Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My husband has shown interest in both snakes and I would like to suprise him with one as a gift. Can someone please tell me which gets the largest and easier to care for? I do know that the bloods get quite thick. We have owned several snakes in the past and presently have a corn snake. Which would you choose for yourself and why?? Thanks in advance for your advice!!
Lisa

the blood will get bigger, especially in girth, but length also. i would say that anyone who could successfully keep one, has the skill to successfully keep the other. although their lifestyles and needs are very different. PERSONALLY i like the chondros better, but ive always had a stiffie for arboreals.
bloods rock too!
joe

Can you tell me how their lifestyles and needs are different?? I'd appreciate it!

well, gtps are arboreal, and would need a tall setup with perches to climb and rest on. a blood python would need more floor space than hieght. since both are tropical rainforest species temps and humidity would be similer, though not identical. look around this websight for caresheets on both snakes. i wish i could directly link you to one, but i dont know of any specifically.

I like this topic seeing as a I just got a Borneo short-tail python and am paying for a Green Tree Python. Borneo's are also know as borneo blood python. Most adult females measure 32"-50" in total length, most adult males measure 24"-40" in total length. Here is the litte guy I got last week from NERD (if you want a blood E-mail Kara she is the best.) Here are some caresheets as well.
http://vpi.com/publications
http://www.newenglandreptile.com/CareBlood.html
http://www.newenglandreptile.com/CareBorneo.html

Pictures are the first time we laid eyes on each other!!

I have both a blood and a GTP and I love them both. They seem to be very close temp wise, but the bloods need a lower humidity than GTPs do. And as stated before, the blood is a ground snake and the GTP is an arboreal. The GTP needs perches and places to climb and therefor needs a high cage where as the blood is going to get girthy and long and will need and long cage that isnt that high. I know male bloods get from 4-6 feet long and females top out at about 5-7, 7 being rare but not unheard of. I think the biggest blood measured at about 9 feet. They also will weigh alot more. GTPs tend to top out at about the 6 foot mark depending on the locality. And pricing is a different too. A normal red blood can run you about 70-200 not counting shipping. A GTP can run you 250 + pending on locality and such. Both require a lot of time and effort. I monitor all 8 of my animals daily but the blood and GTP are monitored at least 2 times a day. I check both temp and humidity plus look for defications and mold and other things that look out of place plus check the behavior of the snake itself. all in all both are time consuming but make great rewarding pets. I personally couldnt pick a favorite.

I have owned several Chondros and a few Bloods and I love them both!! You can not compare size with these guys. Bloods are so much more robust that you can not compare any other snake length for length to them. They both are easy to care for once you understand everything but at the moment I would hold off buying either till you do a ton more research and of course find a trustworthy breeder with captive born babies for sale. Good luck!!
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Tim Rash
www.nocturnal-creations.com

If you want an opinion that has no bias, ask people who aren't in the GTP forum, seeing that more people in this forum will say GTP. But since we're all good hobbyists here, I'm going to say that it "depends." Thanks -Ders

This is not meant to have any type of negative tone but I’m really surprised people haven’t commented on negative temperament issues. I’m not sure how much experience you and your husband have with snakes, you didn’t give background info. These snakes are not beginner snakes and will probably be difficult for people who have little/no experience. Green trees are beautiful but can have nasty temperaments, many need handling gloves because of the serious bites they can give (teeth like needles and likely to use them), I’m surprised no one’s mentioned this yet. I consider them more of a display animal. I’d suggest getting a ball python if this is your first snake they are much easier to care for and handle. You can also get some really nice snakes within the same price range. Pastels are in the $250 range

Actually, I don't find that to be true of my green tree pythons. All are very easily handled but one. She's left alone. The rest are quite easily handled and my Sorong would beat any snake, cornsnakes included for gentleness. That said, they still aren't beginner snakes, and if you're asking the kinds of questions you are I don't think you should get one to start with. I think they are better left as a snake you get after getting and keeping the more easily kept colubrids or boas/pythons. They are an animal that requires more exacting husbandry and can have very subtle signs of distress that if you aren't really watching or able to recognize it, can lead to death rapidly. Lots of research is in order!
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4.5~Cornsnakes
1.2.2~Green tree python
1.0~ATB
Dogs, cats, horses....
www.franclycac.com

I would have to agree that these arent beginner snakes. They take lots of patience to work with and lots of monitoring. The husbandry requirements are pretty exact as well. They are both beautiful snakes. I think we all got caught up in that fact and forgot to mention the difficulty of these animals. They can be a hand full, I know with the wacky weather here in PA as of late its been crazy trying to keep temps and humiditys balanced. It is best to consider the fact of thier difficulty before deciding on those. I will not try to change your mind on either one because you are probably set on one or the other. Just be sure to do tons of research and dont stop once you get the snake. I still do research on both and am a keeper that asks questions on the slightest changes in them. As far as temper goes, both of mine are very nice. The Sorong GTP I havent bothered to much but it is a gentle little thing that likes to investigate you and has never even struck at me. The blood is nice and just likes to chill out and watch tv. They dont move much once they are comfortable. I only got bit by my blood once because I miss read a sign it was giving me about being misted. Just make sure you learn your snakes to avoid repeat tags for the same mistakes. I know you will find keepers who have had nightmares of each snake and keepers who have puppy dogs of others.

Not to discourage you or ruin the "surprise" factro but just FYI - almost all anaimals given as a gift end up being a disaster. Much smarter to purchase a gift certificate or make an arrnagement with a breeder and let the animal's owner make the final choice about what to get / which one.

Not trying to be a part poppoer but oodles of folks have bought animals form me as gifts over the years - and the best scenario is usually not that good.

Ross
Spruce Nubble Farm, Inc. - Green Tree Pythons, Carpet Pythons, Carpondros, Kinkajous, Horses
http://www.SpruceNubbleFarm.com
69 Spruce Nubble Road
Strong, ME 04983
(207)-684-3539
eFax: (512)-853-3820

With Ross. Let the person pick out their own animal and make their own choice. Every person has their own ideas of what they want in a pet. Usually it's different than yours. I've made one exception where I picked out an animal for a friend of mine when I went to the reptile show. I knew what he wanted and he let me make the decision. He was more than happy with it, but he didn't have any specific ideas. I went for the rtb that was calm and had the nicest color on it. For the most part though, I always recommend my local buyers come pick out their own.
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4.5~Cornsnakes
1.2.2~Green tree python
1.0~ATB
Dogs, cats, horses....
www.franclycac.com