Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got a call to look at a tree snake living in an office yesterday. This young tree snake seems way too skinny to me, but as I don't know anything about this species, I took along my digital camera to post a pic here for expert advice. He had a mouthful of this brown mulch-style substrate which I cleaned out the best I could (a couple of bites later - these guys are FAST!), then popped him in a wet snake bag and placed him on the bottom of his cage for 45 minutes before releasing him (for his obvious shed problems). I left him with the thawed mouse they had there, and I intend to return with bigger frozen mice for this guy, as I think he needs bigger prey. They are feeding him 3 to 3 1/2 inch (not counting tail) mice once a week. I know with my kings or ball pythons that would be way too small, but wanted to ask you guys how big a mouse, how many and how often this guy should be fed. Also, did I do everything okay, and is there more I can do for this snake? Thanks!

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1.0.0 Dumeril's Boa, Bruce
1.0.0 Mexican Kingsnake, Vincent
1.0.0 Graybanded Kingsnake, Boris
1.1.0 Ball Pythons, Pete & Frank
2.3.0 Bearded Dragons, Bela, Sally, Caijun, Phoenix & Spook
0.1.0 Fattailed Gecko, Sahein
2.0.0 Rats, Captian Howdy & Despero
1.0.0 Pushy Lovebird Baxter

Here's a pic of the type of substrate he has in his setup that I'm sure he's swallowed a bit of.

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1.0.0 Dumeril's Boa, Bruce
1.0.0 Mexican Kingsnake, Vincent
1.0.0 Graybanded Kingsnake, Boris
1.1.0 Ball Pythons, Pete & Frank
2.3.0 Bearded Dragons, Bela, Sally, Caijun, Phoenix & Spook
0.1.0 Fattailed Gecko, Sahein
2.0.0 Rats, Captian Howdy & Despero
1.0.0 Pushy Lovebird Baxter

First off, putting it the wet bag should help a lot with the shed. Green trees should have a humidity level of around 80-90% at least part of the day. Usually I spray once in the morning and once in the evening because I live in a dry area. The humidity level then drops to around 60% by the next spraying. When they are going to shed, I keep it up higher. A large adult mouse should be fine for a larger python. It's hard to tell the size of this animal, although judging from the color and eye color it appears to be fully changed, and probably an adult. Large sized adults can easily take a small rat, but it all depends on the animals body size. The substrate is fine, but to avoid ingestion, the mouse should be fed with tongs to avoid it being on the ground, and to avoid bites (you found out they are pretty quick). Also, feeding should take place at night or in the early morning. These animals are nocturnal and do most of their hunting then. Being heat seekers, the mouse should be thoroughly warmed before feeding. Temps should be around 85 on the warm side, with a gradient to the high 70's low 80's. I hope you can get this poor animal out of there. These are rather expensive critters to treat this badly.

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1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.3~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin
0.1.1~Green tree python~Tempest, Whisper
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
0.1~Old black Lab~ Callie
1.0~Black fat cat~Topper
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....

Great advice, but I think the comment about expense and due treatment is misleading, shouldn't we give the best care possible, regardless of their retail value?
I realize it's hard to do, expecially in a commercial environment but that's the ideal to strive for, is it not?
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Jeremy J. Anderson
Gem State Reptiles
HAPPY! HAPPY! JOY! JOY! HAPPY! HAPPY! JOY! JOY! HAPPY! HAPPY! JOY! JOY! HAPPY! HAPPY! JOY! JOY! HAPPY! HAPPY! JOY! JOY!

You are right of course. I would care for any animal no matter what the cost, but there are those who would take more care of an animal that cost them large bucks just because they spent so much to get it. That unfortunately is reality. I wish it wasn't, but it is.
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1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.3~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin
0.1.1~Green tree python~Tempest, Whisper
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
0.1~Old black Lab~ Callie
1.0~Black fat cat~Topper
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....

Well, it's definitely a green tree python, appears to be biak type which helps explain his feisty nature. The substrate appears "ok" to me also, though not my first choice. If they keep the substrate clean it shouldn't be a problem for this boy. I agree that feeding gtps from tongs is the way to go. If they must leave f/t food in the cage for him then perhaps they could put it on a flat deli cup lid so that the substrate won't stick to it.

Now... to the size of meals.... I have had a few discussions in the past with some very respected gtp breeders and I have come to the conclusion that feeding my gtps exclusively mice would be a good, healthy way to bring them up and maintain them in good condition. Even my largest 1800 gm females are on a diet of jumbo mice. One large mouse on a weekly basis is probably plenty for that adult male to keep up in good shape. I think the tendency is for many snake owners to overfeed, both in size and in frequency.

Lastly... that pic brings back very fond memories of my first gtp which was a male, rescue that looked nearly identical to that one when I first got him. Once I got his hydration up and the skin shed issues worked out I found that his temperament wasn't nearly as bad as it seemed when we first met!!!

If possible, see if you can make sure they give that one fresh water on a daily basis. The fresh water encourages drinking and is the best way to keep the hydration up in their bodies so that shedding issues are much less likely.