Newborns

  There are three types of cages that I use to house newborns to two-year-olds. Newborns start out in a 3-gallon Rubbermaid shoe box with plastic coat hangers cut out in a fashion to be self supporting and rest on the ledges of the container. These containers are ideal for a number of reasons. They provide privacy for the neonate, are very easy to heat, and also maintain the necessary humidity. The humidity is simply maintained with the water bowls.

  The  Rubbermaids are heated with 4-inch FlexWatt placed under the containers on steel shelves. Newspaper is used as a substrate because it is easy to clean and there are no concerns with the animal getting any substrate materials lodged in its mouth during feeding, shedding etc., that you might get with a substrate such as mulch.

  If only a few babies are being housed in a room with a low ambient temperature then it may require the use of 11-inch FlexWatt under the container.

  It is very important to keep the temperatures fairly consistent. I keep the temperature at 85 degrees F during the day, dropping to 80 degrees F at night. A chondro under a year of age should never be subjected to temperatures under 80 degrees F. This is easily accomplished using a Helix or other quality thermostat. Here is a top view of my tubs.

  I use a soldering iron to make 10 ventilation holes on each side of the container. In climates that are more humid than here in Eastern Pennsylvania more ventilation holes will be required. A light mist is sprayed on each animal every other day simply to provide another source of drinking water and insure the neonate stays adequately hydrated.

  I only feed my chondros after “lights out” for the simple reason that I never have to be concerned about a feeding reaction during the day, making it easier to clean their cages. Anything that moves after “lights out” is considered food! After the first six months of age these animals are fed every 7-10 days.  I do all the initial work with these babies so you get well started established feeding machines. Please see my  baby policy for details.

  Neonates go straight from the incubator to the baby room. Only the first few meals that these animals eat are live. These are from pinkies produced here from a closed colony of mice that have been fecal-tested. After these initial meals they are fed frozen-thawed food items. This ensures the healthiest babies possible. 

Cleaning

When cleaning the babies’ containers I use an antibacterial dishwashing soap both on the containers and water bowls. It is very important to thoroughly rinse the water bowl to be certain there is no soap residue left in the bowls. Water bowls that have been defecated in are cleaned using a 10% bleach solution. I also use Pursue and Rocal for cleaning, depending on the circumstances. This simple method of cleaning would not prove sufficient on imports or animals from a questionable background. Always keep all cleaning supplies (sponges, etc.) and have a separate cleaning area when dealing with imports.

Juveniles

After about 1 year of age the animals are moved to a 4.9 gallon Rubbermaid container on ¾ to 1 inch PVC tubing. The tubing is supported by an end cap of the appropriate size, that is cut in half and riveted in place using aluminum pop rivets. (Please note this allows for a gap that smaller juveniles could possibly get their heads stuck in…this is only for larger animals). Again these are kept on steel shelves using 4 inch FlexWatt…depending on conditions these larger containers may require the 11-inch FlexWatt under the entire container since the air volume increases around 60%. Animals this age are fed every 7-14 days.

Common Mistakes

  The first impulse for many new owners when they get a new baby chondro is to move it to a large elaborate display cage. After all, what animal on earth is more striking than a green tree python?

  The problem with this is that the larger cages do not provide the security that these animals need. The result is sometimes stressing the animal to the point that it will no longer eat. It is also very difficult to maintain the desired humidity levels in larger cages for neonates.

   A common misconception about Green Tree Pythons are that they are difficult to maintain…not true; they simply cannot tolerate the complete neglect that so many other species can (of course, this does not apply to imports or animals not started properly). In fact, of all the python and Boa species that I have kept over the years, I have found that none have been as easy to keep and maintain as the Green Tree Pythons.