Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i'v kept many snakes in the past,even harder species to keep i have been succsesful in breeding.but for some reason i am very scared of getting a gtp because of the horror stories of them just dying for o aparent reason.i have a rubbermaid cage set up but i can just use it for an atb if im too scared.i also wanted a etb but i think tats way out of my league,i dont know why but all the press seems to be there are exremely hard to keep.i need some feedback on if i should go fourth i mean i dont want to spend 400 dollars and havethe animal die.

Dont't doubt your abilities if you are well prepared. As long as you have done the proper research on GTPs (like reading The More Complete Chondro, or sifting through husbandry posts on several of the forums available ie: moreliaviridis.com, moreliapythons.com, here, etc) you shouldnt be too doubtful of yourself. I had never kept snakes, I had only kept Bearded Dragons, Leopard Geckos, and Argentine B&W Tegus, but I bought a baby GTP after the necessary research and preparation and honestly it was the best purchase I ever made. I am absolutely addicted to these snakes now. The horror stories you have heard about come from people who have dealt with fresh imported chondros. As long as you deal with a reputable breeder to get your baby then you should recieve a healthy, feeding snake that is backed up with years of experience from your breeder and minus all of the ailments that imports so often suffer from. I have learned in the past two years of GTP keeping that if I cant talk to someone who bred these snakes then more than likely it isnt captive bred...400$ seems slightly close to the line that seperates captive bred from imported babies. There are several nice babies in the classifieds here currently. So, to avoid the horror stories you heard about make sure you go with a baby that has a breeders name at the bottom of the ad. Best Wishes to your future in chondro keeping.

Warning: Once you get one...you will be contemplating ways to get more and more.

thanks,very reassuring

I second that. If you do your homework and buy a captive born and bred chondro from a reputable source, you'll do fine. I find them easier to care for than even my corns. Sure they need more temperature control and humidity, which requires a bit more in the husbandry but they are the easiest to feed and take the least amount of time to do so. Lot less cleaning too!

-----
1.05~Cornsnakes
1.2.2~Green tree python
0.0.1~ATB
Dogs, cats, horses....
www.franclycac.com

I started with cbb (in the US) gtps 5 years ago and have not had a single problem or vet visit. From going from chameleon keeping for ten years to working with US cbb gtps, I have found gtps to be a fairly easy species to keep. Heat, humidity, food, clean the cage, repeat. Have fun, start saving your money, and remember it's more fun to spend that money on more gtps than vet bills.

I'm going to agree with the previous posts - I've been keeping balls for years but was a little afraid to venture into GTPs because of the stories about how hard they are to keep and how easily they die - got my first one two years ago and he is doing awesome and by far the easiest of my snakes to care for. Like the other said by an established cbb snake from a reputable breeder and you shouldn't have any problems.

Good luck.
-----
Tosha