Description
– Livre relié
– Nombre de pages: 317 pages
– Seconde édition
– Auteur: Greg Maxwell, préface de Phil Black
– Éditeur: ECO Herpetological Publishing / Serpent’s Tale Nat Hist Books
– Langue: Anglais
– ISBN-10: 0976733455
– ISBN-13: 978-0976733454
– Dimensions: 23,1 x 15,5 x 2,8 cm
– Date de publication: 1er Décembre 2005

Greg Maxwell began his lifelong fascination with reptiles at the age of five, and has worked with living specimens for most of the forty-plus years since. An accomplished furniture maker by trade, Maxwell combined his shop skills with an enthusiam for building snakes cages to start CageMaster Reptile cages in 1991. This venture quickly became one of the first successfull reptile enclosure companies. Maxwell soldthe businessin 1997 to devote more time to God, family, and green tree pythons. His familiar web site dedicated to the species has helped hundreds of chondro fans worldwide to more fully enjoy their animals. Maxwell also co-founded the ChondroWeb Forums and is still a frequent contributor. In addition to his animal care and writing duties, he is a frequent speaker at herp shows and cenferences where he helps to spread his passion for chondros.

The More Complete Chondro by Greg Maxwell
Green tree pythons (Morelia viridis) have become increasingly popular in recent years, despite having a reputation for being difficult to maintain in captivity. In The More Complete Chondro, internationally known « chondro » breeder Greg Maxwell provides a thorough reference about this beautiful and challenging species. This expanded edition of the original book covers all the aspects of captive husbandry and breeding techniques, and includes new information about natural history and geographic races. The author discusses breeding genetics and describes all the spectacular color morphs carrently being produced, including an update of the albino project. Over 260 color photographs illustrate the text.

Hailed by critics as one of the best new herpetological titles to be released in a decade, The Complete Chondro (2003) quickly became a best-seller within the reptile-keeping community, both in America and abroad. This new release will delight GTP fans both old and new. Much more than a simple reprinting, it is truly… The More Complete Chondro.

Quatrième de couverture
« Thereare certain snake species to which the reptile enthusiast aspires and few can excite the heart more than the green tree python of eastren Indonesia, New Guinea, and far-northern Queensland. Formerly known as Chondropython viridis, its enduring epithet of ‘chondro’ has withstood even taxonomix revision. Beloved and coveted by snake keepers, encountered with awe by those who have never met him before, both the adults with their green livery punctuated with yellow, white or blue, and the startling yellow or orange juveniles cannot fail to draw admiration and comment. I have met this speciesin the wild, at night, in jungles, in gardens and on roads and I never fail to feel honoured by the encounter.

Yet these wonderously exotic pythons have for so long hada reputation for being ‘difficult’, ‘specialist’, ‘stroppy’ and so they would remain if it were not for a dedicated band of enthusiats who set out to ‘conquer’ the species and learn its secrets in captivity. Foremost amongst this band must be Greg Maxwell who has devoted over ten yearsto the husbandry and propagation of this single species. In The Complete Chondro he has set out to share his knowlegde with all.

Thinking of investing in a chondro, then invest in this book forst and benefit form over ten years of chondro experience »

Mark O’Shea
« What a totally precise, down-to-earth, and very readable masterpeace! The Complete Chondro epitomizes and obvious labor of love, yet is thoroughly detailed and researched informationally. To my knowledge, never has a single species been documented so exhaustively in herpetoculture. Even the photography is mouth-wateringly exquisite! I’ve never been so tempted to work with a new type of snake as after reading this beautiful work, not to mention feeling renewed confidence in being able to successfully maintain and breed them. While these serpentine gems are still not for everyone, this effort should catapult GTPs to the forefront of herpetoculture. Corn snakes take note – your future competition has staked its claim with Greg Maxwell’s highly-recommended tome! »

Bill Love
« I dare you to read this book and not be impressed »

Trooper Walsh
« Greg Maxwell’s book The Complete Chondro is a definite work of art. I known Greg since he was a teenager, and his enthusiam for herps has made him one of the hardest working and most dedicated people in the world of herpetoculture. A book like this is long overdue and is a must-read for anyone working with green tree pythons. »

Mon avis
Ce livre est considéré comme une, même LA bible concernant le Morelia viridis, et ce n’est pas pour rien.
Le livre se divise en trois grandes parties.
La première partie concerne l’approche globale du Morelia viridis, ainsi on y trouvera l’histoire naturelle, l’histoire des premiers spécimens captifs, une description des localités, une partie sur la coloration des serpents (dont les fameux changement de couleur ontogéniques), les moyens à mettre en œuvre pour sélectionner certaines couleurs et le vrai-faux sur l’espèce.
La seconde partie aborde la maintenance avec des conseils pour bien sélectionner ses spécimens, le terrarium et sa conception, le nourrissage, la mue et les cycles de défécation.
La troisième partie se concentre sur la reproduction, avec une description des conditions optimales et du cyclage, l’accouplement et la ponte, l’incubation et le soin des jeunes.
Quelques appendices apporteront plus de précisions sur certains problèmes communs ou médicaux.
Alors OUI ce livre reste LA bible, mais je trouve que l’avoir ne résout pas tout, depuis sa parution (2006 soit 7 ans plus tôt) quelques évolutions ont quand même eu lieu, et je trouve bien de se documenter également avec d’autres ouvrages et surtout auprès d’éleveurs que ce soit par le biais de forums ou par d’autres moyens.
Prévoyez un anglais solide pour bouquiner ou alors un bon dico, par rapport à d’autres livres en anglais sur les reptiles celui-ci est quand même corsé…
Le seul petit défaut que je lui trouverais c’est de se focaliser plus sur une certaine approche « commerciale », surtout sur les chapitres traitant de la fixation des morphs et des couleurs quitte à délaisser un peu plus les localités et les formes naturelles, mais bon ça cela doit être à cause des gènes US de l’auteur… Ah ces Américains !
Vous l’aurez compris, malgré tout ce livre reste un must-have que ce soit pour les éleveurs ou simplement les passionnés de reptiles, que ce soit par le contenu ou l’iconographie, c’est vraiment un livre de toute beauté, mais malheureusement de plus en plus difficile à se procurer.