Thinking about a carpet Python

So convince me! Lol

They're gorgeous, good display snakes, and can be calm.
I'm leaning more toward a jungle jag, but I have no experience with them so I'm not sure if locality has a certain temperament/care requirement.

Can I see your setups/experience with them?
Any help would be appreciated :D

I love my girl very active when out and a doll. Puppydog tame. She loves her chin rubed. Be prepared for a larger tank and feeding small rabbits in the future or multiple xxl rats http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...fd61d88f2f.jpg only pic I have of my girl at t is moment. (Out of town)she is about 9foot and 18 pounds she is a pure coastal carpet. She eats 1to 2lb rabits every 14 to 20 days and she is 7 years old. Next best thing to me is my super dwarf retic. You wont be disappointed with a carpet thats for sure.

Carpets are great depending on the size/locality you will need a different enclosure in the case of a jungle Jag a 4x2 cage is all you will need , like many snakse while they can eat large preys it does not mean it is necessary to achieve and sustain a significant growth, with a Jungle Jag you will not need anything larger than a medium to large rat.

This will cover most of what you need to know

http://acreptiles.com/main/index.php...=81&Itemid=140

As for Jag keep in mind that they can be prone to neuro issues which translate as a behavior similar to wobbling in spiders so make sure to ask the right questions, it also seems like this can be brought on when using certain chemicals such as mites product which is why natural chemistry is recommended to treat new quarantined animals.

Anyway hard to resist those :gj:

http://i954.photobucket.com/albums/a...4IJ_Clutch.jpg

Ive been thinking about a carpet as my next snake, my friend has a jungle carpet and that snake is amazing looking.... but since i joined here ive also been thinking about a boa

Yeah not sure if I want anything as big as a coastal.
Which locality do you guys prefer? Something good looking but nothing huge please lol

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Originally Posted by Trackstrong83

Yeah not sure if I want anything as big as a coastal.
Which locality do you guys prefer? Something good looking but nothing huge please lol

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Pure IJ or Jungle

IJ Jag or Jungle Jag

All are very nice and smaller

I'm going Jungle next!

I have 3 2014 carpet pythons. One jungle that I've had since August, she hasn't bit me (yet) but definitely is willing to bite/strike and gets defensive very easily, but if you catch her when she isn't super alert she is okay to handle.

My two new additions have only been with me for a week, one is a female Jungle Jag, the other a Male IJ. The male IJ does not give a rat's booty about what goes on and is very calm and relaxed. My amazing trophy quality jungle jag on the other hand....... mean as doo doo. Calms down slightly after being out for a while, with slightly being the key word.

I will say, these animals of mine have had little to no handling in the 9-10 months they have been alive. My life has been crazy the last 3-6 months, but now that things are finally calming down I will be able to start handling them all regularly!

I've seen hatchling carpets go from absoultely little bitey noodles to calm juviniles with a few months of a solid handling schedule and regular feeding schedule!

In my opinion, it just doesn't get much better than a nice looking carpet. :D:D:D:D

Same here, Jungle or IJ.

Excellent choice!

Possibly one of the best display snakes you'll ever own.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_2314.jpg

This is my "coastal". She is a mix of something. Possibly diamond, jungle or IJ.

All speculation but those possibilities were given to me in an e-mail from Nick Mutton.

Speaking of Nick Mutton. Go buy THE COMPLETE CARPET PYTHON

It is IMO the best info source on these snakes out there.

IF you are thinking "locality" choose a breeder that is very specialized because most US stock is some type of cross/intergrade.

The care requirements of ALL but diamonds are very similar.

They are, with some exception fairly lean animals. Mine is pushing 6 feet and fits in my hand. She is pretty thin.

Also note that size sexual dimorphism favors the males, (males larger) in the species that combat during mating.

The parents of my snake are both large, the mother is pushing 10 and the father 8 feet. Captivity may change the S/S dimorphism, but I believe in general the males tend to be larger, again in the species that combat.

The bites from juvey snakes are comical, and nothing to fear.

Unless you are going coastal, and more specifically coastal from the southern part of their range, it's doubtful you will feed rabbits like FrostysBP, but I personally hope to be doing the same.

Inland Reptile is a great place to look, as is Constrictors NW. Ed Lilley breeds them and makes a damn good cage. Pro-Line.

I'll be buying a 48" x 24" x 24" tall as this girl is growing up.

I say give your carpet some ceiling space because they WILL climb and dazzle you. Unlike some snakes, the carpets, in my experience, will be seen doing something on most nights.

ALL carpets are semi arboreal, and even the largest coastals are often several feet up in the canopy, again, make the cage different from the typical terrestrial setup if you can.

To give you some perspective, my BC (male) is going to be 3 years old late June and is pushing 6 feet and getting thick. My coastal is 2 years old mid June and is pushing 6 feet and about garden hose thickness.


She eats the same sized large rats as the BC.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_2302.jpg

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_2312.jpg

Coastal carpet pythons show an incredible amount of variability in coloring so you can see whites, yellows, reds, and grey/browns. I'm guessing mine will "dirty up" with age.

These are the parents.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...202_155153.jpg

Grab that book and read it. IMO its the best book in the "COMPLETE" series.


And yeah, if you have a Dumerils boa, this will be a really neat twist.

Hope this helped.

Died on the vine? Where'd you go?

You need a carpet!

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/DSC01556.jpg

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/DSC01562.jpg

I just got mine a few months back (he is a May 2014 baby). Mine is an IJ Jungle jag (mother75% ij jag and his father was a 25% diamond zebra). I purchased him from a seller at the Atlanta show selling for his friend who produced my carpet (Emerald Coast Exotics in FL).

So far... A lot more nippy handling wise.. Very defensive and food aggressive (i.e. went after my finger while out because it was the same size as a hopper and emitting heat). Let's just say that I'm VERY glad that I have a small hook to use with mine. He is improving with a handling routine (he now knows what to expect when I touch him with the hook ,etc. and hasn't tried to bite for the last several sessions). But they do take more work than a BP to get them to calm down. Mine would strike like crazy and musk on me when I first tried to handle him.. he did this maybe the first 5 - 6 sessions.

Once out, mine is very active... Much more so than a BP or even my boas. I have to be careful when handling, as mine has fallen off the hook a few times (I guess it takes a while for them to learn to properly grip, etc.). Mine has not showed any noticeable neuro signs yet, so hopefully he won't suffer from that.

I would definitely recommend the seller I got mine from (although I didn't buy directly from him). He answered my questions about clutch date, feeding schedule, and parentage within about a day of me messaging him on FB. None of his animals had mites and were all very vigorous at the show.

If you're thinking about it, I'd definitely go for it. They are beautiful animals and very different to work with. That said, I'd say a hook is a must, at least while taming them. Also, really, really shop around. It took 3 shows for me to find this guy and I've seen a lot of sub-par carpets being sold by resellers too. I would highly suggest buying directly from the breeder and asking for photos of the parents ,etc.

Sorry guys I've been busy!!

But I've done a ton of research, I have a buddy of mine who is partners with a guy who breeds carpets, I will talk to him.

I'm very excited about these guys :D
I took care of one at work before and got plenty of love bites, but I fell in love with the guy.

Carpets are just all around fun snakes and beautiful too. Doubt you'll be disappointed if you end up owning one, or a few.

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Originally Posted by John1982

Carpets are just all around fun snakes and beautiful too. Doubt you'll be disappointed if you end up owning one, or a few.

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My mind is set on just one right now but who knows that's what I said about my other snakes now I'm expecting eggs I'm a few days :D

So how many perches do you guys recommend for a JCP?

With my little guy (he was small enough to fit into a "shoebox" tub when I got him) I drilled a hole in the tub and installed a wooden bird perch. I also gave him a branch that I could remove. Some of the best perches I've seen were pieces of pvc connected to form a lattice (think window pane seperators) that were laid in the tub so that you could pick up the perch with the snake on it.

Mine was very skittish at first and wouldn't release his perch when I had to remove him, so I prefer using the removable ones.

If you can make something out of pvc with multiple "branches" on it, I think that will be fine. I was able to just lean mine on top of his hide box to give it height, but if you are getting a larger jcp, this might not work for you.

Ah okay that sounds fun, I like building things so that'll be my next project :D

I highly recommend carpets. If you don't want anything to big, avoid coastals and their crosses as well as diamond crosses; otherwise you could be looking at a 9-10 footer in the future. Anything called jag or jag sib (sigh) has coastal in it. As others have stated jungle or IJ. Also possibly Darwin, but be careful because a large number of Darwins have been bred to coastal as part of albino projects.

Perches - They tend to like more of a shelf style, you can put two round perches right next to each other and they love that. Any store like Target, Walmart or Menards has these white, adjustable shower rods you can extend to the length you need, then it turns and locks into place, and they are super cheap! Depending on size, less than $5.00.

IJ's tend to be the most calm, Jungles tend to be the most nippy. Although, the difference isn't all that great and, of course, it depends on the individual snake. Just work with them very consistently, touching their body in multiple places with both hands and they will eventually get used to it and settle down.

I started with a JCP too, I was not addicted until I got my second one, a Jungle Jag, about a year later, then the flood gates opened! I now have four Carpets. Much like Ball pythons, Carpets have many different morphs, looks, colors, and patterns; they are just way more active than Balls.

Also, with Carpets, breeding lines are important. You'll want to know what lines the parents are from (Lazik, German, Headhunter, VPI, Psychotic Exotic, Nick Mutton and so on). Quality in JCP lines makes the animal, and sets the price; there is a big difference in a $150 JCP and a $500 JCP, it just depends on what you can afford and how much you care about the looks and colors.

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Originally Posted by Cowtipper

Perches - They tend to like more of a shelf style, you can put two round perches right next to each other and they love that. Any store like Target, Walmart or Menards has these white, adjustable shower rods you can extend to the length you need, then it turns and locks into place, and they are super cheap! Depending on size, less than $5.00.

IJ's tend to be the most calm, Jungles tend to be the most nippy. Although, the difference isn't all that great and, of course, it depends on the individual snake. Just work with them very consistently, touching their body in multiple places with both hands and they will eventually get used to it and settle down.

I started with a JCP too, I was not addicted until I got my second one, a Jungle Jag, about a year later, then the flood gates opened! I now have four Carpets. Much like Ball pythons, Carpets have many different morphs, looks, colors, and patterns; they are just way more active than Balls.

Also, with Carpets, breeding lines are important. You'll want to know what lines the parents are from (Lazik, German, Headhunter, VPI, Psychotic Exotic, Nick Mutton and so on). Quality in JCP lines makes the animal, and sets the price; there is a big difference in a $150 JCP and a $500 JCP, it just depends on what you can afford and how much you care about the looks and colors.

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I work at a small pet shop and took care of a juvenile jungle carpet for about 4 months. He was nippy but I loved the "challenge" and fell in love with him. We sold him before I made my mind up. His bites were funny, absolutely painless lol.

I have an albino BCI that my sister might buy from me for her class pet, so I'm going to use that money to buy a carpet :D