Nova,, another green tree python

This is a good picture I got of this little green tree python, Morelia viridis , this week. She is a Jayapura x Lereh cross, farm bred by Bushmaster Reptiles. If that sounds like complete greek, green tree pythons are commonly referred to by the locality they come from, as the evolutionary differences in animals coming from different islands in indonesia, different parts of Papaua/New Guinea, & different parts of the cape york peninsula in Australia are amazing, and lead to different animals. So this little one is a cross of animals from Jayapura & Lereh, both are localities from the mainland area (Papaua/New Guinea), Lereh being in. the central highlands, Jayapura being near the coast. Here is a site with a bit of information on the different localities . Farm bred generally means that the animal was bred in an overseas facility. Bushmaster Reptiles is a fairly highly respected company with a large breeding facility in indonesia. So there is a bit more credibility in where the animal & it's parents are actually from.

So this pretty little one should hopefully develop blues all along the red dorsal stripe, and a rich green colour.





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She is always beautiful.
Your green tree python still looks very yellow to me. How old will she be truly green?

If these reptiles were bred in oversea facilities, how were they shipped to you? Snakes on the plane?

Well, I don't have her exact hatch date, but it was probably november, december, or january, (which is summer in indonesia). She should start her change in the next few months, and it should continue through the next 18-30 months. That's really the most fun part, you never know how the change will go.

And yes, it is snakes on a plane. But she wasn't shipped to me from indonesia, The CITES paperwork and fees would be insane for a single animal. Bushmaster's main office is in colorado, so he brings everything he has in large groups. The snake was shipped to me from colorado.

When I first saw that picture, I thought the thread had been mislabeled because there isn't the slightest tinge of green on the snake. So, tell me, do they all start life with that color? How about other snakes? Do they go through similar color changes as they grow up? I am only familiar with cats and dogs. I do know that dogs change coloration a bit as they grow up.

I talked a bit about the ontogenetic colour change some snakes go through in this thread on another green tree python & in this thread on my emerald tree boa. Those two species in particular go through dramatic colour changes. Most reptiles go through some form of colour change, but not normally as dramatic.

So yes, this little one will end up with a base green colour, with at least some blue highlights,, and maybe a bit of yellow, white, and/or black, if I'm lucky. It is really like a present, you never really know exactly what the snake will look like.