What type of carpet is he?

Hi everyone, I recently brought home a little carpet python. His former keeper apparently purchased him from a chain pet store which had him labeled as simply "carpet python". I called the store and they said he is probably about 1.5 to 2 years old. Just curious if anyone can shed any light on what type he might be and how old he might be based on his size. He seems too small to be two years old, but I know they gain length before bulk and am by no means an expert on the subject. Any insight would be wonderful. Thanks!

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...psnawi3lhm.jpg


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Looks like a darwin carpet python (Morelia Spilota Variegat​a). They're more often seen in their Albino form.

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He's beautiful by the way!

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Originally Posted by Herpo

Looks like a darwin carpet python (Morelia Spilota Variegat​a). They're more often seen in their Albino form.

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He's beautiful by the way!

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possibly, but I think it's far more likely an Irian Jaya, m.s.harissoni, if the OP is in the U.S. (I don't know OP's location) Darwins are still somewhat uncommon in the U.S. and most have been out crossed to other m.s.ssp in an attempt to accelerate the albino project. I doubt they've hit the chain stores here yet.

I'm not too sure anymore. I looked up IJ's, and you may be right. But I still wouldn't rule out darwins entirely.

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Originally Posted by Herpo

I'm not too sure anymore. I looked up IJ's, and you may be right. But I still wouldn't rule out darwins entirely.

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agreed, the 2 ssp are very similar in basic appearance and can't be differentiated based on these photos. however, if OP is from the U.S., which I believe to be the case based on their membership in USARK, it is almost certainly IJ. harissoni has been well established in U.S. collections for over two decades. variegata was extremely rare for most of that time and is still somewhat uncommon, though available now. variegata caught the U.S. market's attention with the introduction of the albino. As with any new morph the price point was extreme when the the first few hit the market. Rather than buying pairs of variegata , most of those who got into the early stages of the albino project purchased a single animal and mated it to other ssp, primarily m.s.mcdowelli. unfortunately, an overwhelming percentage of albinos available here are not pure variegata. and of course, neither are the hets and PH. Pure variegata (albino,het or not) are available at a reasonable price point now, but most that have the albino gene are not pure. I'm going to make up a number now, if the OP is located in the U.S. I'd say there's a better than 99% chance this is harissoni based on the place of purchase. Reverse that made up odds if the OP is in Australia.

Irian Jaya

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My vote is for IJ as well although the yellow throws me off a little and the pattern on the head almost looks like a jungle. Unless the lighting is adding the yellow I would almost say it could be a IJ/carpet cross.

Without lineage information it's impossible to tell exactly what type of carpet you have. I would agree with the other members that it's most likely an IJ or IJ x Jungle cross. Either way it's a very nice carpet. Congrats on the new addition.

Thanks so much everyone. It's interesting that there is such a consensus on the species being an IJ, on the other forum I asked on everyone seems to think he's a coastal. I am on fact in the US and I do think that the lighting is what makes him look so yellow in those last two shots. The first photo is truest to his actual coloration. Can anyone clarify for me what indicators you are using to guess the variety? He is probably about 3.5 ft long and not quite 200 grams if I remember correctly. So that would be a normal size at two years old then?

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

Without lineage information it's impossible to tell exactly what type of carpet you have. I would agree with the other members that it's most likely an IJ or IJ x Jungle cross. Either way it's a very nice carpet. Congrats on the new addition.

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Spot on Zig,

There is so much variation even within the SAME clutch of many carpets that without information from the breeder you'll never be certain.

I certainly see what I think are IJ characteristics there, but here in the US so many things have been crossed and bred it's never a sure bet.

Here is an example. These are the parents of my snake.
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...202_155153.jpg

The breeder found/rescued the female (background) from the side of the road. She is 9.5-10 feet long now. The male is around 8 feet.

Mum on a clutch.
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...85463979_n.jpg

Pops out for a picture.
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...57327388_o.jpg

At purchase, all I wanted was a carpet python and the price was decent so I was not overly upset not knowing what the mix was. They were sold as coastal carpets.

This is what I have from that clutch. She is 6 feet long, maybe 6' 2" and pretty thin. She will be 3 years old this spring. I see very little resemblance so far but she is young still.
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/DSC01695.jpg


I occasionally ask others what they think.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/DSC01689.jpg
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/IMG_2649.jpg


I usually get a mixed bag of guesses.

Jungle, coastal x jungle, coastal x jungle x diamond (diamond based on 1 parent's appearance), coastal x jungle x Darwin, and yesterday jag sibling x was tossed in. I'll never breed her so I don't care.

My point??

Nobody knows.

My next point?

If you like your snake, and it is very pretty, don't get too wrapped up in the "What is it?" part.

ALL morelia are semi arboreal, most in the carpet/bredli group are fairly busy and not shy.

That said I THINK the others who've said IJ are on track as there are characteristics that the Ssp has that show up in your snake.

Enjoy.


Edit: OP, I agree that in photos they can come out more yellow. My girl looks more yellow than she is a lot of the time.

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Originally Posted by kiiarah

Thanks so much everyone. It's interesting that there is such a consensus on the species being an IJ, on the other forum I asked on everyone seems to think he's a coastal. I am on fact in the US and I do think that the lighting is what makes him look so yellow in those last two shots. The first photo is truest to his actual coloration. Can anyone clarify for me what indicators you are using to guess the variety? He is probably about 3.5 ft long and not quite 200 grams if I remember correctly. So that would be a normal size at two years old then?

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Beautiful Carpet!

One the features that made me lean to mostly or pure IJ is the lack of horizontal stripes going down the sides. The bands are complete to the abdomen, as well as color. Also your snake looks much like a pure IJ that a local breeder here just sold. It was his last one, as he just got out of the IJ market after many years of breeding.

IJ's are the smallest of the Carpets usually reaching 5-6 ft long. Of course there are always exceptions. The one that my local guy just sold was 5.5 feet and the breeder considered her a big girl.

As noted by Gio, a large percentage of Carpets are mixed here the US. If yours has Coastal mixed in, being the largest Carpets at 7-9 ft norm, it MAY get longer.

I am fortunate that I have 2 local breeders that are hard core purists, well actually one now. There are others, but not many. So if you don't know where the original owner got the snake there is just no telling for 100% as Ziggy said. But I agree with the consensus that it sure leans towards IJ or mostly.

As far as the size proportion to age, can't really tell. Even snakes from the same clutch can grow at different rates. However, IJ's are known to mature faster than others.


If you really want to know about Carpets, Me and many others highly suggest that you get this book. It's available on Amazon for $40-45 I believe. It's the Carpet owner's Bible so to speak, with tons of nice color photos, my favorite kind of book!

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...d05fc77a54.jpg

I will definitely check out that book, thanks for the recommendations. Glad to know I was on the right track as I felt reasonably confident that he was an IJ. I do want to clarify that I don't care one bit what type he is, at least in terms of having him. I love all carpets. My main curiosity was what size I can expect him to reach so I know what to plan for on the future. :) I think he is absolutely stunning and feel so lucky to finally have a Morelia of any kind. We just got so little information from his previous keeper, I am trying to gather as much information as I can about him. He seems to be thriving so far though. He didn't have the best care in the previous home, but since becoming part of our family he has had his first perfect shed and is eating well. Now to work on the switch from mice to rats.

Don't know about IJ's, but I switched 2, 2 year old Coastals and a one year old Jungle by skipping a feed. It's hard to skip I know, we all love to keep our snakes well fed. But all three of these guys did not hesitate to strike when offered their first F/T.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...68cf62a906.jpg

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Originally Posted by Herpo

I'm not too sure anymore. I looked up IJ's, and you may be right. But I still wouldn't rule out darwins entirely.

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Since it's in the US, I'd say probably not a darwins carpet. My first guess was also IJ but as others have said you'll never really know.

Is it pretty much accepted now that Jungle carpets and Coastal carpets are the same subspecies only with different regional variations? I keep hearing it both ways...

I've got three that were sold to me as Coastal Carpet pythons. They're nice snakes

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Originally Posted by MarkS

Since it's in the US, I'd say probably not a darwins carpet. My first guess was also IJ but as others have said you'll never really know.

Is it pretty much accepted now that Jungle carpets and Coastal carpets are the same subspecies only with different regional variations? I keep hearing it both ways...

I've got three that were sold to me as Coastal Carpet pythons. They're nice snakes

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As far as I know they are still classified as distinct subspecies, for whatever that's worth. The re-classification of species/sub-species is a never ending affair. I do seem to recall that most of the taxonomic differences regarding scale counts that gave credence to separate ssp. were not really differences at all. the JCP normally has a narrower range, but it's range being a subset of the coastal's range. I am not a biologist nor have I ever played one on TV. I'm recalling some things from my foggy past.