What is it like owning a carpet python?

I'm interested in owning a carpet python as my 4th snake. I have a BP, and 1 hognose and another hognose coming in hopefully in the next couple of days. I basically want to branch out and get ready for larger snakes. I probably wont get one till next year or so, but it doesn't hurt to start researching.

It's great, sure they can be nippy when they very young and you need to be consistent with them when it comes to handling but they are very intelligent snakes very inquisitive, and comes in various sizes and mutation as well.

Not prone to stress, they are like garbage disposal when it comes to food (very rarely have I ever had food turned down)

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Originally Posted by Deborah

It's great, sure they can be nippy when they very young and you need to be consistent with them when it comes to handling but they are very intelligent snakes very inquisitive, and comes in various sizes and mutation as well.

Not prone to stress, they are like garbage disposal when it comes to food (very rarely have I ever had food turned down)

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How big do they get? Do you have a picture of an adult male? What would be a good cage size for a male? I've seen enormous display enclosures and thought that's what they needed.

I like them a lot over BPs, as I find balls boring other then the cool morphs, but they still hide all day and most tend to just sit there when handled. Carpets aren't shy, in fact seem inquisitive at times, they like to climb and make great display snakes. Provide some climbs and when they aren't digesting in their hide(s), you'll find them "hanging" out. They do get some length as adults depending on what type of morelia they are, but their girth/weight make them easily managed. As mentioned they can be garbage disposals, so be aware not to over feed, and can be nippy as a juvenile, but tend to settle. Also be aware of nuero in jags. My female has it, though she is still doing good feed wise and when handling, and my baby so far is not showing signs, but all jags have it at some level. Our first snake was a Jungle and we are on our 3rd now. The trend in carpets is documented lineage versus the "next greatest morph" in the BP world, so take your time picking one out from a respected breeder that will provide that information vice just getting a mutt from an unknown heritage.

As far as an enclosure, I don't have to worry about humidity except winter (va here), and they do well in tubs as hatchling to juveniles, but eventually you'll be looking for a 4x2x2 size for that adult snake.

ETA: Another cool thing is their coloring tends to come out better and better as they shed and grow, so seeing the changes is pretty cool!


couple pics of course

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4c9c673399.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...620cb9a572.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...dd428f4e63.jpg

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Originally Posted by Jollyrogers

I like them a lot over BPs, as I find balls boring other then the cool morphs, but they still hide all day and most tend to just sit there when handled. Carpets aren't shy, in fact seem inquisitive at times, they like to climb and make great display snakes. Provide some climbs and when they aren't digesting in their hide(s), you'll find them "hanging" out. They do get some length as adults depending on what type of morelia they are, but their girth/weight make them easily managed. As mentioned they can be garbage disposals, so be aware not to over feed, and can be nippy as a juvenile, but tend to settle. Also be aware of nuero in jags. My female has it, though she is still doing good feed wise and when handling, and my baby so far is not showing signs, but all jags have it at some level. Our first snake was a Jungle and we are on our 3rd now. The trend in carpets is documented lineage versus the "next greatest morph" in the BP world, so take your time picking one out from a respected breeder that will provide that information vice just getting a mutt from an unknown heritage.

As far as an enclosure, I don't have to worry about humidity except winter (va here), and they do well in tubs as hatchling to juveniles, but eventually you'll be looking for a 4x2x2 size for that adult snake.

ETA: Another cool thing is their coloring tends to come out better and better as they shed and grow, so seeing the changes is pretty cool!


couple pics of course

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...4c9c673399.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...620cb9a572.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...dd428f4e63.jpg

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Your carpets are so gorgeous. Thanks for the awesome photo and info. I saw you mentioned size depended of morelia? Can you give me some insight on that? Sorry if I'm asking a bunch of questions lol

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Your carpets are so gorgeous. Thanks for the awesome photo and info. I saw you mentioned size depended of morelia? Can you give me some insight on that? Sorry if I'm asking a bunch of questions lol

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Size will depend on locality if pure or designer combo if intergrade you are looking at 5 to up to 12/13 feet , smallest being IJ largest being Coastal.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Size will depend on locality if pure or designer combo if intergrade you are looking at 5 to up to 12/13 feet , smallest being IJ largest being Coastal.

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I think I'll end getting an IJ then. Thank for the info guys!

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Originally Posted by danielwilu2525

I think I'll end getting an IJ then. Thank for the info guys!

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If you are looking into 5 or 7 feet long animal you can also look into Jungle, Darwin, Bredli

And remember even a big coastal is still very handlelable and 13 feet specimen are really large and rare.

Jungles(cheynei) stay pretty small too if you want some more options, with animals typically maxing out right around 6(+/- 1) feet.

Here are a few pictures of my 21 year old jungle(VPI stock) I took about a week ago. He's under 7 feet long.
http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...pskepfoiio.jpg

http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...psklhx495d.jpg

http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...psahpyqxvw.jpg


Examples of younger animals, sired by the above male. These were 1 year old at the taking.
http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...pscx24bmi7.jpg

http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...psnb0x0v70.jpg


A jungle(cheynei) morph, zebra, produced by Steven Katz from Mutton bloodlines:
http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...ps7qxhaqh0.jpg


Another jungle, a Palmerston locality(striped one) produced by Nick Mutton, pictured with a couple coastals also produced by Nick.
http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...pshhdroapi.jpg


Typical hatchling jungle after it's first meal. Their yellows take up to a couple years to develop.
http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/z...ps0jc8rwr2.jpg

Very beautiful!! I love your carpets. I think I'm going to get a diamond jaguar jungle, suits my taste and is STUNNING.

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What size of prey does your 21 year old male eat? I'm wondering what they would take as adults.

Does anyone know a good breeder that breeds diamond jaguars?

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Originally Posted by danielwilu2525

What size of prey does your 21 year old male eat? I'm wondering what they would take as adults.

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He usually gets a small rat every couple weeks. If I feed larger, I wait longer before offering again. He got a medium rat a couple days ago so probably won't feed again for a month.

Great post OP - I've been wondering about carpets as well and always thought they were nippy throughout their lifespan - sounds like they'll settle out eventually with age and handling. With the minimal amount of reading I've done I had NO idea they could get to be that much over 8' as well, wow - thanks for the heads up Deb. Since I have no plans of breeding, owning a few different specimens just seemed the next logical. lol

Thanks again for asking - I'll be watching this and your posts regarding carpets.

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Originally Posted by danielwilu2525

Very beautiful!! I love your carpets. I think I'm going to get a diamond jaguar jungle, suits my taste and is STUNNING.

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My little dude is a DJJ that I got last month from Martin Rosemond. Can't wait to see his coloring come in. He took his first F/T fuzzy (for me) last night. He took some time to settle before he would eat, and I used a live to kick start him, so got two feeds and a shed since coming home!

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...05a100f27c.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e75ef27474.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...8-Carpets-Rule!

See above thread for pictures of my coastal cross.

You will probably not see even the largest of coastal carpets, which are males in the wild, get beyond 10 feet in captivity. It is very rare. Most average 6-9 feet and have a slender build compared to pythons and boas of the same length.

Male carpets that are from species that engage in pre-mating combat are typically larger than the females in the wild. In captivity things even out.

Sexual size dimorphism plays a role more so in the wild as the males fight to breed in some species.

What's it like owning one? They are fantastic.

Active and arboreal. Probably one of the best display snakes out there.

I feel they are rather social as well.

Mine girl is a terrible eater but is still 7+ feet.

Don't fear size. Get what you fancy!

Carpets are great snakes to keep for all of the reasons previously mentioned. The husbandry is pretty simple, most are very reliable feeders, they make awesome display snakes, and the size, color, and morph diversity are amazing. I have (4) different sub species of Morelia and I love them all! Every keeper needs at least one carpet imo. ;)

Carpet pythons sound great as a 4th snake then. I was wanting something bigger for a while lol. Thank you everyone! Expect a "welcome home" thread in a couple months or so :)

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Originally Posted by Gio

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...8-Carpets-Rule!

See above thread for pictures of my coastal cross.

You will probably not see even the largest of coastal carpets, which are males in the wild, get beyond 10 feet in captivity. It is very rare. Most average 6-9 feet and have a slender build compared to pythons and boas of the same length.

Male carpets that are from species that engage in pre-mating combat are typically larger than the females in the wild. In captivity things even out.

Sexual size dimorphism plays a role more so in the wild as the males fight to breed in some species.

What's it like owning one? They are fantastic.

Active and arboreal. Probably one of the best display snakes out there.

I feel they are rather social as well.

Mine girl is a terrible eater but is still 7+ feet.

Don't fear size. Get what you fancy!

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Gio, she is absolutely beautiful. I love her colors!! You're lucky to have her. Thanks for the interesting info as well :)

Hope you end up getting a carpet? They are amazing! They get a bad wrap they don't deserve. People say they are mean as hatchlings? Not everything is pampered by its parents for 18 or more years like us humans. These things are left to fend for themselves from 2 hours old and it's programmed in there DNA to think anything bigger than it will eat it? Why? Cause that's how nature works. With that said some animals like ball pythons as an example go in a ball and say ok predator eat me well a baby carpet says I'm going down swinging. In some cases a few strikes will stop a few animals from messing with them. In shore they are scared! They think they are gonna die everytime you handle them. It's just a matter of then learning to trust you. On average 8 out of 10 carpets will become docile snakes. Taming takes between a few weeks to 2 years in rare cases. If your consistent and handle proper you will have no issues. In every clutch of every species there will be some mellow out the egg maybe one that will never tame and everything in between. If you want a mellow one tell the breeder you want the calmest one. In any case you will end up with one of the smartest, fun, incredible pet! Hope you got one?

Also isn't it funny, and I don't mean anyone here cause I would think only animal lovers join. Isn't it ironic how we all always wonder if something is mean? There hasn't been and never will be anything more mean, cruel, ruthless, unforgiving, vial, heartless then our own species ( humans ) is there anything we haven't killed, slaughtered, abused, tortured, raped, including ourselves then us. I read he other day since 1970 until today half of all animals have been killed off the planet by us, crazy

I like my carpet a lot (IJ/Jungle Jag) but know 2 things: 1. They are defensive / bitey as babies...Mine grew out of this with hook training / handling. 2. They are VERY active...when handling, it is constant motion and don't take your eyes off them... At least that has been my experience.

My guy is a little dodgy sometimes too (flinchy) but I think some of that has to do with the possible jag neuro issues... Oh, btw, forgot to mention that. The jags can have neuro, like wobbling in spider BPs. My boy isn't bad, but ocassionally tilts his head or over flinches when a motion scares him, etc.

They aren't nippy they are defensive cause they are wild animals, captive bred does not mean domesticated. It's in there DNA to think a monster like a human is going to eat them. Where some species just say oh well eat me carpets go down swinging. So it's just about building trust which most of the time with proper handling sessions go always quickly some take a little longer. They are very intelligent, curious snakes that make great pets. The kind of pet snake when adults you watch Monday night football with for a little while. You run into issues with yours let me know I will do my best to help.

artgecko nice boa by the way!

used to have two jungles.. makes me miss them lol great looking snakes :eyepoppin