you'll be providing an appropriate substrate layer. Live or sphag moss can be centered around areas that get a lot of misting attention, around the water source is also a fine place to keep moss. Living vivariums or bioactive soil layers are also a great way to maintain the bottom of the habitat. Alternatively potted plants can be provided for additional hiding, perching, or general decor. But the soil of the plant also provides a special micro habitat for small micro fauna like isopods and wood lice that help keep the floor layer happy and healthy.

Diet:

We'll conclude this quick lesson with something really familiar to everyone. Food. Like most pythons we are familiar with, Green Tree Pythons eat rodents. Juvenile pythons will eat once weekly like most snakes but as the snakes mature should be offered food once every 2 weeks. As they are known for being fairly inactive, it is not necessary for them to eat frequently, just substantially. They metabolize slowly, so it's important to make sure temperature is optimal especially after a meal. This will ensure the animal holds down its meal :D I'm sure some of you have had some experience with a regurge??? NOT Fun - We do what we can to avoid that.

Where in the World?

Understanding where a species is from and where it specifically lives is one of the cornerstones to understanding the species itself. Studying the ecology of its natural range and habitat allows us insight on how the animal behaves and can be applied to captive care with the animals best interest in mind. Be ready to brush up on your geography here. A fundamental understanding of a region can help you understand other species of animal and plants in the area. As we discuss the topics of natural range you may come across familiar sounding localities of not only Green Tree Pythons - but of other species of reptiles or plants you may have already familiarized yourself with. If that doesn't apply to the reader then don't be discouraged. This article was made with you in mind! So we'll dive right in with an important question; where in the world are Green Tree Pythons From?

Relatively speaking, These pythons come from a pretty far range that technically overlaps 3 countries - Indonesian province of West Paua (some of you may recognize its former name of Irian Jaya), Papua New Guinea, and Australia. A bit confusing if you're unfamiliar with this part of the world - The neighboring countries of West Popua and Popua New Guinea divide the main Island of New Guinea right down the middle. We will refer to the countries as separate in this article as we go over Localities.

Obviously when taking an entire 3 countries into consideration, there are vastly different habitats stretched over the land, both suitable and unsuitable for Green Tree Pythons. That is to say that Green tree pythons won;t be found just any old place within their range. These animals primarily live in tropical rain forests and as their name suggests - in the trees (arboreal). For anyone who has ever seen an old growth rain forest in real life you already know there could be infinite areas of intertwining vines, branches, bushes and plants that conceivably would be great areas for a python to hide away in plain sight. The natural habitat of a solitary species like the Green Tree Python would encompass an area where the animal can regulate it's body temperature both day and night, this can be viewed in a vertical sense of how heat rises and so cool air sits at the bottom. These animals would most likely move higher when they need to warm up, and move down if temps increase. This is why in captivity we provide multiple levels to-and-from our heat source, it is in the daily agenda for all reptiles to regulate their body based off temperature. With tropical species like these, another aspect of this reptilian agenda is to regulate hydration. Arboreal species such as these will prefer to stay in areas with dense air moisture and mild surface moisture (or dew) that evaporates as the day goes on. This agenda is only broken with seasonal change, so we must next cover the annual structure of seasons in the Green Tree Python's Natural range.

Seasonality

The entire Island of New Guinea and parts of the Northern Cape York of Australia sit under the same climate patterns throughout the year. If you look at a map, Popua and West Popua sit to the southwestern side of a vast series of islands that stretch between the North of Australia and South East Asia - you will notice this entire area sits around the equator of the Earth. Equatorial climates are by far the most consistent in their annual patterns, but that is not to say they are completely without seasons - they are just not what most of us are used to. There is a Wet Season that is followed by a Dry Season. During the majority of the year, the habitat is showered with rains in what we will refer to as the Wet Season. This is generally what is experienced when provided the care that was discussed in previous chapters. So our general understanding of regular care will cover what we need to know about the wet times of the year.

Of course in the rain forests "Dry" is a relative term as it simply means the rains cut back slightly. This may limit the areas in which snakes may travel throughout their habitat, and staying in areas in which they can better hygro regulate. This can be a little challenging to achieve in captivity. The thing to remember is the difference between air humidity and surface humidity - in a tropical environment the goal should be to keep air humidity up to during this time, while cutting surface humidity by reducing how much the habitat is sprayed or misted with liquid water. A proper time frame for this routine should be about 6-8 weeks. Some people will even go further into a 10 - 12 week period. This may require alternative methods to our regular routines. There are two products that can help you coast through the Dry Season; Zoo Med's Reptifogger operated with Zoo Med's Hygrotherm. A Hygrotherm is a device that is both a thermistat - which is used to keep your heating unit at a set temperature - and a humidistat that turns the Reptifogger on and off to acheive a balanced and relatively consistent humidity level. This removes the guess work from cycling your pythons in captivity. Of course during this time it is important to provide access to fresh drinking water. Day time temperatures stay consistant during this time but there is a slight drop at night. So while regular daytime temperatures of 75-89F, a proper dry cycle will allow nigh time temperatures to drop to 65-70F. There have been observations of pythons getting much colder than that in both the wild and captive collections, but for the sake of this information, we are going to stay well within the safest parameters. At the equator the sun is up evenly throughout the day. There is hardly a shift in daylight and night time hours like we get here in North America - give or take a couple hours. In captivity some people will cut back hours from a 12 hours on/12 hours off to a 10 hours on/ 10 hours off during the dry months. However many have had success with a consistent lighting schedule as well. Optimal daytime Temperatures should stay consistent throughout the year. The occasional spray should be provided to keep the soil layers moist during the Dry Season. Remember during this time, animals in the wild will seek alternative sources of water. This is a crucial aspect of surviving this season.

Another Crucial time for the Green Tree Pythons is the annual event of the Monsoons, which is given the status of Season on its own. The Monsoon Season brakes the Dry spell and ushers in the Wet Season to follow in the upcoming year. These Monsoons are tropical storms similar to our Hurricanes here in the Americas. It is a time of torrential rainfall and warmer temperatures. Bringing night time temps up is necessary before daily mistings are introduced. This is also an important time for adult pythons, as this is the time that prime animals will get an opportunity to mate. In captivity this is the time to introduce compatible animals if the interest is to breed the animals, which is something we encourage people do. Even if breeding is not the goal, this is a crucial season that is actually quite easy to provide. Once you bring night time temperatures up to normal conditions, additional spraying of 2-3 times daily can be provided for the duration of up to 2-3 months. After this time short time, regular care can be implemented to the wet season again.

A note on Cycling.

Equatorial species have fairly consistent annual cycles - it is easy to overlook the importance of cycling. Especially when breeding animals does not interest the keeper. However it is an important aspect of the animals over all metabolism that will help the keeper maintain the animals health and longevity. Systems such as the animal's digestive tract, reproductive organs, and immune system rely heavily on knowing what time of year it is. For this reason it is recommended that all animals be introduced to seasonality after they've matured out of their juvenile stage of life.

Juvenile Coloration

Juvenile Green Tree Pythons are arguably some of the most visually enticing animals in the Hobby. In our retail stores, babies quickly get the attention of most people. The intense color and beauty is hard to deny, and even harder to ignore. Babies hatch with vibrant colors, either yellow or red, with the exception of a small number of localities that only hatch Yellow pythons. For example Aru and Sorong localities will always produce Yellow offspring. This is possibly due to their remote ranges and a dependency on flora to keep babies hidden in plain sight. For example, if a plant produces a yellow flower during the time of the year Green Tree Pythons are born, what chance of survival might a red baby have? Contrary to that, if a region yields both red and yellow flowers, both yellow and red babies have equal rates of camouflage. Baby Green Tree Pythons will have Caudal Lures - which is a coloration at the end of the tail that attracts prey, this is usually white and black, or in some cases solid black. Juveniles will buckle the end of their tail like a flailing worm, even to the degree of moving their tails involuntarily during sleep. Specific ranges will have a strong influence on the shades of yellow or red, and even produce specific patterns that are indicative of their specific locality. It is important to note that Green Tree Pythons will mature into a different color - usually greens and blues as adults with hints of unique colors depending on where the animal comes from. This is with the exception of specific lines of pythons that have proved some exceptionally yellow individuals that have retained a lot of the juvenile color. However bold pattern seems to be a characteristic of juveniles even among the more unique individuals such as the few matured yellow pythons initially from the Cyclops Mountains (which even still are normally green as adults). Which brings us to the importance of locality as it has everything to do with appearances among different Green Tree Pythons.

Locality

Hopefully anyone reading this has heard the term used before, but for those of you who have not heard the use of "locality" prior to this article - saddle up. When used to describe a species of plant or animal, "Locality" is in reference to the exact location the animal's lineage derives from. We see this in many species of reptiles (i.e. rosy boa locales, California kingsnake locales), in Green Tree Pythons specifically Locality can determine coloration, size, and arguably disposition. So it is very important to know just exactly what you're working with! So moving on we'll discuss some of the more common locales you may come across in captivity. That is not to say that any localities that are left out of this article are impossible to obtain in captive collections, by any means. We hope that having a fundamental breakdown of a few localities will stress the importance of locality in general. And when studying on a personal level will encourage you to truly dive into your research matters.

BIAK ISLAND

Probably the most common locality available in the US, Biak Green Tree Pythons set the standard within the hobby and reptile community. This may or may not be a good thing, as Biaks are literally the biggest and the baddest! Biak Island is one of the Northern most areas Green Tree Pythons naturally occur, sitting high above the mainland of West Papua. Biaks seem to be the first to practice the arboreal tactic of "Bite First, Ask Questions Later", but with consistent work can be made manageable captives. Considered to be the largest locale, some females can reach lengths of up to 6' - this may take quite a long time, but Biaks seem to grow significantly even after maturity (after their breeding prime). It's no coincidence that this locality also takes the longest time to grow out of juvenile coloration. Usually after a year a Biak will have already begun to "dip a toe" into it's adult coloration. Biaks are an Island locale (separate from mainland New Guinea) that are born both yellow and red. Yellow to green is a simple enough transition, but for those individuals who are born red, the transition to green will have to go over the color between red and yellow; orange. Much of the orange coloration can be seen in animals long after the begin to transition. A common characteristic of this locale is its patchy process of getting green little by little. Even large Biaks can be expected to have a lot of yellow pattern between heavy blotched areas of a very light green. Matured individuals are primarily light green with only hints of yellow blotching. Creamy white scales occur down the body of most Biaks, but sparingly so. Overall the coloration of the Biak locality is lighter than most other locales.

SORONG

This is a mainland locale, and the most Western locale of all mainland varieties. It is also in the Indonesian territory of West Papua. Sorong Green Tree Pythons are one of the smallest localities. As mentioned before, Sorongs are always born yellow, but they seem to retain a lot of their pattern as they mature into a Green snake. More notably the Caudal Lure seems to stick with them through their entire life even adults have black tails that are used to attract prey. This is one of the identifying characteristics of this locality.Another characteristic, that is often better seen in comparison to another locality, is the size and shape of the head. If you look closely, Sorong Green Tree Pythons have a short snout that gives the animal's head a compact appearance. And while this is very subtle, this attribute is a defining one among the other localities. Kind of like breeds of dogs having different facial profiles - there are certainly differences in the smaller mainland locales. One of the most spectacular things about this locale is its fast transition into a green animal. By the end of their first year, most Sorongs will have already lost their yellow. Contrary to the Biaks, Sorong Green Tree Pythons will evenly begin to transition from yellow to green, getting greener consistently with every shed until adult coloration is achieved. A defining feature of this locale happens in it's pattern, and while we can't say that the sorong keeps all of its juvenile pattern, they do in fact retain some of the more defined patterns though transition. They just go from black pattern to a blue pattern! So an adult Sorong should be modestly sized animal, a mid green coloration with blue patterns from the head to the tail, and a black tip of the tail. Another note on Sorongs, in my experience this is probably the most well behaved locality. And while this may not be every one's experience, the Sorong Green Tree Pythons seem to be one of the most docile.

ARU ISLAND

One of the most isolated populations of Green Tree Pythons can be found on Aru, a large Island to the South of West Papua. Like the Sorong, the Aru is a small locale that will always hatch yellow babies. One defining feature that is often overlooked is the comparatively blunt end of the tail. It can be assumed that this is a landmark, so to speak, in the animals natural evolution - and that the original pythons that were isolated on the Island were larger than they are currently. Some of the more obvious characteristics are skin deep. Considered to be among the most beautiful Green Tree Pythons, Arus display a stunningly deep Green that is best described as Emerald. These pythons natural display wide white dorsal scales and flakes of blue throughout the body. However, with continued captive breeding of the locality the white dorsal patterns seemingly decrease with further generations. The reason this happens has not yet been studied, and unfortunately we can not yet say why this happens in captivity. Despite losing much of the white, Captive Bred examples of Aru Green Tree Pythons are still one of the most coveted animals in the hobby.

JAYAPURA REGION

Jayapura sits on the mainland at the West end of the West Papua/Papua New Guinea border. There are several mountain ranges surrounding Jayapura that yield other established localities of Green Tree Python and almost certainly more to be described. New Guinea is still vastly unexplored. Given the variable ecology, it's no wonder how localities such as Cyclops Mountain and Lereh have found pockets of isolation surrounding Jayapura. In reference to Green Tree Pythons there is a recognized Jayapura locale, we will focus on the defining characteristics of that locale. These animals have isolated so much that their DNA has already showed traceable divergence from other localities found throughout the mainland. Jayapura Green Tree Python babies hatch either yellow or red. In many cases red babies display dark red coloration, even to the degree of having brown dorsal scales. As you could imagine, the adults are often a dark green color. Most adult will have a faint dorsal pattern of blue and deep green scales. Adults are a mid sized when compared to the other localities discussed. Naturally these animals (and localities in surrounding mountains) come from high altitudes. In the wild these animals will experience colder night time temperatures; regularly dropping into the 50F range at night.

Once you familiarize yourself with even a couple localities comparisons and differences are easy to spot. Undoubtedly stressing the importance of knowing what kind of Green Tree Python you're looking at. Knowing the locale is useful to anyone trying to understand this species in captivity. From keeping your hands safe to proper cycling, knowing where the animal comes from and what it experiences naturally will help you provide optimal care for your reptiles.

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