Green Trees-Docile?

[Sir Hiss]

Hi, I have a few Ball pythons and am thinking of stepping it up and getting a Green Tree python. Well on all of the care sheets I a read it says that most are aggressive (Even captive born). Well I know care sheets are sometimes biased and are not always accurate, but from you people who own these snakes: How are they? Could I trust them around kids like I do my Ball pythons? Are they ones to be held a lot? Anyway, any tips and information you could provide would be very helpful. Thanks.

[Clownfishie]

I don't own one myself yet, although I will soon...

But I can't say as how I'd trust one around kids... even if you get one that's relatively calm, you never know with these guys. And no, GTPs aren't the kind of snake that you can/should handle a lot -- they're more of a display animal. Especially when they're young, they have delicate spines that you can easily cause damage to.

For temperament -- some are quite tame, and others are demons...

HTH a bit,
Jen

[Jamie]

A friend of mine has one and I love it...everytime I go over I am looking at him and take him out with no problems...doesn't show any signs of aggression but I would never trust him with childeren as they tend to be a little more unpredictable than something more docile than a ball python. Just my experience though...every snake is different

[LTownsend]

I have four, 1 male and 1 female Biak, and two female Manokwari's. My Biaks are quite aggressive most of the time; even to change their water bowl is like playing dodge ball, especially the male.....he is exceptionally aggressive!! and isn't trusted for a split second. The female Biak is a bit better, but only relatively speaking, she is still fairly aggressive. The two female Manokwari's are completely different animals.....both are relatively docile and easily handled both day and night, but are most of the time more aggressive at night and within a few days before feeding. Any handling I may want to do is done during the day; at night I leave them alone and just observe through the glass. If you're looking for a different python species to have around children, I wouldn't recommend a Gree Tree Python, even though they are probably the most spectacular python species (imho), they are not a species that likes to be handled a lot; can often times be unpredictably aggressive and tend to do much better when just left alone in their enclosures and obsevered from a distance.

[ReptileHQ]

We had a female Aru that was corn snake tame. Most are not
I found Biaks to be especially nippy.

--
Chris

[sSNAKESs.com]

My 2 biaks were especialy aggressive, but before cleaning or changing water i would just spray them down, they would wrap up and ignore me, so cleaning was a breeze, but handling, although i did was pretty much out of the question.. although the times i had them out they werent as nippy as when you are trying to get them out...

[Zoe]

All the biaks I've encountered have been VERY agressive, and pretty much untamable. I've come to the conclusion that these are look-but-don't-touch animals.
If you're looking for something showy but that your children can handle, I'd suggest carpet pythons or maybe red-tailed boas.

Good luck, hope you find something you like!

[Corallus]

I agree with all these replies. My GTP's are not easy to handle either, but that is also one of the reasons I love them so much. My one biak is extreamly aggressive and likes to bite. One of my Aru's however are also not easy to handle, but has never opened it's mouth to bite me. They are (according to my experience) even more nippy than my emeralds.
And I agree that a Carpet are a better "child" python and is nice and active, semi-arboreal and don't grow as heavy as red-tails. They are also quite tame (but like any other snake, in my opinion, should be treated with the respect they deserve as wild animals). Good luck, after all the responses you received, I'm sure you will be able to make an informed decision.

[dlucka]

Well carpet, i saw some that are tame more on the adult side, but juvenile
are some time more nervous and nappy. My carpet was a real nappy one went i got her. I can take her out but i will not put her in my kind's hand for now, yes they touch her and are very happy of it. They understand that she's not ready for it, and ask me to take other snake. :-)

This is just my experiance with carpet.

[Zoe]

Most baby snakes are nippy, no matter what they are. baby boas, baby pythons, baby corns... most are nippy or at least quick to try and squirm away. All of my carpets are very tame, and they range in age from 2 to 4 years old. My youngest one has always acted tough, but has never struck at me or even hissed. Carpets are great because they are showy and pretty easy to tame. I wouldn't let a young child handle any snake, however, without me holding it too, just for safety. The same way you wouldn't leave a baby alone with a dog.

Yes red-tailed boas get pretty big, but colombian rainbow boas don't!

[Sir Hiss]

Hey thanks guys. This has really helped!

[snakemann87]

i dont own one, but all the ones ive attempted to handle were ball python were nippy. Also, if all you have owned were ball pythons, they i wouldnt get a GTP either, they are alot harder care wise and much more picky with food.