Going Coastal

An empty cage can be a serious problem in the life of a snake enthusiast. After some on-line research and hands on experience I've decided to go with a Coastal Carpet for our next snake but I have a question. It will be housed in a 4'x2'x15" AP cage. I went with the 11" Felxwatt but since they are semi-arboreal is it beneficial to go with a RHP on the hot side as well? Or perhaps in the middle/cool side to raise the ambient temperature?

Lastly, I was hoping those of you who keep larger Carpets could show of your enclosures and provide any helpful husbandry tips.

Thanks everyone.

I would put the heat on the bottOm of the cage. My carpet has a hotspot under one of his hides. He is fine with it. Carpets are semi arboreal but I'd say less arboreal the older they get and less arboreal then often represented. The size sounds perfect. I keep my carpets hot spot @90 and the rest of the cage room temp.
Www.moreliapythons.com is the best carpet python forum around!

This is my Coastal/Jungle males cage, it is half of an Animal Plastics T8 (4'x2'x1')

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...t/d769edba.jpg

And here is a close up:

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...t/fedce109.jpg

My little guy is 30" long right now and doesn't currently have a RHP, but I have an Animal Plastics T12 (4'x2'x2') reserved for him, and that cage has 2 RHP's in it and I ditched the flexwatt. The 2 RHP's are set up so that 1 controls the hot side and the other maintains the cool side.

Carpet Pythons are great, they are more active and exploitive than Ball Pythons. Some are nippy others are not. Mine is pretty chill most of the time but if you piss him off you are in trouble lol.

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Originally Posted by gman8585

I would put the heat on the bottOm of the cage. My carpet has a hotspot under one of his hides. He is fine with it. Carpets are semi arboreal but I'd say less arboreal the older they get and less arboreal then often represented. The size sounds perfect. I keep my carpets hot spot @90 and the rest of the cage room temp.
Www.moreliapythons.com is the best carpet python forum around!

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x2 (especially about moreliapythons.com)

Thanks guys. :gj:

I've been lurking on moreliapythons.com and it's been very helpful. I am looking into a sub adult or adult come NARBC time in March.

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Originally Posted by fortoday634

Thanks guys. :gj:

I've been lurking on moreliapythons.com and it's been very helpful. I am looking into a sub adult or adult come NARBC time in March.

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That's awesome you'll have plenty to check out there! I picked up an amazing jungle carpet from www.cbreptiles.com from Chris he is a member on here. It's honestly gOt the brightest yellow on a jungle I have ever seen in real life. I'm also picking up an adult coastal and another jungle carpet the 1st of feb. I'm super excited to get them.

Alright, I took the plunge and picked up this '10 Coastal Jag yesterday. He's about 4.5ft and very curious. I do have my work cut out for me as he is a bit on the aggressive side. I'm sure with some time and handling he will calm down.

My wife was able to snap a few pics of him while was out and about yesterday. Today he has spent most of the day hiding out.

Here's my boy, Silas.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m...n/DSC_0241.jpg

Looks good, I love Jags hopefully I'll get to own one someday.

Congrats on the pickup. Now part of the morelia club. Haha. There is a lot to look into with morelia and they are an extremely interesting Genus, especially the diversity of the M. spilota complex.

You'll find that there is some controversy in the husbandry temperatures that are recommended for M. s. ssp. The environment and climate of Australia is extremely complex and varies immensly so some of the subspecies dont neccesarily need the 90's temperatures that we need.

Also contrary to popular belief, the M. s. ssp. is not extremely arboreal witht he exception of a couple of the subspecies.

But great looking coastal jag!

This guy is something else. On Monday he hid all day. Then he came out later that evening and has been on the move or perched ever since. In watching him I realized he is NOT aggressive but defensive. He is used to a hook but once you open his door and/or touch him with your hand he becomes very protective and flighty. This is the first time I've had a snake like this. What is the best plan of action in working with him?

Saturday is also feeding day and I'm not sure what approach to take. I was thinking it is best to continue using the hook and getting him used to human touch. Then on feeding days no contact what so ever and feed in the cage. Or in this case is feeding in a separate bin recommended?

Ball Pythons they are not lol. Mine was pretty defensive at first, luckily he was just a hatchling at the time so he didn't pose much of a threat. I feed mine in his cage, I would be more worried about getting but moving him from his cage to/from a feeding bin. One thing that I have found is that if I just go in and grab him he responds better than me being cautious with him.

He's starting to settle down. I've been doing simple things like changing his water every day, moving his hides/substrate back in place, and touching him with the hook. All to which he responds well to and appears to be more curious then anything else. Soon I'll have to take the plunge and get him out.

One thing I've noticed is he will rub the glass with his mouth open. I think he is scenting his cage but has anyone else noticed this behavior in young male Carpets before?

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m...nakes002-1.jpg

Mine hadn't ever done that, but mine is only about a year old so I can't say for sure. As long ad it doesn't look like RI you should be fine.

It's not something he does all the time but we've seen him do it on occasion. I don't believe it's an RI but that didn't even cross my mind. The only time I hear him wheeze is when he's trying to act tough. :snake:

The 'poofing/wheezing' is normal carpet behaviour. As far as the mouth rubbing thing, I've never seen that. I wouldn't be concerned unless he starts getting rub marks or you notice signs of an RI. Sometimes my carpets do some weird stuff:cool:

I noticed him soaking in his water bowl yesterday. Tonight when I came home from work he was in there again. After a good look guess what I found......:cens0r: mites.

That sucks, I hope you are able to get them under control, I'm sure it is a little more difficult to treat when you are dealing with an angsty coastal

Much to my surprise a local pet store I get feeders from caries PAM! I ordered some online last night but am picking another one up today regardless.

I know mite threads are a dime a dozen here. Could someone please post a link to one that has the most accurate methods in treating these buggers (thanks in advance).

And yes, I am sure he will LOVE the extra attention over the next few days and weeks. :D

I've never dealt with mites myself, but this is what I have gathered from this site

First remove everything from the enclosure and wash/sterilize it all.

use paper towels for substrate until the mites are gone. keep a minimalist set up until mites are gone. soak your snake daily with a drop of dawn dish soap this helps to get the mites off of your snake, spray down the enclosure and everything in it (NOT THE SNAKE) with PAM, follow the direction on the can to the letter, this stuff is extremely dangerous if not used properly.

Yeah! That's carpet pythons for ya, you piss them off you're in for a big surprise! Lol!

My little guy is 30" long right now and doesn't currently have a RHP, but I have an Animal Plastics T12 (4'x2'x2') reserved for him, and that cage has 2 RHP's in it and I ditched the flexwatt. The 2 RHP's are set up so that 1 controls the hot side and the other maintains the cool side.

Carpet Pythons are great, they are more active and exploitive than Ball Pythons. Some are nippy others are not. Mine is pretty chill most of the time but if you piss him off you are in trouble lol.[/QUOTE]