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A bright green tree python coiled over a branch.
Photo: TarnishedPath, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Green Tree Python

Morelia viridis

A bright green rainforest python of New Guinea and northern Australia whose babies hatch yellow or red and later turn green.

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About the Green Tree Python

Green tree pythons live in tropical rainforests in New Guinea and nearby islands and on the Cape York Peninsula of Australia. They spend their time coiled on branches, waiting to ambush prey. Adults eat mainly mammals and birds. Babies hatch bright yellow or brick-red and turn green between six months and one year old, sometimes overnight.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Morelia viridis[1]
Size
Average 1.5 m (5 feet) long. The largest recorded was 2.2 m.[1]
Lifespan
Up to 20 years recorded in captivity.[1]
Diet
Carnivore. Adults eat mainly mammals and birds.[1]
Habitat
Tropical rainforest, from sea level to 2,000 m.[1]
Where it lives
New Guinea and nearby islands, and the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland, Australia.[1]
Babies
6 to 32 eggs. The mother coils around them and shivers to keep them warm. They hatch in about 50 days.[1]
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2017).[2]

Fun facts

  • Green tree python babies hatch yellow or red and turn green as they grow, sometimes overnight.[1]
  • Heat-sensing pits along its lips help a green tree python find warm-blooded prey.[1]
  • Young pythons may wiggle their tail tip to lure prey closer.[1]
  • A mother python shivers to warm her eggs.[1]

Vocabulary

python
A large snake that kills prey by squeezing it.
ambush
To hide and wait, then attack by surprise.
lure
Something used to attract an animal closer.
arboreal
Living mostly in trees.
warm-blooded
Able to keep a steady body temperature, like birds and mammals.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. “Morelia viridis (green tree python).” https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Morelia_viridis/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Morelia viridis (Green Tree Python).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/177524/21649845 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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