Your one stop reptile community - I want an ETB or a GTP, they are nice! Tell me about them.

jakesnake · #1 (**permalink**) 05-03-2002, 04:22 AM

What can you tell me about these snakes. I saw one of each at a pet shop and I was overwhelmed with the beauty of them. They are not cheap either. Are they hard to keep? Also should I go through a breeder or a pet shop? Thanks for any advice.

[addsig]

Bettina · #2 (**permalink**) 05-03-2002, 04:27 AM

I gather that they're pretty high maintenance, delicate, and easily irritated. There's a care sheet in the care sheet section on ETBs. There are some people who are experts on these snakes who wil be along in a bit to tell you more. If you're not a very experienced snake keeper they'll probably attempt to dissuade you from these snakes.

Bettina
[addsig]

Countryboy · #3 (**permalink**) 05-03-2002, 04:32 AM

I agree they are beautuful snakes but they are extremely hard to keep. They require a lot of humidity unless you have a lot of experience I would not recomend one of these. If you do decide to get one go through a breeder. Other people will be along that know more about them
[addsig]

NYCSpeedcore · #4 (**permalink**) 05-03-2002, 04:35 AM

They are two of my favorite species! My only suggestion is to do as much research as possible! Read as many caresheets as possible, and then ask any questions you still have when you are done. Good captive breed animals like these are very pricy, and require a lot more care than almost any other snake you could own. They are not forgiving if you make any mistakes... but any trouble they are to take care of they make up 10 fold in beuty and personality. Buy them from a reputable breeder, and have your tank set up a good two weeks in advance. You need to have the humidity, heat, lighting, and perches set up and nailed down way in advance. We have a caresheet on this site for ETB's here and Greg Maxwell has an excellent one on his site. JuliusSqueezer, CraigC, and a few others here are VERY experienced with these animals and should also be able to help you out if you decide to make the jump.
[addsig]

guavagrower · #5 (**permalink**) 05-03-2002, 10:07 AM

Hi and welcome.

My understanding is you can't really predict the final coloring. People buy the babies and its a crap shoot. Buy a proven snake and its really expensive.

They're agressive snakes.

The humidity/cage set up is about the same for Jungle carpet pythons (mine) as it is for ETBs and it did take about two weeks to really find the right balance of temp and humidity.

Good luck with your search.
[addsig]

mirabelasunshine · #6 (**permalink**) 05-03-2002, 10:22 AM

Seems like more often than not, those two sp's are kept as eye candy only -- a majority are bitey, and their teeth are not to be taken lightly. I can see why you're attracted to them (duh!) but honestly, if you're about to keep a snake for the first time (forgive me if I've mistakenly assumed you haven't kept snakes -- wasn't really clear from your post), you might want to consider something that is likely to make a nicer pet. If you're going to keep a snake, it's nice to be able to handle it, interact with it, hang out with it, hand it over to your snake-shy friends to handle so they fall in love with it too, etc. By my logic, you may as well keep a snake the can be one of your pals. Just my .02 -- sooner or later, you'll hear from someone who actually has one of those.

[addsig]

CraigC · #7 (**permalink**) 05-03-2002, 01:24 PM

Hi Jakesnake,
I am at work now so I can't elaborate in detail. I can't speak about gtps and I certainly do not consider myself an expert on emeralds as I have only been keeping them for about 4 years and am continually learning.

My first suggestion, even before you do extensive research to learn all you can, is to determine whether you want a species that is mostly "hands off". Even with minimal handling, emeralds can stress easily.

I will try to elaborate more, either this evening or over the weekend.
CraigC

[addsig]

#8 (**permalink**) 05-03-2002, 02:47 PM

Can you afford to throw away over $600? My advice to you would be to get an Amazon Tree boa (Corallus Hortulanus) first to cut your teeth on tree boas. And definitely buy from a breeder. Most pet stores have no idea how to keep them.

Start with a google search on the common name and scientific name and find out as much as you possibly can about them.
[addsig]

Advertisement