Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've kept several types of reptiles in the past with varying levels of success. I have a BS in chemistry with a minor in math, and worked for a veterinarian for 6 years. I've kept and hatched leopard geckos, kept red tailed boas, a reticulated python, and ball pythons in the past. Oh yeah, some captive bred kingsnakes back in high school as well. I've been teaching math and science in Thailand for the past few years and over the weekend couldn't resist getting a juvenile green tree python. I've always wanted to try one but was intimidated by the stories of how difficult they can be to handle as well as being fussy eaters. Mine is easy to handle, so long as I am careful not to do anything a tree wouldn't do...but the stories are right so far as I can tell, my wife made a sudden movement while I was holding it and it made a lightning quick lunge for her. Lucky for the snake and the wife, she was far enough away not to be struck. After letting it acclimate to its new home for 2 hours I introduced a hopper size mouse onto its perch and I have never seen a snake, let alone a python, so eager and accurate on the first strike. It was immediate. I love all reptiles but WOW I am absolutely in love with the green tree python now. I don't go around trying to be bitten, but I'm a fairly tough guy and will accept and expect a few bites. I can tell this is the beginning of something really special. I realize everyone feeds frozen reheated mice or rats, but I honestly don't plan on it. I have 3 more hoppers and just bought a breeding set of dwarf hamsters to keep way ahead of the game. Perhaps when the python is large enough to eat prey of a size that could cause some real harm I will change my mind. Of course then it might not be as likely to accept dead rodents. Maybe my early success stems from the fact that I live so very close to it's natural habitat, and that I went to the most helpful and knowledgeable shop I could find. Judging from the prices I've seen back in the good ole USA, you guys wouldn't believe the price I paid for this beauty. Not sure your rules so I won't be more specific than that, although I am certainly not soliciting any business. My wife wants to spruce up the aquarium, any advice so far as plants? The dimensions are something like 2 feet by 3 feet footprint with 3 feet of height. I currently have a simple branch from a fruit tree in the garden with several stems that, well, branch off the main section. I have the advantage of native SE Asian rainforest plants and climate to work with here. I just have newspaper on the bottom, simple is a lot easier to keep clean. I keep a water dish of a size it could immerse in if desired, although the humidity is high all year round here. Glass sides with a soft mesh screen top for ventilation (don't want blistering, I saw that once in a ball python...it's a terrible thing.)
Any advice on sprucing it up a bit will be appreciated, Thai people are generally quite fearful of reptiles...then again so are most westerners. The more presentable I can make it the more my wife, her mother, and father would accept my eccentricities. I considered some kind of moss on the bottom with a short slow growing tree or two but that's going to cause serious cleaning problems, more than once a week I imagine, and I am a busy man. I take my job as a science and math teacher seriously, train Muay Thai, lift weights, maintain several gardens here at home, spend time with my wife and beautiful daughter and the wifes family as well as trying to keep in touch with my own family back in the states, so low maintenance is a good thing.
As most people have an illogical fear of reptiles, I have one of rodents (well not rabbits, but you know what I mean.) These chinese hamsters are going to be darned prolific from what I have read. I have two females (the shop owner said they are currently pregnant, average 21 day gestation period and average 4-6 young, that grow to eating size in about 3 weeks) and one male living together in what is nearly a 10 gallon size plastic shoebox. I have the hopper mice in a separate and much smaller cage, which in 3 weeks time will be available for developing babies or fighting breeders. I feel like I have all the bases covered. Am I missing anything? I don't use a heat source, we have the same climate as their native environment and I don't use air con. The tank is well our of reach of passersby and especially my young daughter, so it shouldn't be tempted to strike at the glass. It has sliding glass doors on the side (locked jewelry case style), so it should reduce stress when I want or need to remove it, since I won't be approaching from above. Initially I thought it would be a showpiece, but its been so incredibly easy to handle and even seems to enjoy a look around that I have been taking it out for a few minutes each day (careful not to stress it into regurgitating as it ate 48 hours ago.) I suppose that will also add to UV light exposure. Oh yeah one more thing, I am feeding the feeder rodents fresh greens, uncooked white rice, and spirulina infused koi food presently, along with mealworms I was keeping for a Tokay gecko hatchling that I released (it was an egg I found, they are native here, but it wouldn't eat any insects I presented) and I plan to feed them any reasonable veggies we are throwing out. Would it be alright to offer them cooked rice as well, we tend to have a bit extra each day. I could get commercial rodent food but feel what I am giving them is just as nutritional and it's all stuff we have around the house anyway. Those are a lot of questions, please forgive the long post and realize it was born of excitement and enthusiasm.

Welcome to the forum...there are several dedicated to chondros. I would suggest that you get several fecals done on your animal as it's most likely from a farm or wild caught. It will undoubtably have parasites. As far as feeding live....I am against it as I've seen far too many injuries from prey that "couldn't possibly be large enough to injure my snake". If you don't want to freeze, then prekill before feeding. I've never fed live to any of my snakes....including my chondros...and they all have had excellent feeding responses off the tongs. In fact, my entire collection of arboreals and colubrids take f/t rodents without a problem...domestic bred or wild caught imports. In Thailand, I suspect you won't have any problems keeping the humidity where you want it with a screen mesh. Here in the US...even here in the South, it dries out too much to use those cages. Most of us keep them in wider, rather than higher cages as studies have shown that the snakes tend to travel horizontally rather than vertically. Mine certainly do. Not all chondros tolerate handling, and they aren't exactly the kind of snake you would handle on a regular basis. Some are quite docile and do better than others, but I have a few that would be unduly stressed by constant handling, so for the most part, I leave them alone except to photograph or weigh. The ones that tolerate handling are completely docile and have never bitten (unless it's at night). Cleaning is minimal with a chondro. Adults deficate every month or two, juveniles every week or two. They have slow metabolisms. Make sure you don't overfeed. Once a week is sufficient for a young snake on hoppers. I feed my adults every 2 weeks. I use pothos plants to decorate my cages as well as silk vines and leaves. I like to use moss for the floor. I used to use shredded cyprus, but I like the moss better and so do the snakes. Good luck to you and enjoy your new aquisition.

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5.5~Cornsnakes
3.4.1~Green tree python
2.1.2~ATB
Dogs, cats, horses....
www.franclycac.com

Thanks so much for your response. I'll try to find a good veterinarian, but actually over here most of them have less education than I have. Perhaps I could get some saltpeter solution and do the fecal under my schools microscope myself. Having assisted a veterinarian for 6 years in the US, I have LOTS of experience, although admittedly not with snakes. If I find that it has worms where can I go to find the proper dosages and medicines for treatment? Of course I can find the information on a science website, but perhaps you could point me in the right direction? The vets I worked for rarely dealt with reptiles. You're almost certainly correct, so far as the farm or wild caught goes. Probably farmed, as this shop was one of the best in town and had blues available, along with loads of milk and kingsnakes, leopard and fat tailed geckos, several other lizards, even some chinese salamanders and other amphibians--all kept in good conditions. The staff actually warned me not to try feeding house geckos, as they would certainly cause parasitic infections. Still, as you say, best to check to be sure. I am not one to show off my reptiles, or keep them to be cool. I am a scientist/naturalist type who loves reptiles and it keeps me excited and interested in a positive hobby, rather than watching tv, getting drunk, etc. I don't mind keeping them without touching. That was my original plan, it just turns out that this one enjoys being carried around and looking around at our house and garden. I am careful not to behave as an animal, which would certainly end with a nasty bite. I've seen pics of an adults long, sharp teeth. Pythons and boas are also powerful animals, when younger I was stupidly feeding a rat by hand to my 6ft female Surinam red tailed boa and got a nasty bite, with her even wrapping my arm before I could extract her. I took care not to damage her teeth and removed her tail to head, but wow, that did hurt. I am sure I will be bitten eventually, but will take care to keep that to a minimum. I plan to feed my new pet once a week, I don't want it to be fat and also want to be sure not to get it impacted. I suppose I will kill the food myself, although even allowing the snake to do it is disturbing, as I am a Buddhist. I don't like the idea of freezing it, and want it to be as painless as possible for the mouse, although I am revolted by rodents. Anyway thanks again and please respond with any more information you can think of (others as well, I welcome the help.)

Greg maxwell's book, The More Complete Chondro is a good place to start. He gives dosages for most medications in there and if you've worked for a vet, calculating shouldn't be too hard. Panacur is the most commonly used. You need to make sure of the strength of the dose to calculate. Some meds come in higher concentrations as you well know. Geckos and other lizards and frogs will definitely give them parasites. You might also need to have a blood sample checked for other types of disease. I've never been bitten by my chondros. I usually am careful not to stick my hands in the cage after dark. Only food goes in at that time and only on tongs. Mice and rats here are commonly euthanized humanely with CO2. Freezing is inhumane, and pinkies are usually killed using chilling first, then freezing. At least that's how I do it. They are not easily killed with CO2 as their oxygen needs are low. I simpathize with your Bhuddist beliefs. I don't like to see anything die myself and I try to be as humane as possible. While it's natural for snakes to kill their food, it is not natural the way we present food weekly in a small space. Snakes would normally hunt their prey when they are hungry and pick the most advantages spot to kill. We put them at great risk by feeding live in a small enclosure. Some won't take anything but live (although I don't have a single animal CBB or import that won't take frozen/thawed) and so you won't have a choice. Pre-killing by cervical dislocation or thumping them over the head is the quickest and most humane way to do it.

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5.5~Cornsnakes
3.4.1~Green tree python
2.1.2~ATB
Dogs, cats, horses....
www.franclycac.com