Looking into a carpet python

I am by no means ready to get another snake. I've only had my first snake for 2 months. But I sure do love it. I can't get enough of having her. But I still need some more practice before I go and buy another one.

With that said I just have a couple of questions about carpet pythons.

I love the way they all look. They colors are great. I don't know anything about them however.

So, Which species would you recommend if I wanted a colorful carpet? How many feet will it grow to? (I currently have a ball and am interested in a bigger snake, bigger than 5 feet but not bigger than 9-10ft.) Also how thick will they be? Is it going to be as thick and heavy as a boa?

I read that they need a larger cage (since obviously they're bigger) than a ball python. I have an extra 75 gallon tank that I haven't used for anything in about two years. Could I use something like that for a carpet or would that be too big?

Can anyone recommend a trusted place that sells carpets? I'd lke to do some window shopping and find some great pictures as well, so I can convince my lady to get another snake!! ha ha

Thank you for your help guys!!!

So, Which species would you recommend if I wanted a colorful carpet?
Depends what you mean by colorful. Jungles are most likely to give you that real bright yellow and deep black contrast, IJs can get a really beautiful burnt orange look to them, Diamonds live up to their name, and Coastals can be all kinds of shades (plus then you have all the fun crosses). With carpets you really need to look more at individuals instead of just what type. For example, here are two pics of diamond x coastals but they both look completely different.

http://iherp.com/Gallery/88170/1898_...P4QHs34zoe.jpg http://iherp.com/Gallery/88170/20121...DofKDoGvrC.jpg

How many feet will it grow to?
Depends on what you end up with. An IJ will probably be the smallest at about 4-6ft. Jungles are more 5-7ft. Coastals 6-10ft and Diamonds 8-9ft.

Also how thick will they be?
Depends on how long they are. My male coastal cross is about 8ft and about as thick as my arm while I had a 6ft jungle for a while that was maybe a quarter as big around.

Is it going to be as thick and heavy as a boa?
Coastals, diamonds and the occasional jungle yes, IJs no.


Could I use something like a 75g for a carpet or would that be too big?
That would be big for a small IJ, good for a Jungle, and probably the smallest you could use for a big coastal or diamond (I use 4x2x2 minimum for my big guy).

Can anyone recommend a trusted place that sells carpets?
Im not completely sure of the rules on this forum and Ive gotten in trouble on other forums for talking about breeders in a thread so to be safe PM me about this and we can talk.

You can see some of the ones I posted recently in this section ("Morelia Trolls") The first two are from Will Bird. His prices are reasonable for a quality animal. You can go to a show and pick up crap for $50 USD or you can spend a bit more and have something nice. The difference is the quality of the yellow. Many will turn "muddy" which means all the nice baby yellow quickly turns with black splotches and gets a brown tint. A google search will really help you to see what I mean on this one. Carpets generally will not weigh more than a red tail boa. They are classified as semi-arboreal which really means as babies they climb, and most stop into adult hood. However because of an tree nature they can't weight 50 pounds. I held the biggest coastal female I've ever seen and she was about 8 feet and 11IBs.