First Time Morelia Owner, and I have some ?s

I received a 10 year old male jungle carpet python from a friend of a friend that is going through a divorce. He was getting kicked out of his house and the snake was going to be left behind. I have been keeping blood/ short-tail pythons for awhile but this is my first carpet. The snake is about 5' long and seems real healthy. I have him temporarily set up in a Vision 332 which is 36x24x18. I also have an empty T-8 I could use, which would have less vertical height, but more length. I ordered an AP A-20 which is 48x36x24, and a Vision 433(48x28x28). He was free, so I have splurged to make sure he has a good permanent home. Would these be too big for him? Do they like lots of space? Also, in his current setup, he sits on his elevated basking spot under the RHP most of the time. His body temp is around 88-91 degrees in his basking spot, measured with a temp gun. Do they sit in the hotspot all the time? His cage floor is heated by UTHs and the floor is around 80 degrees. He has a thermostat controlling a ground level hide box that heats to around 90 degrees. Does that seem OK? Heat ate for me right away the first night with no hesitation so I assume he is reasonably comfortable. Do they even use hide boxes? Do they like to soak? I could replace his hide box with a larger water dish if they like that better. Thanks. Also, how do you post pics over here?

I am not a Morelia owner so I can't really help you there. I would suggest looking at some other peoples set ups on here like Gio, dakski, and El-Ziggy. I know all of them own carpets and are on here often and there are a lot of other Morelia owners on here.

As for the pictures here you go: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-Post-Pictures

Thanks, I followed the instructions for posting pics, photos from my phone are too big, files from my computer are the wrong format. Oh well, thanks anyway.

You could download the app tap talk. A lot of people on here use it

Yeah I saw that, I guess the pics aren't that important, just need some insight on this guy. Thanks anyway for the suggestions.

I would just keep him in the Vision 332 and provide stuff to climb on for now. I have a male carpet python in a taller enclosure and he likes to perch on his driftwood "jungle gym" under the DHP. They really do like vertical space and mine at least doesn't seem at all stressed being in an oversized enclosure if you want to upgrade yours in the future.

I think it all depends upon the snake.

I have 2 adult Jungle Carpets. One is in an AP25 (48x24x48) with shelves, cross poles, and a Skyhide. She spends most of her time up off the ground. And also outgrew and broke her Skyhide when she got too big.

My other one is In a T12 (48x24x24) with cross poles and a Skyhide. He spends almost all of the time on the ground and never gets in the Skyhide and rarely utilizes the poles.

Same species but they live opposite lives.

Also, they rarely utilize the heat, either the RHPs or heat mats. I will say that the snake room stays at 78-81 depending upon the time of year.


I also have three adult Coastal Carpets and they utilize all the height they can get and they all utilize their Skyhides.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...165597ac3b.jpg
^^^ Esmarelda, JCP in her A25. She got way too big for the branches, so I replaced them with cross poles.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0c2fd87f7a.jpg

vvv Mack and Lizzy CCP loving their Skyhides

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a530003f2b.jpg

vvv Etta, CCP

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...06af5d1715.jpg

Those are cool setups. I like the upside down VE hides. Does anyone use UVB for daytime lighting?

The sky is the limit.
I am one of those that likes the art of the setup as much as I enjoy the animals. We started here with a royal python, and I quickly gravitated to the medium to larger species of snakes that are semi arboreal and somewhat active.

A jungle carpet python is definitely one of the better display animals so you may want to do something pleasing. Your snake won't care about your efforts as long as you provide the basics.

If you are able to find a copy of THE COMPLETE CARPET PYTHON by Nick Mutton and Justin Julander, you'll have a greater understanding of your new animal.

I highly recommend climbing options, and I like the cages you are considering.

This is how I set my animals up.

https://i.imgur.com/e1ukMN7.jpg?1

These 3 cages are all 4 feet wide. The top is the royal python. She has 14" of height and 2 feet of depth.

The middle is for a coastal carpet. She has the same cage specs except she gets 2 feet of ceiling space.

The bottom is the boa constrictor. He gets 30" of depth and 20" of height. I wish I'd gone for 2 feet of ceiling space.
https://i.imgur.com/OpsVUbr.jpg

This cage is 6 feet wide, 30 inches deep and 2 feet tall. It used to house a Dwarf X SD X mainland retic. He was very ill tempered and sadly, I had to place him as he and I were not the perfect fit.

I filled the cage with a male, Bredli python.
https://i.imgur.com/KkQUubF.jpg

Every animal, including the royal will use the perches.

The carpets and boa use them frequently.

The Bredli seems to the most arboreal of my crew.
https://i.imgur.com/cxtCZJr.jpg


Unfortunately Constrictors Northwest no longer makes Pro-Line Cages.
https://i.imgur.com/J4pdgbw.jpg

Animal Plastics is an excellent choice.
My fake rock backgrounds are from Universal Rocks.
https://www.universalrocks.com

I'd skip any shelf option if you are considering a realistic, rock background.

I use a combination of real tree branches and dowels wrapped with fake vines, or in this case a huge fence post wrapped in twine.
https://i.imgur.com/5YbiIYx.jpg

Hope some of these ideas help you out.

Those look awesome! The Vision Cage I ordered was originally intended for my ball python when he grows up. Unfortunately, he is afraid of his own shadow and won't eat outside of his ARS70 rack tub. This Carpet fell in my lap so now plans are changing. I really like this guy. He seems to react to movement way more than my other snakes, and he has a hell of a food response. He is a good looking dude too.

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Originally Posted by PeteV

Those look ...............Unfortunately, he is afraid of his own shadow and won't eat outside of his ARS70 rack tub. This ...............

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That is fine. You don’t want to move your snake(s) out of their living quarters to feed. Forget what those Petco pamphlets say about feeding and what Uncle Jimmy told you what he did in the 70s.

Welcome to the Morelia club! They can be really rewarding animals, and yes, great eaters!

Yafe, my Albino Darwin/IJ hybrid Carpet, mixes his time between his two perches and his hides. He likes to hunt from the perches and scope things out at night, but during the day, it's 50/50.

He does move around quite a bit and unless digesting, likes to use different temperature zones. He will likely not get over 5 - 5 1/2 feet and his 4X2' of floor space is great for him. He enjoys having perches at different heights, temperatures, and front to back. Sometimes he's across both, sometimes, he's in a corner, and occasionally he's in the middle of one.

He's never soaked, but I keep humidity spot on for him as he got lost by fed ex and came with a full blown RI. He's been all better for a while now, but I want to be safe. Not sure if other types of carpets soak more, or only if humidity is off.

Your temps seem fine on the hot spot, and cool side can be 77-80F. I keep mine about 79-80F.

What else?

They can handle big meals. Yafe is about 4 1/2 feet now and 530G or so. He eats small rats (60-70G) every other week (2X a month). If your guy is 10 years old, he can probably easily eat every 2-3 weeks.

I've heard, especially as adults, they can go off feed at times, but Yafe has not. Also, when they eat, as you've learned, they are aggressive strikers and eat anything willingly.

Anything else, just ask.

Congratulations on your new carpet! They're awesome snakes! It sounds like your temps are good and kudos on the first successful feeding. I agree that the RHP should be sufficient without the UTH. As far as enclosure sizes go I like a good combination of floor and vertical space. The 36x24x18 is a good fit for now and either of the 4 footers will work later. A 4x2x2 is a really good size for most adult carpets imo but bigger is very cool too. Only one of my carpets is active inside his enclosure. Most of them are usually perched on a branch or shelf and all but one will use their hides. I started out with colubrids, that I later rehomed, so I still have some of mine in T8s and T10s with shelves in them. Those are adequate but I plan on upgrading them after I get caught up on my 8ft enclosures for my Olive and Scrub pythons. Best wishes with the new addition. Share pics when you can!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Reinz

That is fine. You don’t want to move your snake(s) out of their living quarters to feed. Forget what those Petco pamphlets say about feeding and what Uncle Jimmy told you what he did in the 70s.

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I would never move an animal to feed, I don't buy animals from Petco and I don't have an uncle jimmy. I meant that I can't upgrade him from his quarantine rack to a bigger cage without causing him to go off feed. So the cage that was ordered for him is now probably going to Wally the Carpet. I have never had anyone in my entire life (42yrs old) recommend to me to feed outside of the enclosure. I'm sure it must happen because i read about it all the time, and someone mentions it in every thread . Snakes in captivity still think they are wild even though they aren't. You want them to think their home is a good place to find food.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PeteV

I would never move an animal to feed, I don't buy animals from Petco and I don't have an uncle jimmy. I meant that I can't upgrade him from his quarantine rack to a bigger cage without causing him to go off feed. So the cage that was ordered for him is now probably going to Wally the Carpet. I have never had anyone in my entire life (42yrs old) recommend to me to feed outside of the enclosure. I'm sure it must happen because i read about it all the time, and someone mentions it in every thread . Snakes in captivity still think they are wild even though they aren't. You want them to think their home is a good place to find food.

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Apologies, my misunderstanding!

We get sooo many folks coming here asking about feeding separately from their enclosures.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

Congratulations on your new carpet! They're awesome snakes! It sounds like your temps are good and kudos on the first successful feeding. I agree that the RHP should be sufficient without the UTH. As far as enclosure sizes go I like a good combination of floor and vertical space. The 36x24x18 is a good fit for now and either of the 4 footers will work later. A 4x2x2 is a really good size for most adult carpets imo but bigger is very cool too. Only one of my carpets is active inside his enclosure. Most of them are usually perched on a branch or shelf and all but one will use their hides. I started out with colubrids, that I later rehomed, so I still have some of mine in T8s and T10s with shelves in them. Those are adequate but I plan on upgrading them after I get caught up on my 8ft enclosures for my Olive and Scrub pythons. Best wishes with the new addition. Share pics when you can!

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Thanks for the info. I looked at your "crew" thread and you have a really beautiful and diverse collection!

Post up some pics, OP! Morelia mafia goes pretty strong these days, join in on the fun


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I tried, they are either the wrong format, size, etc. I ran out of patience and gave up LOL!:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PeteV

I tried, they are either the wrong format, size, etc. I ran out of patience and gave up LOL!:)

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Just use the tapatalk app. Super easy, works just about like attaching a pic in a text message
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tapata...ms/id307880732


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