baby carpet lying upside down???

This little 2011 Jungle I got a week ago is acting weird, when I went to check on him today he was lying upside down like he was dead. When I touched him he flipped right over into strike position. Is this something to worry about?

I have never heard of a carpet doing this. If you do not get an answer on this site, you may want to e-mail some of the large carpet python breeders to see if they have seen this behavior in any of their carpets. Good luck, and keep us posted.

There was a boa at a reptile store here, that did that. And when you help him he did the same thing. I think they called it ATB? Some combination of 3 letters, someone chime in with the right ones, lol.

But it's basically something that can't be fixed, and typically gets worse and worse.
Or it could just be a quirky snake, depends.

I don't mean to be a vulture, but it's what I do, if you end up having to put him down, please contact me, .... :)

IBD... Before we get on the IBD train is there any other symptoms? Is this a 1 time occurance? It would totally freak me out. A snake being upside down looks so totally unnatural.


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Originally Posted by Rhasputin

I don't mean to be a vulture, but it's what I do, if you end up having to put him down, please contact me, .... :)

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I understand you do some kind of taxidermy or similar hobby, and I have no problem with that practice. But it IS "vulture-ish" to hover in a thread where a person is upset about unusual behavior in their new pet and talk about it dying or being put down. It's cold, rude, completely inappropriate...and more than a little creepy. Please don't.

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Originally Posted by Austin236

This little 2011 Jungle I got a week ago is acting weird, when I went to check on him today he was lying upside down like he was dead. When I touched him he flipped right over into strike position. Is this something to worry about?

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I don't know much about carpets specifically, but there are a lot of different reasons why a snake may lay upside down...most of them benign. The fact that he flipped right over when disturbed and was ready to strike seems like a good sign to me. One of my ball pythons occasionally sleeps on his side, even his head is sideways...looks dead when he does it. But he's just sleeping.

Double and triple check your husbandry...make sure your temperatures are correct and not too hot. Make sure there are no chemical fumes nearby from insecticides, hair spray, perfumes, etc. And just keep an eye on him. It may very well be just a quirky isolated incident. If it continues or if he starts showing other odd symptoms, you may need to consult a vet.

husbandry is good, and I just checked on him again he was lying upside down as soon as I touched him, he was alert and acts completely normal. This is very weird im going to contact my friend who produced this jungle and have a chat with him. Because if im not mistaken he said he had a carpet that did the same thing but was an adult.

Is it a Jag sib? I've read that Jag sibs may display the genetic nero issues associated with the Jag gene but it seems to be a highly debated issue as to how true that is. I myself have never bred Carpets so I'm not much help. It wouldn't hurt to ask on a Morelia Pythons forum or email some of the big Carpet breeders.

Good luck with the little one!

I have actually heard of this behavior in Carpet Pythons, especially in Jaguars and Jaguar siblings (as someone has already stated). I have also seen non-Jaguar related Carpet Pythons do this when they've gotten too hot. It's a way they can cool down.

This does not sound like IBD, and I'm not sure why every time an animal shows a symptom, someone mentions it. Obviously the individual is already stressed because their animal is acting "off", let's not plant ideas in their head.

By the way, snakes turning upside down is quite natural. When they have eaten prey that is too large or they are just feeling full, they will flip to help the digestion process and to take pressure off of their stomachs. When they have gotten overheated, they will flip to help cool themselves. When females are gravid, they will flip over to take some of the pressure off themselves. Often, when they are under a tight fitting hide, they will have parts of their body upside down to help fit. So, it is not unnatural.

Does that mean that flipping over on their back is always normal? No, it isn't. This can be a symptom, but it often is not. In Jaguar/Jaguar siblings it can be a symptom of a neurological syndrome that is associated with the morph though.

With him snapping up alert, I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep an eye on him. :)

Im not to worried, he doesn't act weird at all besides laying upside down and I notice he's upside down when hes under his hide under the paper towel. He doesn't do that when he's in the hide.