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The author produced this ontogenic blue male. Green tree pythons do best on a weekly diet. |
Green Tree Python Food
Green tree pythons do best on a weekly diet of frozen-thawed rodents. Green tree python neonates feed on day-old pinky mice. Adults need one small rat every 10 to 12 days. It is easy to overfeed captive green tree pythons, which results in fat, lethargic adults. Field research shows that wild green tree pythons do not eat all that often. Feed rates cannot be based on feeding response because many adults would eat daily if allowed.
Green tree pythons are very sensitive to warm prey, and I offer mine rodents that have been thawed by soaking in hot tap water. I present rodents wet and warm straight from the water using long forceps for young animals and even longer hemostats for adults. Grinding off the locking mechanism makes the hemostats much easier to use.
Feed green tree pythons at night just after lights out using dim room lighting, and be very careful. These placid snakes become voracious feeders at dusk, and they strike at any movement or source of warmth. Expect mature males to fast for several weeks or months each year. It appears to be a fact of life.
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