You might be wondering if snakes make their homes in trees. You can often see snakes hiding out in trees perhaps waiting for some prey or hiding from predators. But do snakes actually live in trees?
Some species of snakes known as arboreal snakes live in trees, however, this does not apply to all snakes. Snakes are good at climbing up trees and will often hang out in trees to hide from predators. That said, there are species of snakes that spend the majority of their lives in trees.
Many species of snakes are arboreal which simply means that they spend the majority of their lives up in trees. In this article, we will cover what kind of snakes live in trees, how snakes climb trees, and what types of tree snakes are often kept as pets.
Arboreal Snakes Are Snakes That Live In Trees
Arboreal snakes are snakes that spend the majority of their time in trees. Many species of snakes spend some time in trees but this does not mean they are arboreal. In fact, most snakes are good climbers and will climb up into trees for the right opportunity. Perhaps to hunt or to hide from predators, especially when they are young.
But a true arboreal snake spends the majority of its life up in the trees. This is where they hunt for food, sleep, mate, and maybe even lay eggs. A green tree python for example will lay eggs in a tree hole or amongst the tree roots on the ground. So we are talking about snakes that truly spend their time living up in the trees.
Arboreal snakes are opportunistic hunters and will hide in trees waiting for prey. Common prey for tree snakes would include rodents, birds, lizards, and even bats. You can find snakes that live in trees all across the world.
How Snakes Climb Trees
You might be wondering how snakes can even climb trees in the first place. It’s pretty easy to understand how some animal species spend the majority of their time in trees such as monkeys. After all, it would seem that their bodies were designed for climbing.
But when you look at a snake they do not really look like they are built for climbing trees. However, don’t let their looks fool you, snakes are great at climbing trees. Some snakes use their scales and muscles to slither up trees. Their scales grip onto tree bark and they are able to use their muscles to push themselves up into the tree.
It’s actually a pretty cool thing to see as it often seems like they are defying the laws of nature. Some larger snakes are able to wrap around trees to get a better grip to help them climb.
Types Of Arboreal Snakes
There are many different types of snakes that live in trees. This would include certain species of pythons, boas, vipers, and many others. So we have both venomous and non-venomous snakes that are considered arboreal.
What Pythons and Boas Live in Trees
One of the main types of snakes that are either Arboreal or semi arboreal are pythons and boa constrictors. They are too many to list but here as some examples of pythons and boas that live in trees or will often be found in trees.
- Green Tree Python
- Emerald Tree Boa
- Amazon Tree Boa
- Bush Python
- Carpet Python
- Red-Tailed Boa
- Malagasy Tree Boa
- White Lipped Python
- Spotted Pythons
What Venomous Snakes Live In Trees
You might also be wondering which venomous snakes live in trees. Again there are too many to list but some that come to mind would include:
- Eastern Green Mamba
- Jameson’s Mambo
- Western Green Mamba
- Brown Tree Snake
- Eye Lash Viper
- Bush Vipers
- Black Speckled Palm Pit Viper
- Yellow Blotched Palm Pit Viper
What Kind Of Tree Snakes Can You Keep As Pets
There is a long list of arboreal tree snakes that you can keep as pets. In fact, all of the arboreal and Simi-arboreal pythons and boas on the list above are kept as pets. A few popular examples would include the green tree python and the emerald boa. Though some keepers are pretty critical about these snakes as they have a reputation of being a bit nippy.
There is some truth to this and these two snakes do not make for the best pet snakes if you are looking for something that you can handle often. Though many can be tamed and used to some handling they do not enjoy handling as much as many other pet snakes do.
That said, green tree pythons and emerald tree boas are some of the most beautiful snakes you can keep as pets. But if you are looking for a pet snake that you can handle more often there are some semi-arboreal snakes such as the red-tailed boas and spotted pythons that are commonly kept snakes.
Red-tailed boas are one of my favorite choices if you are looking for a snake that can grow quite large. Otherwise, the spotted python might be a great choice because it is one of the smallest pythons you can have as a pet. These pythons only grow to about 2-4 feet long on average.
Both of these snakes are often not thought about as snakes that love climbing trees because many people do not provide branches for them to climb in their enclosure. However, I personally think you should provide them with branches to climb and hang out on.
If you do choose to keep a snake that either naturally lives in trees or spends a good amount of time in trees there are some things you want to consider. The first is that they need branches to climb and hang out on. Naturally, this will mean that you should provide a tall enclosure.
Some Snakes Live In Trees
Some species of snakes are arboreal meaning that they spend the majority of their time in trees. Additionally, some snakes are simi-arboreal and spend a good amount of time in trees. Some snakes like the green tree python will spend nearly their entire life living in trees.
Both venomous and non-venomous snakes are known to live and trees. Many of these snakes have beautiful coloration that helps them blend into the trees. Some species are also kept as pets. However, some of them really like to stay in the branches are not big on handling.