gtp's are they able to be handled?

really my question is,are green tree pythons able to be handled as you would a royal or a JCP.

i am a hands on guy when it come to my animals and i dont want to have an animal i cant ineract with.

any info or personal experiences would be much appreciated

As far as I'm aware, GTPs are usually kept as display animals as they can be a bit on the agressive side. Mind you, its like any other animal - they don't all have the same temperment/personality. I'm sure there's a few GTPs out there that can be handled just fine.

That being said, I've never owned a GTP, so have no personal experience with them.

GTPs are best kept as display-only animals. Sure there are ones that can be handled and can have a good nature to them but they can be such a fickle snake, especially when young, that its best to only handle when absolutely necessary such as if a vet visit is required. I have kept a few GTPs, and still own one, and have NEVER handled it....because I don't need to. Its great eye candy and I have other snakes that are easily handled.

Many heavily arboreal snakes have quite weak spinal columns, especially when young, that it can be very easy to damage them during handling......carpet pythons and other boids are much better and sturdier animals for handling.

gtp's are they able to be handled?

by dunlupo84 on Sat Jul 10 2010, 16:09

really my question is,

are green tree pythons able to be handled as you would a royal or a JCP.

i am a hands on guy when it come to my animals and i dont want to have an animal i cant ineract with.
any info or personal experiences would be much appreciated

Hey Dunlop84,

Ditto Karl's comments....
I've just replied to a similar query on another forum....in my answer below I club the 3 more common arboreals together....

It's fair to say that most ATB, ETB and GTP’s aren’t your classic “handling” snake in comparison to your average boa or royal….[not that they're average, I love them too]

These arboreals are snakes that have evolved to survive a highly specialized lifestyle, they are certainly not as pliable/malleable as your average hobby snake. You’ve heard of folk advising not to handle younger snakes [GTP’s in particular] for fear of damaging a particularly sensitive skeletal system…not practical of course, however, this advice certainly underscores every keepers concerns about how easy it is to damage a fragile animal in it’s early development.

Further, they may be cited as nervous, sensitive in nature and easily stressed, this combination leads to the animal’s defence mechanism which is simply aggression…. and that particularly in a vivarium setting….there’s nowhere to escape to….

Don’t think I’m painting a grim picture, I’m really not, I’ve seen plenty of totally tractable individual snakes and you can be absolutely certain that most keepers know exactly what they can and can’t get away with….as such they manage their own animals with envious ease...

I adopt the “less is more” approach with my arboreals, this approach offers my snakes as stress free an environment as I’m able to offer….not withstanding water changes, twice daily spraying and periodic substrate changes…and feeding of course!

For me personally, and I’m sure I speak for many arboreal keepers, providing the means by which these amazing snakes flourish [and getting it right] is great reward and it’s mighty satisfying. Keepers that have progressed to breeding, incubating and hatching [GTP’s] are on another level and hats off to them…

If you want to have a snake that you handle every day maybe these 3 species aren’t for you…..if you want to try your hand at successfully maintaining any of the arboreals mentioned you’ll find few greater rewards out there…

Oh, I nearly forgot….you will get nailed!!

Link below to Arboreal Update in Caresheets & Breeding

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Drop me a line if you need more help....

thanks tony,appreciate the words of wisdom, it does depress me though,im just at that stage where i want a new snake and my mind changes everyday, so now im thinking of a suriname bcc thats should do for now!!

And I think any BCI/BCC is a great choice....nice to see folk researching options prior to taking the plunge!!

excellent choice Suriname boa are great looking and to handle,
ive been on look out for true red-tails more to Guyana's those
i love the tails on all true red-tails you wouldn't be disappointed if you get one!

dunlupo84 wrote:thanks tony,appreciate the words of wisdom, it does depress me though

,im just at that stage where i want a new snake and my mind changes everyday,

now im thinking of a suriname bcc thats should do for now!!

Ha!ha! We none of us ever truly get away from that "stage" it's kind of like a sickness isn't it? It grinds and gnarls away in the background until you've managed to acquire....then miraculously it disappears....for a few weeks or if you're real lucky months!! then it returns...

how very true tony!!