# Pros and Cons of Keeping Common Tree Snakes



## NicG (Feb 1, 2011)

There have been a few threads lately regarding the pros and cons of keeping Common (Green) Tree Snakes and the same questions seem to be asked repeatedly. So, as someone who has kept them for a couple of years now, I'm going to provide what I consider to be an overall summary (based on my observations).

Appearance - Pros:
- Quite possibly the most beautiful of all Australian snakes. Everyone has their favourite colour phase, but personally I rate the 'true blues' the highest.
- They're considered to be diurnal, so they can make great display animals. However, this can be dependent on the individual snake. I chose my most active pair to inhabit my feature enclosure.

Appearance - Cons:
- They can be quite secretive. The golden ones, in particular, seem to mostly only come out early morning and early evening. My theory is that this is a heat-related sceanario, since they come from up north.

Feeding - Pros:
- Once feeding on fish, they are ridiculously easy to maintain. Put a couple of fish in a dish and they'll feed at will.
- If you can handle natural hunting instincts, they are entertaining to watch.

Feeding - Cons:
- You have to be prepared to witness fish being swallowed whilst still alive. Luckily torturing fish is not generally considered to be a problem in our society.
- Being natural frog-eaters, wild-caught ones may be difficult to get onto fish.
- Hatchlings may be difficult to get onto fish.
- Since their hunting technique is based on vision (ie movement), they may never transition to frozen/thawed rodents.
- It's probable that only adults should be fed a rodent diet ... and even then maybe not exclusively.

Enclosure - Pros:
- They can be kept in pairs or colonies, but care should be taken to ensure that the more aggressive feeders don't mistakenly attack the others. Ideally they should be fed separately (like pythons).
- My feature enclosures are semi-aquatic. An aboreal habitat above 10-20cm of water. It is really cool watching them swim, which some do quite regularly.
- Plants - fake or real - are a must. They're always observing you, particularly when they think you can't see them. They're far more interactive and aware of their surroundings than pythons.
- I have a theory that they become less timid if they are kept in high traffic areas with cover for them to observe you (initially) from behind, so as to overcome their initial fear.

Enclosure - Cons:
- Because they have a high metabolism and feed far more regularly than pythons, they do defecate a lot (more like birds) so regular cleaning is required. This can be offset by a semi-aquatic enclosure.
- Given that they are an interactive snake, tubs are not an ideal environment.

Musking:
- No real pros or cons here, but this concept gets far more exposure than it deserves. It is not a massively offensive smell and the more the snake is handled the less likely it is to occur. I have wild-caught snakes that have never musked me.

Handling - Pros:
- The bigger the snake, the easier it is to handle. Like pythons, there is a certain element of predictability about them ... once you know them.

Handling - Cons:
- With respect to the general public, they should be considered as 'look but don't touch'.
- They can be lightning fast, and if you lose one, it's not easily recaptured. Always try to have as many points of contact as you can.


Overall - Pros:
- Definitely my favourite snake to keep. Stunning, inquisitive, active and benefit from an 'interesting' enclosure.

Overall - Cons:
- Not for the unitiated. Everyone I know that has kept more than one of
these for any length of time has had to cope with an unexplained death. However, this could be due in part to the current high concentration of wild-caught animals out there.

Cheers,
Nic

P.S. Yes, I am biased and yes, I (hopefully) will have juveniles coming up for sale shortly, so feel to take that into account.


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## Snakeluvver2 (Feb 1, 2011)

Nice. 
You are right about the colour phases. 
My gold is out in the mid morning, late afternoon and nighttime as well. 

I've been successful on getting them to take AHG scented thrawed pinkies so that is a major plus, shouldnt be to long till I get my Green purely on pinkies.

Although I do keep feeding them a varied diet, including a variant of fish the odd gecko and pinkies.


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## gillsy (Feb 1, 2011)

My gold one will eat ANYTHING, just get it to strike it and it's gone.

Also find the gold ones have a lot more shedding problems especially if humidity is very high.


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## dottyback (Feb 1, 2011)

Fantastic thread Nic! 10/10


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## getarealdog (Feb 1, 2011)

Thats it I'm a convert, next snake will have to be 1 of these.


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## tigerbudgie (Feb 1, 2011)

i have this tool at work we call him showbags. he was telling me a yarn today about his tree snake eating another tree snake that he put in with it. he said it was like a 4ft and the one he put with it was 3ft. i didn't think tree snakes were cannibals especially of similar size maybe hatchlings but i've never researched it because i've never been interested. now the guy's a ****er and never lets the truth get in the way of a good story so i just wanna know if they do eat their own kind of similar size?


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## guff_man (Feb 1, 2011)

Awesome write up mate. Can't wait to get mine


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## memix7 (Feb 2, 2011)

How much would you generally pay for a common tree snake thats not blue phase. I can't recall the last time I saw one for sale on here.


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## MontePython (Feb 2, 2011)

What species of fish are you feeding, how many and often do you feed them and do you gut load the fish please?


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## Jay84 (Feb 2, 2011)

Great thread!

I have been thinking more and more about getting either a Common Tree Snake or a Brown Tree Snake.... still undecided lol


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## NicG (Feb 2, 2011)

Thanks to everyone who's been kind enough to compliment this thread.



gillsy said:


> Also find the gold ones have a lot more shedding problems especially if humidity is very high.



Apart from the occasional tail tip, I haven't had a problem with any (healthy) CTS shedding yet, from any colour phase. Can you confirm that it was high humidity, not low humidity, that you've had issues with?



tigerbudgie said:


> ... i just wanna know if they do eat their own kind of similar size?



I have on more than one occasion seen CTS with another one's head inside its mouth - usually with a fish inside that one's mouth - but the worst I've seen come of it is a small cut. I've heard from a reputable CTS source that he's seen one with 10cm of another down its throat, but both survived seemingly unscathed. I guess it's possible, but I don't know of a confirmed case of cannibalism. If someone else does, please chime in ...



MontePython said:


> What species of fish are you feeding, how many and often do you feed them and do you gut load the fish please?



I predominantly use feeder gold fish from a reliable local pet shop as my main food source. The fish generally don't last long enough to worry about feeding them, plus it saves me cleaning the fish tank as often. I haven't had an issue with Thiaminase yet, but it is in the back of my mind. Once big enough to consume pinky rats, I think it is advisable to introduce them into their diet as a variation.

Depending on the time of year, I can feed them as much as 3-4 times a fortnight. They get cooled, so experience a winter of sorts, and their food consumption slows considerably. In some cases, it stops altogether.


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## krusty (Feb 5, 2011)

great thread nick,thanks


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## Tikanderoga (Mar 23, 2011)

Very interesting thread, been thinking about acquiring a green tree snake myself and this thread has given me many answers.



memix7 said:


> How much would you generally pay for a common tree snake thats not blue phase. I can't recall the last time I saw one for sale on here.


 
That is an excellent questions. Haven't seen many/any GTS for sale.


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## Snakeluvver2 (Mar 23, 2011)

Free to $400


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## gillsy (Mar 24, 2011)

Yeah as stated sometimes they do come up for ballots at herp clubs as they are a common snake I get call outs for that have been brought down in bananas etc.

The humidity issue, I had greens and golds in the same enclosure, I Sydney greens would shed no problem, with just the fish tank in the enclosure with fish. However the Golds would need additional spraying during shedding.

I also found the gold ones easier to feed on mice, not sure why... and i've heard other people say the same things. There are occassionally blue ones up for sale, however most people have them sold seasons in advance.


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## Snakeluvver2 (Mar 24, 2011)

My Gold will eat anything...maybe their diet in the NT isn't as specific as we think.


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## gillsy (Mar 24, 2011)

Yeah I agree Jannico, I also think there is differences between northern and southern keelbacks. Saying that the gold wouldn't actively come over to the rodent/qual etc. I would have to make it strike but one strike and it dissappeared.


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## Snakeluvver2 (Mar 24, 2011)

I got mine when it was about a year old and feeding on fish, just for a laugh I put a pinkie in there and it took it straight away. 
What else could they eat though in the wild apart from fish, skinks and frogs? I mean the general on consensus is that fur kills them?


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## gillsy (Mar 24, 2011)

Nah, one of the places they are found has about 8tones of flood plane rats per sq KM. I'm sure they'd eat some. 

I read a research paper on Macleay's, which I think i can apply to Keelbacks and a little less GTS, when they catch fish it's all tactile response not smell. So i'm going to try and get my keel in the moment of hunting as it just swims with it's mouth open until it grabs something, which if it grabs a pinkie I think it will take it.


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## guff_man (Mar 24, 2011)

Can anyone shed any light about skin worms with these guys?


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## Snakeluvver2 (Mar 24, 2011)

Why do you want to it take pinkies out of curiosity ? The reason I did it with my CTS is just that they put on weight a tad faster but sometimes I like that fact they are on a more natural diet which is why I've got two on fish and two on pinkies to see the difference.


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## TA1PAN (Mar 24, 2011)

anyone willing to put a few pics up of there tree snake setups?


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## Snakeluvver2 (Mar 24, 2011)

I kept my frogs in here for a bit, I gave them to a friends sister and now I have my Gold and Green Tree Snakes in there


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## TA1PAN (Mar 24, 2011)

nice setup, how old/big were they before you upgraded them from a click clack to a terrarium?


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## Snakeluvver2 (Mar 24, 2011)

When I was confident enough that they couldnt escape from tiny holes. 
So about 45cm for the Green and about 70cm for the Gold


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## gillsy (Mar 24, 2011)

Jannico said:


> Why do you want to it take pinkies out of curiosity ? The reason I did it with my CTS is just that they put on weight a tad faster but sometimes I like that fact they are on a more natural diet which is why I've got two on fish and two on pinkies to see the difference.


 
Again just to give them breeding condition a little quicker, I have keelbacks because they are fish eaters, and are call to watch. So their diet would remain, but it's just for a little value add in their diet.


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## Snakeluvver2 (Mar 24, 2011)

Cool thanks for the info.
Can't wait to get a set up similar to your and fill it with keels and greens  
Do you think the type of set up I have their is ok for Keels?


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## Scleropages (Mar 24, 2011)

hhmm you think greens and keels would be ok together in a big viv?


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## Snakeluvver2 (Mar 24, 2011)

From what I hear from people who have kept them in the past yes. 
I would do it in a slow process though. 
Keep a few greens together and see how that goes
Then keep Keelbacks, then Keelbacks together
Then combine it if I feel confident with it


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## gillsy (Mar 24, 2011)

Jannico said:


> Cool thanks for the info.
> Can't wait to get a set up similar to your and fill it with keels and greens
> Do you think the type of set up I have their is ok for Keels?


 
Yep, remember they are more terrestrial than GTS, so may need a little bit more horizontal space, I don't like mine sleeping in damp areas, so make sure they can find somewhere dry to sleep.



Scleropages said:


> hhmm you think greens and keels would be ok together in a big viv?



Yep, 4ft have a look at my keelback thread, I"m thinking of building it vertically a little more, but for one GTS they'll be fine.



Jannico said:


> From what I hear from people who have kept them in the past yes.
> I would do it in a slow process though.
> Keep a few greens together and see how that goes
> Then keep Keelbacks, then Keelbacks together
> Then combine it if I feel confident with it


 
Stick the keelbacks all in together at once, so there is no territory building. Even males will live together during breeding season. They are commonly found in groups in the wild. Same with GTS.

I would just make sure both are eating properly and have a bit of condition on, incase they back off from food a little before they settle.


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## Snakeluvver2 (Mar 24, 2011)

> I don't like mine sleeping in damp areas, so make sure they can find somewhere dry to sleep.





> Stick the keelbacks all in together at once, so there is no territory building. Even males will live together during breeding season. They are commonly found in groups in the wild. Same with GTS.



That is exactly what I needed to know! Thank you. 
You could do up a caresheet you know  

Thanks for all that!


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## gillsy (Mar 24, 2011)

I was thinking about it, but wait until I breed them, and then I'll do a caresheet.


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## Pineapplekitten (Dec 9, 2011)

thanks for PMing me this link it is a good read and very helpful, ill have to have a look at ur albums and see the type of enclosure set up for them!!

THANKS


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## mareebapython (Jun 29, 2012)

can you keep one under the basic licence??


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## cheekabee (Jun 29, 2012)

In Victoria you can, but I'm not too sure about south Australia


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## mareebapython (Jun 29, 2012)

cheekabee said:


> In Victoria you can, but I'm not too sure about south Australia



do you know how i could find out?


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## Stuart (Jul 23, 2016)

@NicG, got it back finally.


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## CrazyNut (Jul 23, 2016)

Are there big orice differnces between colours? What size enclsoure would you recomend for one or two? I have been tossing these up for a while. Won't be getting any for a while. Building a very expensive enclsoure atm lol Also is their care similar to northern tree snakes? Northerns are gorgeous! Love them just as much as common tree snakes.


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## princessparrot (Jul 23, 2016)

I have always loved green/common tree snakes, even before I even started to like snakes they have been my favourite but is starting to compete with the woma for #1 . As much as I would love to have one one day I'm still not overly sure about the feeding... I think I may be abit to sympathetic to feed live things...


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