Green Python drink

The Green Tree Python tops the “must have” list of many snake-enthusiasts…and with good reason. Few snakes can match their gorgeous coloration, and an arboreal lifestyle adds an interesting twist to typical python care. Being moderately-sized, they are easier to accommodate than larger pythons, and captive breeding and life-spans of 20+ years are possible.

Enthusiasts and Fanatics

Certain herps seem to arouse intense passions in their keepers, and folks drawn to them often become specialists (or fanatics, depending upon whom you ask!). Common examples include Arrow Poison Frogs and monitors. Among snakes, the Green Tree Python, Morelia viridis, seems to have more die-hard fans than most others.

Many years ago, when we knew little about their needs, I cared for a group of Green Tree Pythons that had been confiscated and re-routed to the Bronx Zoo. I searched about for an expert and soon came upon a zookeeper who was making great strides. Some of his co-workers, however, believed that his deep interest was causing him to, shall we say, give “less than perfect” care to his other charges. As the story goes, they set up a plastic Civil War battlefield in one of his frog exhibits…and it went unnoticed for weeks! I cannot attest to the truth of the tale, but I know of many others who evince a similar “one-mindedness” when working with these intriguing snakes.

Natural History

Green Tree Pythons are native to New Guinea, several Indonesian islands, and Australia’s Cape York Peninsula.

Adults inhabit rainforest interiors, while juveniles favor forest edges and clearings, where their bright colors offer camouflage among flowers and sunlit foliage (please see habitat photo). They rarely if ever descend to the ground.

Green Tree Pythons are ambush predators, relying upon sensory pits in the upper lip to detect prey. Youngsters attract lizards to within striking range by waving their tail tips in imitation of an insect (caudal luring). Adults feed upon arboreal possums, rodents and bats. While birds would seem likely additions to their menu, field studies have failed to establish that they are taken.