The Cold Blooded News

The Newsletter of the Colorado Herpetological Society

Volume 28, Number 8; August, 2001

Virdi, the Green Tree Python

by Ed Perrer

Reprinted from The Monitor, the newsletter of the Hoosier Herpetological Society, Vol.12, No.4.

I have always been fascinated by the green tree python. These unique serpents are highly arboreal (tree dwelling) and I consider them one of the most beautiful of all snakes. Hatchlings are born with a bright yellow or brick red background color with intricate patterns of white, irregular markings trimmed in black. As the snake matures, its color gradually becomes a bright green with subtle white blotches. Sometimes the adults will retain aspects of the juvenile pattern, in particular the yellow spotting. Rarely some specimens have a bluish tint to them. Interestingly the green tree pythons from northern Australia and New Guinea look very similar to South America's emerald tree boas, Corallus canina, both having very close green color patterns as adults and yellow or reddish colors as juveniles. Besides the superficial similarities in color patterns these two snakes also share many of the behavioral traits as well in what many scientists call a good example of parallel evolution.

These snakes must have a special cage set up that closely approximates their habitat in the wild. This means a tall cage that includes many branches at different levels to allow it to pick a spot to coil up and have adequate humidity. I have a large bowl of water over a heat strip to allow for water vapor and lightly mist my snake in the morning and afternoon. I purchased a cage that was specially made to accommodate arboreal species that had two plastic pipes set up at different levels. Since I had a small hatchling, I removed one of the pipes and substituted branches that were smaller and better suited for its size.

I asked my students for ideas as to what name we should call it. One of my students suggested the name "Virdi", from the title character from a book he had read in grade school about a green tree python that didn't want to change his colors from yellow to green and grow up. We agreed upon the name. Some scientists however are not sure what scientific name should be accepted. Some scientists believe they should be included in the genus Morelia, such as the diamond python, while others feel it belongs in its own genus Chondropython. Jerry Walls in his book, The Living Pythons, contends it should just be referred to as Python viridis. I have to admit that I think it is special enough to form its own genus and I, like most of the herpers that I know, still refer to the green tree python scientifically as Chondropython viridis.

Although this snake has many unique qualities that make it in somewhat demand in the pet trade, it is not a snake that should be kept by a beginning herp hobbyist. First of all it is pretty expensive (usually around $400.00) compared to corn snakes, king snakes or even boa constrictors and Burmese pythons. They also tend to be a little "nippy". I have learned that from "first hand" experience. I have been told that any snake with "tree" in its common name tends to be a little "nippy". Also, "Chondros" have longer front teeth than usual which makes strikes a little more damaging than normal. Some scientists believe that these longer teeth are an adaptation that helps them catch and hold on to birds in their arboreal habitat.

They also may be reluctant feeders. After I brought mine home, I tried to feed it a pinkie mouse and although it seemed to watch it as I moved it with some tongs, it did not strike it. I was told that when green tree pythons are young they hunt frogs or anoles. Rick Marrs, a friend and fellow herper, tried to "scent" a pinkie by rubbing it on a frog but it still didn't seem interested. I was told that they are normally nocturnal hunters, so I fashioned a container out of a very small portion of a dixie cup and suspended it with fine wire in the branches of the cage and left it over night with the pinkie inside. I returned the next morning to find that Virdi had not taken the bait. By now it had been three weeks and my new snake had still not eaten. I took it back to the reptile show to try to get some more advice on how to get it to feed. I was told that I should try a small frog. I picked out a small green tree frog and put it in the deli cup with Virdi, covered it in a bag and left it behind our table as I checked out some of the show's other vendors. When I came back to our table, fellow Hoosier Herp member, Roger Carter asked, "Hey Ed! Have you heard the news"? I said, "What news"? He said, "Your python took the frog". So for the next few months I bought a few green tree frogs at each reptile show and set up a temporary terrarium for them until they were to be served to Virdi. Upon the advice of another friend I took pinkie mice and cut their heads so that some of the brain was exposed. Virdi then took these so I could stop buying frogs. I was also told that if mice are put in chicken broth, green tree pythons will take them too. I have not had to try that as Virdi currently readily accepts fuzzy mice as his food source. It seems that it takes a little time to convert them over to rodents.

Virdi is now about a year and a half old and is changing colors. He is now mostly bright green along the dorsal portion of his body and a mixture of yellow and green along the sides, both sprinkled with white splotches. I hope he keeps some of the yellow as he matures. For the experienced herper who doesn't mind the added expense of a specialized cage and the relatively high initial cost of the snake, the green tree python would be a beautiful addition to any herpetology collection.

References:
Jerry Walls, The Living Pythons. 1998, T.F.H. Publications, Inc.
Chris Mattison, The Encyclopedia of Snakes, 1995, Blanford UK