Green Tree Python Neonate Care Information

They are just so darn cute - little Green Tree Pythons are the most challenging baby reptiles I have ever worked with. To put that into perspective in the last 20+ years we have produced more than 100 species and more than 10,000 babies.

It is our opinion that neonate GTP's are a bit like a piece of tissue paper - any error or problem is often fatal.

This is the hardest part - getting babies established - and it really is a learned art. Many folks who are able to "successfully" breed are either not very good at or hate starting babies. While we do appreciate the fact this allows us to acquire clutches right out of the egg we really feel that it doesn't make sense to even attempt to breed GTP's unless you are willing to start them.Under no circumsances should non-feeding animals be sold. (these are the "super cheap cbb" GTP's you see sometimes).

Starting babies ttakes oodles of patience and it can be frustrating to say the least but we love doing it. It is fair to say that people that are good with Green Tree Pythons do tend to be of a particular personality type - we often joke that we are the kind of people who spend time debating whether or not anal-retentive (anal retentive) has a hyphen.

If you accept the reality that the natural survival rate of these animals is lower than most other reptiles and you are willing to work hard, raising Green Tree Pythons is one of the most rewarding things there is. A beautiful yearling that has been trained correctly is something to be very proud of. Once they make it up out of the "baby" stage and they have been correctly trained to feed well GTP's do turn into reliable robust animals.

Note: getting through and past the "hatch tub" stage is covered on our egg care page.

Caging Issues

When they are born Green Tree Pythons are very nervous and very aggressive. They need to be kept in small individual plastic cages - a "shoebox" type rack is pretty ideal. They need to be kept wet - a bum shed, especially the first one 10 says or so after they are born - can be a huge problem. Daily spraying is critical, they absorb lots of humidity in the first days of life. You need to make sure that the water being sprayed is both the correct temperature (ambient cage) and of quality - we have an amazing artesian well here but if we didn't we'd filter it.

We like to keep our babies a little bit warm and in a narrow temperature range , between 84 and 88 degrees. You need to watch for signs of "too cold" or "too hot" and adjust accordingly. A good thermostat is a key.

Keep cage furnishings simple - all we have is a few plastic coat hangers as perches and a water bowl with a paper substrate. Be aware that stress is a big issue for these little ones, they should be kept in a calm, quiet, low traffic area. never show them off or allow "visitors". They tend to be "spazzy" and all will eventually frantically rush around the cage - if it is possible for them to injure themselves they will.

Cage cleanliness is really really important - it is reasonable to fully sterilize (like by bleach soaking or other chemical means) the cage every time you clean it. Clean your hands after dealing with each baby and keep everything as sterile as possible.

As always records are critical and your friend.

Feeding Issues

There is no point in trying to feed a neonate before it has had its first shed at about 10 days old. They have plenty to live on from the yolk, there is no need to "hurry" them.

We're assuming you are successfully feeding Mom and Dad, basic feeding stuff is here.

So this is where the greatest challenge to your Jedi skills will be - initial feeding trials and trying to get babies going. Your attitude is a big deal, never try to feed a baby when you are not calm, cool, and collected. Play some nice soft music that you like, some folks like the sound of running water (a sink will do but a fountain is nice) and that does seem to help some babies. Dim lights but keep them bright enough to see well, a comfy chair - these things matter.

The first thing you'll offer them is a tiny live pinkie with tweezers - typically somewhere between half and two thirds of your hatchlings will just eat. These are the "feeders" and should be separated. The key is to let go as soon as you have a strike and stay completely silent and still - they'll drop at the slightest disturbance. Once they have eaten three tiems we switch to frozen and thawed, there is rarely a hiccup there.

Generally speaking keeping two groups of babies - "feeders" and what we call "camp" is a good idea and it will reduce your frustration. Animals may move back and forth between these groups.

Ok - so you've got your first feeders segregated and now you have the ones that didn't just eat for you. The first tactic is pestering them - pretty much you are indeed trying to piss off the baby so it will strike. Stimulating the tail helps as does the usual move closer and further away tactic. Often times a provoked animal will drop the prey item - present it again. The limit of my personal patience is ten times but we have indeed had babies who dropped a prey item 9 times to then wrap and eat it on the tenth repatition The only thing to be cautious of is tiring them out and generally speaking you'll get tired long before they will. The other thing a baby may do is run on you - give up. Runners never eat that day and often require assist feeding later. The other thing you can get is a baby that just won't strike but this is rare.

You need to set your own "standards" that work for you but here at Spruce Nubble Farm a "feeding" baby is allowed to refuse once with no special action on our part. . On the second refusal we'll get pretty aggressive with the animal and try to provoke it. If an animal should refuse a third time it is sent to "camp" and is removed from the group of "feeders".

"Camp" animals are always given special attention and we work hard to get them to eat. Lots of strikes and drops in this group. Late afternoons seem to be a good time to work with "Camp", "feeders" are generally fed at night, the same as all of our other GTP's. Once a "camp" animal has not eaten on three attempts we move to assist feeding.

Let's make it plain - do not force feed neonate Green Tree Pythons under any circumstances. The combination of their very delicate structures and sensitivity to stress makes it more likely you'll kill the animal than help them. This is also almost true of any GTP , in those rare health support circumstances the correct choice is to tube feed them. A tube fed nonenate is very very unlikely to survive to adulthood.

So knowing that you never ever apply any force when dealing with a GTP the way you "assist" feed them is to literally place the pinky in their mouth. Hold them just behind their heads and poke their mouth with the pinky, many will do the natural thing and bite down. You may need the tiniest bit of force to get their mouth open. Once they bite down slowly and carefully put the animal back down in the tub. It'll probably spit the prey item back out. Deep breath, try again. Patience and perseverance is key.

Some folks use an array of "tricks", many of which work well for them. The list here is pretty bottomless and unless it is dangerous it can be worth a try. Make sure your prey item is at the correct temperature. Scenting is popular and this is done by rubbing the mouse on a baby chick or a lizard...or a gerbil or pretty much anything else you can think of. It is not known what the "natural" prey item for a Green Tree Python neonate is in the wild, some folks have suggested insects - bugs and lizards makes more sense than anything else. We don't usually do any of this stuff - we'll do it if desperate enough - but we know the long term goal is reliable consumption of frozen and thawed mice, tricks often make that take much longer and sometimes make it not possible.

So if you can't force feed them what do you do? In comes the tennis ball....which is a polite way of saying pinky head. This takes practice but it does always work. When assist feeding in the normal method wait until they bite down solid and then "pinch" the pinkie off so the GTP ends up with just the pinkie head in their mouth. This is as gross as it sounds and it takes practice.

Once the baby is back in their tub with the tennis ball all you need to do is keep them moving and not let them hook their head up over the perch or water bowl to use that to spit the head back out. The process of moving around will cause them to - often excruciatingly slowly - swallow the tennis ball. The thing that sucks about tennis balling green tree pythons is that this is really like 1/3 of a meal. Tennis ballers will sometimes assist feed normally on the very next try, but many won't. You can't keep an animal alive with just tennis balls forever and if you find yourself "TB" week after week you'll notice the animals are weak and generally problematic. The choice as to when - if ever - stop working with animals as it becomes clear they will never feed is a very personal one. Here at Spruce Nubble Farm we never give up on anybody, even when it is pretty darn clear the likelihood of making it is very slim.

Whatever system you use - the three strikes and off to camp rule, the three "normal" feeds and out of camp rule, the number of times you'll assist before tennis balls, the lengths you'll go to - the most important thing is to stick to your rules.

Green Tree Pythons don't love pinkies, we teach them to love them. A robust reliable feeder is an animal that has been properly trained, never forget that.

If you are stuck and out of ideas feel free to email us, we like to answer questions.