Arboreal nature of Carpet Pythons
I'm pretty new to Carpet Pythons - got my first one in September (a Jungle Jag) and my second one a few weeks ago (Zebra Jungle). When reading about Carpets, it seems that they were always referred to as semi-arboreal. However, mine never seem to touch the ground. Both are in fairly large enclosures with an ample supply of limbs and plants, and they make full use of anything they can climb on. They both tend to hang out at the highest point of the enclosure. I have literally never seen my Jungle Jag touch the ground, even though the only true "hide" in her cage is on the ground. Both of my Carpets even eat in the air. They'll stay perched on a log hanging down in an S-shaped coil, strike their prey, then constrict and swallow it while hanging. The Zebra was in a temporary enclosure for a couple weeks, and the only heat source was a heat cable located under the substrate. He would at times sit coiled above the heat cable, which is understandable since the temps were not well controlled in the rest of the enclosure. But now that I've moved him into the new large enclosure, I woke up this morning to find him coiled at the top of a vine where it attaches to the ceiling of the enclosure. Again, literally the highest point in the enclosure. Is the arboreal nature of Carpet Pythons somewhat underestimated in the community? I'm wondering if too many people assume they aren't arboreal and simply don't offer arboreal type setups. As I said, I'm new to these guys, so what behaviors have y'all observed in your Carpets?
Re: Arboreal nature of Carpet Pythons
My adult male jcp loves hanging out on his dried grape wood perch. He will only eat if I dangle a f/t med rat right on his perch. The only time he is on the ground is when he wants to warm his belly on his hot side or in his hide when he is ready to shed.