Green tree python
Morelia viridis · Chondro, Chondropython viridis
The green tree python lives in the rainforests of New Guinea and north-eastern Australia and spends almost its whole life on branches. It needs a tall, well-ventilated enclosure, daily misting and little food. Since 2020, the animals from northern New Guinea count as a species of their own, Morelia azurea. The care sources don't tell the two apart.
Contents 11 sections
Quick tips
- Handle little: Green tree pythons startle easily and bite when disturbed at rest. Feed with long tongs.
- Horizontal perches: They rest in loops on horizontal branches. Offer several at different heights.
- Mist daily: Many animals drink droplets from branches and leaves rather than from a bowl.
- Color change is normal: Hatchlings are yellow or red and turn green at about one year.
- Keep new animals apart for at least six months because of IBD and nidoviruses.
Profile
- Length
- usually 120–180 cm, rarely up to 200 cm
- Weight
- wild animals average about 260–290 g, the heaviest female measured weighed 617 g. Breeding females in captivity often weigh much more.
- Life span
- 15–20 years, also longer
- Activity
- active at night, lives almost only on branches; young animals are more often out by day and on the ground
- Also applies to
- Morelia azurea
Climate and light
- Day
- 27–32 °C (81–90 °F)
- Night
- 22–24 °C (72–75 °F)
- Basking spot
- 30–35 °C (86–95 °F)
- Humidity
- 50–80%
- Light
- About 12 hours of light. UVB isn't required, but low-level UVB is recommended; replace the lamp every six months. Austria requires 12–14 hours.
The German report and the Thieme patient sheet give 70–100% humidity. Austria requires 29–31 °C (84–88 °F) during the day, up to 35 °C (95 °F) in one spot, 23–25 °C (73–77 °F) at night and 90% humidity. Mist daily and let the enclosure dry afterwards: constant wetness without air exchange encourages mold and respiratory infections. Heat works best from above, for example from a radiant heat panel on a thermostat.
Enclosure
For an adult of about 150 cm, 150 × 75 × 200 cm (L × W × H) meets the rules in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The height comes from the German report, which gives 1.5 times the total length for tree pythons, at most 2 m. In tall enclosures the snake rarely comes down to drink, so mist daily for droplets on branches and leaves.
- Substrate
- A substrate that holds moisture, such as coconut fiber or cypress mulch, with damp sphagnum moss in one hide. Austria requires peat or soil, kept damp almost throughout.
- Setup
- Many sturdy, mostly horizontal perches at different heights, dense and robust plants for cover, a water basin and good ventilation. Heat sources on a thermostat and behind a guard, a thermometer and a hygrometer.
Minimum sizes
GermanyGuideline
Length 0.75 × total length, width 0.5 ×, height 1.5 ×, at most 2 m high. For up to two animals of similar size, about 20% more volume for each additional animal. A guideline that may be undercut by about 10% in individual cases.
Source [6]
AustriaLaw
1–2 animals up to 50 cm: 0.1 m² floor area, 0.4 m high · 50–100 cm: 0.5 m², 0.6 m · adults: 0.9 m², 1.0 m. Add 0.1 m² (adults 0.2 m²) for each additional animal. Never keep males together in the breeding season.
Source [9]
SwitzerlandLaw
For up to two animals: floor area 1 × 0.5 body lengths, height 0.75 body lengths (total length of the largest animal). Add 0.5 × 0.2 body lengths for each additional animal. A heat source and places to climb are required.
Source [10]
Feeding
Juvenileup to 12 monthsevery 5–7 days
Pinky mouse, Fuzzy mouse · at most 1.25 times as wide as the thickest part of the body
Subadult1–3 yearsevery 7–10 days
Hopper mouse, Adult mouse · at most 1.25 times as wide as the thickest part of the body
Adultfrom about 3 yearsevery 10–14 days
Adult mouse, Rat pup · one or two mice or a small rat
- Prey size
- 10% of body weight
A rule of thumb from an animal hospital for carpet, diamond and green tree pythons. A single feeder at most 1.25 times as wide as the thickest part of the body.
Feed freshly killed or thawed prey with long tongs. The age limits are derived: the color turns green at about one year, and green tree pythons become sexually mature at about 2.5–3.5 years. The middle stage comes from a breeder. Hatchlings often only eat when the mouse is moved with the tongs. Adults put on weight quickly, so feed less rather than more. Males often don't eat for weeks in the breeding season, and gravid females for about three months. That's normal as long as the animal seems healthy. The Thieme patient sheet gives every 2–3 days for juveniles, all other sources 5–7 days. Don't handle for 2–3 days after feeding.
Shedding
Shedding problems usually come from air that is too dry; watch especially for remnants over the eyes. Many animals don't eat around the shed. The color change from yellow or red to green at about one year happens without a shed.
Brumation
No brumation. For breeding, nights are made cooler for 4–8 weeks, with light and humidity turned down a little and raised again afterwards. Austria requires 2–4 hours less light in winter and a temperature 3–4 °C (5–7 °F) lower.
Breeding
- Sexual maturity
- at about 2.5–3.5 years; pair females only from about 750–800 g
- Clutch
- 8–15 eggs according to Zoo Leipzig, breeders usually report 12–18
- Incubation
- 50–55 days at 30.5–31 °C (87–88 °F)
Females brood themselves: they coil around the eggs and warm them by shivering, for about 50 days. In breeding, eggs are usually hatched in an incubator today. The incubator values come from a breeder, there is no veterinary source for them. Never keep males together, they injure each other badly.
Protection status and registration
As of October 31, 2026
EU
CITES Appendix II and Annex B of the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation. Anyone selling animals must be able to prove they were acquired legally.
Germany
Specially protected and subject to registration: report keeping, and every addition and departure, to the responsible authority in writing without delay. Marking is not required. You must be able to show proof of origin (receipt or captive-breeding certificate) on request.
Austria
Report keeping reptiles to the authority within two weeks. Since July 1, 2026, you need a training course (at least 4 × 60 minutes) before your first reptile. A thermometer and a hygrometer are required.
Switzerland
No permit needed. You must be able to document origin and legal acquisition.
This is not legal advice. Rules change, so check with the responsible authority if in doubt.
Health
No substitute for a vet. If your animal seems sick, refuses food for an unusually long time or loses weight, see a vet with experience in reptiles.
Respiratory infection
Signs wheezing, open-mouth breathing, nasal discharge
What to do Check ventilation, temperature and humidity and see a vet.
Nidovirus pneumonia
Signs breathing trouble and mucus from the mouth, sometimes sudden death without signs; outbreaks in collections in Switzerland and Germany
What to do See a vet right away and keep the snake apart. Keep new animals apart for a long time.
Inclusion body disease (IBD)
Signs unsteady movements, head twisted upward ("star-gazing")
What to do See a vet. IBD can't be cured, so keep new animals apart for at least six months.
Cloacal prolapse
Signs tissue hangs out of the vent, often after constipation, diarrhea or dehydration
What to do Keep the tissue moist and clean and see a vet right away.
Obesity
Signs an adult keeps getting heavier
What to do Feed less often, check prey size, weigh regularly.
Sources
- YVCipedia Reptile – Green Tree Python Care Sheet
- Heimtier-Info Grüner Baumpython
- On green pythons: the ecology and conservation of Morelia viridis
- Conquer The Challenge Of Breeding Green Tree Pythons
- Species delimitation and systematics of the green pythons (Morelia viridis complex) of Melanesia and Australia
- Gutachten über Mindestanforderungen an die Haltung von Reptilienofficial
- Green Tree Python Care Sheet
- Python Care – Morelia species
- 2. Tierhaltungsverordnung, § 5, § 8 und Anlage 3 (Mindestanforderungen an die Haltung von Reptilien)official
- Tierschutzverordnung (TSchV, SR 455.1), Art. 89 und Anhang 2 (Vorbemerkungen, Tabelle 5 Reptilien)official
- Nutrition in Snakes
- Green tree python
- Verordnung (EU) 2026/1383 zur Änderung der Anhänge der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 338/97 (CITES-Vertragsstaatenkonferenz 2025)official
- Verordnung (EG) Nr. 338/97 über den Schutz von Exemplaren wildlebender Tier- und Pflanzenarten durch Überwachung des Handelsofficial
- Bundesartenschutzverordnung (BArtSchV), § 7, §§ 12–13 und Anlagen 5 und 6official
- Bundesnaturschutzgesetz (BNatSchG), § 46 Nachweispflichtofficial
- Tierschutzgesetz (TSchG), § 13 und § 25official
- Bundesgesetz über den Verkehr mit Tieren und Pflanzen geschützter Arten (BGCITES, SR 453), Art. 10official
- Nidovirus-associated proliferative pneumonia in the green tree python (Morelia viridis)
- Inclusion Body Disease in Boas and Pythons
- Reptile Cloacal Prolapse
Values without a source are common experience from keeping and breeding. Every animal is different, so watch yours and adjust its care. As of October 31, 2026.
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