Max food size for carpets?

Late to the game here.

I am amazed at the meals my carpet python (Yafe) can easily take down. I've heard they prefer larger meals and even will refuse smaller ones and not recognize as prey. I have yet to see this with Yafe, but also offer food big enough to leave a bulge.

As mentioned, know your species. BP's aren't as stretchy, and the same with some colubrids (king snakes come to mind). Smaller meals are better. This is especially true with Boas like BI's and BC's - speaking from experience and research.

You asked about % of weight. I agree that you should eye it and that's more important, but I will feed 15-20% of my Carpet's body weight (usually closer to 15% as I feed regularly - every two weeks - and all year round). My boas average about 5-7% of their body weight and never more than about 10%. Different metabolisms, body type, etc. I should note, all my boas are growing still (at different rates). Once full grown, the CP will still get larger meals just more spaced out. The boas will still get smaller meals and also more spaced out.

Finally, and this is important, if you are feeding large meals to any snake (relative), make sure your temps and humidity (less important) are dialed in. You want ideal conditions for digestion. Give a gradient, and make sure it's warm enough for that species.

Depending on where your CP is from (I have researched IJ and Darwin because Yafe is a hybrid of the two), they can generally handle more heat than a BP, for example, and need it to digest. On top of Yafe's perch it is around 92-94F and the ground below is 90-92F. He moves around when digesting, but ultimately spends the 2nd-4th days after eating on the 85F +/- spot. However, he's eating medium rats now and he's about 1,100G. So only about 13-14% of body weight. Additionally, he absolutely will spend the first 24 hours on the warmer spots.

This is Yafe tonight taking down a medium rat like it's nothing. He is about 1,100G and the rat was probably about 120G. He's growing on this regiment and getting closer to full size/adult size and there is not need to push him to large rats. Having said that, I am sure he could take a 180G large rat. He was taking medium rats from the time he was 800G and without much fuss. He eats every two weeks as well. Some people push larger meals less frequently, but this is what I do.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/rIwRMgj.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/zMSGMjl.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/Byos0fQ.jpg

Thank you everyone for the advice. I think both going off just looking at her and weight the rats are too big for her right now, but I think after a couple mice meals she should be able to eat them just fine.

I fed her last night, she ate but she seems picky about the temperature, which makes sense because of the heat pits. She grabbed the mouse but I guess in the time it took her to coil and make sure it was dead it cooled off and she wouldn’t eat it. I reheated the mouse and she ate it after that. She was trying to bite me when I was grabbing the mouse back out, so I think she was plenty hungry but was looking for something warm.

How do you guys heat up food for your carpets? I use warm water once they’re thawed to heat them up, but they seem to cool off really quickly after that. None of my other snakes care. I think them being wet makes them cool off faster so I might try thawing hers in a ziplock to keep them dry.

I feed all of my snake the same. I put all the feeders in a small tub and add warm water to thaw them. When thawed I replace the water with hot water to heat them up. I then take the entire tub into my snake room and serve straight from the hot water.

I have one carpet that is hungry 100% of the time but won’t eat the prey unless she nails it directly on the nose of the prey item regardless of the prey temperature. They’re all individuals and don’t necessarily fit their care sheets as written. Best of luck learning the specifics of your animal.


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