First carpet Python.Questions.

[Twisted_Angel]

Hello everyone!

I have had a single ball Python in the past but that is about the extent of my knowledge with snakes.

I have a gorgeous female IJ jag sibling yearling on hold with a breeder, feeding well on f/t rat pups and puppy dog tame. She is paid for; he is justwaiting for me to give the okay to ship her.

I have a drilled 60qt Ziploc weather guard bin (23x17x11.5 approx) with paper towels for substrate, a couple of hides, a water bowl, and some climbing branches. I also have a medium heat mat with a thermostat for the temperature gradient.

I have read evey care article I can get my hands on but would like clarification on a few things. Now on to the annoying questions!

I have read a lot of debate on back heat vs belly heat for ball pythons but haven't really seen it discussed for carpets. Should I Mount the heat mat on the bottom of the enclosure or on one side since she is semiarboreal? Or should I ditch the heat mat and go with a radiant heat panel? I didn't think those were safe for bin cages but if they are, I would be happy to go ahead and get one.

What size should she be before I look into a more permanent enclosure? Or should I ditch the bin and get one ASAP?

She is over 90%. IJ blood, so I am anticipating (read hoping) that she tops out around 5 ft. I have been looking at an animal plastics cage as her permanent enclosure. They have a specialty cage for carpet pythons, but it seems a bit small to me and is only 15" high. I could be off base here but I would think that a semiarboreal snake would need more height. I would like everyone's opinions on an appropriate cage size, height included. I do not plan on getting more snakes (famous last words) so a display cage is preferred. I would also like brand suggestions.

I have read that carpets don't need a water bowl big enough to soak in. The thought of going with a smaller bowl makes me uncomfortable but it would give her more floor space.

When it comes to feeding, inside the enclosure or in a separate tub? If inside the enclosure, does anyone have suggested methods for getting her to differentiate between feeding time and handling time?

What substrate is currently the most highly recommended? Something like ecoearth? Repticarpet or newspaper? Keep the paper towels?


Thanks for taking the time to look at this and I am sorry for the stupid questions.

[John1982]

Should I Mount the heat mat on the bottom of the enclosure or on one side since she is semiarboreal? Or should I ditch the heat mat and go with a radiant heat panel?

Personal preference. Top heat will encourage more arboreal/perching behavior though.

What size should she be before I look into a more permanent enclosure? Or should I ditch the bin and get one ASAP?

Any size you like. Just be careful with sliding glass doors and smaller snakes. Depending on the brand, there can be a rather sizable gap that could allow an escape.

She is over 90%. IJ blood, so I am anticipating (read hoping) that she tops out around 5 ft. I have been looking at an animal plastics cage as her permanent enclosure. They have a specialty cage for carpet pythons, but it seems a bit small to me and is only 15" high. I could be off base here but I would think that a semiarboreal snake would need more height. I would like everyone's opinions on an appropriate cage size, height included. I do not plan on getting more snakes (famous last words) so a display cage is preferred. I would also like brand suggestions.

More personal preference. I have some 15" enclosures set up with perches and the height is fine. The problem with going higher is temperature gradients. If you're using belly heat and your house is on the cooler side, you could end up with areas too cool in something higher than 15 inches. If you want to go with more height, you should then seriously consider going with a RHP - which works out I suppose since you'll want to encourage more climbing activity anyway.

I have read that carpets don't need a water bowl big enough to soak in. The thought of going with a smaller bowl makes me uncomfortable but it would give her more floor space.

Either way works fine. A bowl large enough to soak isn't going to do much harm to their floor space.

When it comes to feeding, inside the enclosure or in a separate tub? If inside the enclosure, does anyone have suggested methods for getting her to differentiate between feeding time and handling time?

I seldom feed any snake outside the enclosure. The smell of the rodent should be enough to let your girl know it's feeding time. You can always hook train too to tap her out of feed mode and/or sleepy time.

What substrate is currently the most highly recommended? Something like ecoearth? Repticarpet or newspaper? Keep the paper towels?

I personally like newspaper because it's easy to clean and you know at a glance when it's soiled.

[Prognathodon]

I've recently moved my JCP and Bredli into their "grownup" AP cages, see my "Perch Size?" thread for more details and pics. I agree that the AP "carpet" cage sounds a little small, but clearly the breeder its named for likes it.

Since you have the tub almost ready, I'd start her in that, with the UTH on the bottom (Even if you ordered an AP cage today you'd have to wait for it). Once you get her, you can watch her behavior and decide if she's ready for more space yet. My JCP is 2, 575 grams, just moved him out of the 24" x 24" x 16" tall cage I started him in back in October. The move was a little overdue, but our big cage order ran into a production delay.

Right now my Morelia have only RHPs in the new cages. When fall rolls around we'll see if they need UTHs, but I kind of doubt it.

Feed in the enclosure. My Morelia seem to like food presented from below, but they're definitely not fussy! I use 12" forceps, occasionally debate getting a longer pair for feeding my bredli (6-ish ft.).

We use aspen, but bedding is mostly personal choice, after humidity control.


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[EL-Ziggy]

Welcome and best wishes Angel. Carpets are fun snakes to keep and I hope you really enjoy yours. As John stated a lot of your questions are pretty subjective and really come down to what works best for you and your snake. I'll share a few of my preferences.

If possible I'd skip the tub and get the pvc enclosure right away. I have all AP cages for my critters that aren't in QT with one exception. I love my AP cages. I'll be ordering 1-2 more pretty soon. I think RHPs are the most efficient heat source, especially for display cages, even though my young carpets currently have UTHs and IR heat bulbs for heat. They're in a split AP T8 and I went with bulbs instead on (2) 40W RHPs. I'll be upgrading to 80W RHPs in the next few months when they move into their larger enclosures. I've only used UTHs with tubs and they're ok for snakes in quarantine but you can't really boost the ambient temps with them which I need to do especially in the winter months.

I think a 4x2x2 or 4x2x3 are the ideal enclosure sizes for carpets but 15-18 inches of height are acceptable too.

Most of my water bowls aren't large enough for my carpets to soak in but even the snakes that have larger water bowls don't soak in them.

All of my snakes are fed inside their enclosures and only realize it's feeding time when they see or smell food. You can always use hook training for the nippy ones but none of my (4) carpets are biters.

I use aspen sani-chips for substrate in my permanent enclosures because it's very easy to clean and looks nice. I'd like to try eco-earth at some point. My snakes in quarantine are always on paper towel.

Keep us posted on your progress and please share pics of your snake and setup when you can.

[Twisted_Angel]

Thanks everyone!

I will probably have her shipped on Tuesday. I will likely be getting an AP cage very soon. Would a 5' x 2' x 2' or a 5' x 2' x 1.5' be total overkill? I would like to make sure she has plenty of room if she tops out over 6'.

Here are some horrible cell phone pictures of the tub she will be in until the display cage comes in. Should I add more branches or try to rig a shelf for her? The branches are bolted to the bin and the small amount of exposed bolt has been coated in hot glue. Probably overkill but I am a bit paranoid. The heat mat want been added yet but probably put it on the bottom. Please do not be alarmed by the lack of hides, as I am waiting on the breeder to tell me what type/ size she is currently using.

[Clementine_3]

Both of my IJ's are a tad over 6' and have plenty of room in their 4x2x2 Boaphiles. They spend a lot of time 'up' and just hanging out, not so much cruising around the bottom.

They have RHP's and I use newspaper, their bowls are big enough to soak in but they rarely do (mostly they just tip them over, bad snakes!). I feed them in the cage with no issues.

Great snakes, you will love yours.

[EL-Ziggy]

I agree with Clem. I'd go for more vertical space than floor space. Those are the exact tubs I use for my QT but I do provide hides which they sometimes use.

[Firemaniv]

Congratulations on the carpet. The only thing I can add is any way to use an rhp is the way to go. I have 2 now and love them.

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[Twisted_Angel]

Does the AP A20 seem like a good size? I haven't used the panel's before. How many/what wattages would you recommend for a 4' x 2' x 3' enclosure? I read that if I purchase them and have them drop shipped, they will install them for me. Should I let them do it or try to do it myself?

I was thinking of buying four of these and bolting them to each other to make a cheap stand for the cage.
http://m.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/art/60275812/

Is that advisabe?

[EL-Ziggy]

Angel- for the A20 I'd probably go with the 120W RHP even though the 80W might be enough. There's only a $5 difference between the two and better too much than not enough IMO. I plan to have AP install my RHPs as I see no reason to do it myself. As long as your stand can support the weight of your enclosures I see no problem with it.

http://www.reptilebasics.com/rbi-radiant-heat-panels