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.
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.
