Green python: description, photo, reproduction, content

Green python is an unusually beautiful reptile with expressive color and calm disposition. In the wild, this snake can only be found in New Guinea and some adjacent islands, as well as on the Australian peninsula of Cape York. If you are thinking about purchasing an unusual emerald pet, this article will find useful material about the habits, features and home contents of these creatures.

Description of the species

This is a relatively small variety of pythons. The length of an adult male is no more than 1.2 meters. Female is usually larger, their largest length is one and a half meters with a weight of 1.3 kg.

It is noteworthy that quite healthy representatives of this species look skinny because of the protruding spine. This is not a signal about any pathology and should not alarm the future breeder. The sharp ridge on the ridge is just a feature.

Green Python in the wild

The following photo shows a typical pose in which a green python likes to rest. The snake curls up and hangs on a branch. This must certainly be remembered by those who intended to equip the home serpentarium. It just needs a similar "bench" for the pet.

These snakes live not only on trees. At a young age, they spend most of the time on the ground hunting. Some green pythons have chosen even mountainous areas at a level of up to 2 thousand meters.

Diet

Small rodents, lizards, frogs are the main delicacies for this snake. It is they who hunt green python. The description of the natural diet is important to remember and those who want to tame this creature. In captivity, a reptile needs the same food that it would receive in the wild.

Like other pythons, green catches and kills the victim through strangulation, and then swallows. I do not care for carrion.

In the terrarium, you must also install a container of water. Thirst for a green python, like for another snake, is fatal.

Amazing color

Most often in nature there is a bright green color, which determines the name of the species. Some individuals have such a bright scales that it seems painted artificially.

But this is not the only color in which a green python can be colored. The photo of individuals of different races, as well as interracial hybrids, is simply amazing.

Currently, scientists identify 4 races, each of which occupies its area. They do not distinguish themselves into independent subspecies. Many breeders also breed albino pythons, completely devoid of pigment. The black-green python strikes with beauty. This snake is artificially deduced, in nature this color does not occur. Such a pet is a huge rarity.

Home maintenance of pythons: a difficult experience

In our country, the first wave of popularity occurred in the 80 years of the last century. But the furore did not produce a green python. Moreover, behind it the reputation of whimsical, difficult in the maintenance of the pet was fixed.

But it's not in the serpent itself, but in the scarcity of information and little experience. Many snakes died due to improperly organized conditions. Fortunately, today the situation has changed for the better. Green python, the content of which is not so difficult, is popular among snake lovers. But in order not to repeat mistakes pioneers, the appearance in the house of such a pet should be prepared carefully and responsibly.

Correct terrarium

The light day in New Guinea is long - about 12 hours. The same day a light day of a green python living in captivity should last.

When choosing a terrarium, focus not on what is more to your liking and on your pocket, but on the one in which your snake will be good. Many newcomers make the mistake of choosing a vertical house for the green python, which suits well other tree snakes. The composition looks beautiful, but in such conditions it is practically impossible to observe the laid temperature gradient.

The best choice is a spacious terrarium of horizontal orientation, in which there are branches and driftwood. The green wood python likes to sit on the roost and, most likely, will choose the upper or middle-upper tier. There, the snake will feel safe.

The owner is recommended to install a vertical heater with a rheostat in the terrarium to provide different temperatures in the layers - from 25 to 31 degrees. The snake itself can choose a place in which it will be good. The optimal size of the terrarium is on average 1.2 x 0.6 x 0.45 m. The front display glass will allow you to admire the handsome, but the inner walls are better to paint in dark colors. A light background increases the anxiety of snakes, they can show aggression.

To maintain the desired level of humidity, spray the snake and the terrarium itself from the spray gun daily. Remember: humidity and dampness are different things. The undisturbed puddles on the floor are unaesthetic and harmful to the health of the snake. Do not forget about the absorbent substrate and plants.

Reproduction of green python

Domestic breeding of this species of snakes is not just an exciting process and profitable business, but also a good contribution to the preservation of nature. In the natural habitat, there are not many green pythons left, despite intensive conservation measures.

The vast majority of snakes that are currently on sale were born and raised in captivity. Contain them much easier than domesticate wild. And if you meet the necessary conditions, you can get offspring in the terrarium.

During the ripening of eggs, the female changes its color to a more intense color. In the masonry, there are usually about 20 eggs, but in rare cases, there may be 5 and 30. Some experienced breeders allow the snake to warm the eggs, but the effectiveness of this approach is questionable. It is better to trust the incubator. Kids will appear in about 45 days, and those who have never seen newborn green pythons will be simply amazed!

The color of these snakes in infancy can be brown or reddish-brown. It happens that there are babies of different colors in one clutch. Young animals need special care. Experienced experts categorically do not advise taking green pythons in their hands for up to a year.

Menu of the pet

An adult green python is quite voracious. Its diet can be formed from lizards, fodder mice and rats. The domestic snake is enough to feed one rodent every two weeks. Most pythons are ready to feed at least daily, but overeating leads to obesity, loss of cloaca, apathy and even death. In nature, an adult healthy snake of this species eats even less. For the diet of sexually mature green pythons, it is permissible to use frozen animals, which must be thawed before feeding.

Newborn young pythons need to "fatten". After a birth at many of them there are problems with appetite. Feed the kids need daily mice, one at a time. Settling the cubs in a common terrarium is impossible, young growth in separate containers should be grown, otherwise the appetite will again be upset.

As you can see, the content of green python at home is not such a troublesome business. If you organize everything correctly, a handsome pet will please you for several years. And with careful handling you can raise even a contact snake, which will happily reap the pleasure of a caring owner.