| Common Name: | Brown Tree Snake |
| Scientific Name: | Boiga irregularis |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | boiga |
| Status: | category 5 |
| Size: | TL 1600mm |
If you are purchasing reptiles in Western Australia, you must hold the required Category license for the animals you are purchasing.
The Brown Tree Snake is brown to bright reddish-brown with numerous narrow, irregular, dark crossbands, or cream to light reddish-brown with numerous broad, irregular, bright red or reddish-brown cross-bands. many of the scales are slightly edged with black or patches of black skin between the scales. Belly cream to salmon-coloured. They are nocturnal and arboreal, but frequently forage on the ground.
The Brown Tree Snake can be found in a wide range of habitats: rainforests, mangroves, wet and dry sclerophyll forests, paperbark swamps, coastal heaths and seasonally dry tropical woodlands. They shelter in tree hollows or hollow logs, rock crevices, caves and occasionally under stones. found in coast adjacent areas of northern and eastern Australia
Terrarium: The Brown Tree snake if given the correct environment with climbing enrichment they will explore their enclosure. The enclosure needs to be large enough to provide multiple hide rocks and maintain a thermal gradient, and plenty of room to climb, a terrarium that is 90x60x120cm (WxDxH) would be suitable to house a pair of Brown Tree Snakes. Terrarium’s must be lockable and escape proof.
Lighting & heating: UVB lighting is not essential to Brown Tree Snakes, however a low 2.0 spectrum fluorescent globe can be used for viewing purposes. Heating can be provided with a heat tile, mat or cord to maintain a ground surface temperature of 32°C in the hot spot. Ambient heat can be provided with an infrared heat globe to maintain a daytime temperature of 36°C in the warm end and 25°C in the cool end, on warmer days you may not need to turn on the heat globe as the ambient temperature of the enclosure may already be high enough. A thermometer should always be used to monitor the temperature within the enclosure.
Furnishings: It is important to provide your Brown Tree Snake with a hide cave in the warm end, a water bowl at the cool end, and artificial plants will give coverage and decoration. Large Logs and vines can be used within the enclosure to provide climbing enrichment. A pet bedding wood chips such as Chipsi or Critter Crumble can be used as a substrate.
Food in captivity: All snakes in captivity must be fed dead food. A Brown Tree Snake will eat a variety of frozen and thawed mice and rats of appropriate sizes. On average they will have 1-2 food items every 7-10 days.
The essentials:
