Carpet handling

[dkatz4]

Hey Morelia folks! Quick question for y'all. I'm contemplating my next snake and am really considering all types of constrictors. I was chatting in a FB group with a guy about carpets and he told me that one key in not getting tagged is not to over-handle them, that more people get bitten b/c they treat them like BP's, and he recommended only handling 3 times a week and for no longer than 20 to 30 minutes. Is this accurate? I have no reason to think the guy was lying to me or anything like that, just looking for a variety of opinions. Personally, i really enjoy handling a lot, thats one of the things i love about my boa; if this hands-off husbandry really is the best practice then a carpet might not be the right snake for me.

[CALM Pythons]

Ive never owned a Carpet but some freinds have and its been work in progress. Im a Burm & Ball guy but his reference to handling a Ball was dead wrong so I hope a few Carpet Hobbyists chime in with info for you. 3 times a week is OK for most Burms but they are really interactive Snakes, Balls Stress out quickly.

[dkatz4]

Ive never owned a Carpet but some freinds have and its been work in progress. Im a Burm & Ball guy but his reference to handling a Ball was dead wrong so I hope a few Carpet Hobbyists chime in with info for you. 3 times a week is OK for most Burms but they are really interactive Snakes, Balls Stress out quickly.

Interesting you should mention burms, as they are also on my list, although frankly they are a long shot for me in terms of the resources needed for such a big animal, but i am really enamored with them. Of course i've heard of their great docile nature, but what about handling - how much? how often? I take my boa out most nights, not every night of course, but easily 4 to 5 times a week for an hour or 2 - watching a movie, working on the computer with him around my shoulders. Now i realize that physically interactions will be different once they get to size, but does this kind of frequency sound unhealthy for a burm?

[Sauzo]

My Jungle Carpet was a terror when I got her. She bit at anything that came within like 3' of her. I got her tamed down kind of where it was a 50/50 chance I got bit. Took like 4 months and I would handle her about 2-3 times a week. She never really got calm like a boa or bp. From what I was told about Jungles is that they are almost always fairly high strung. I was told if you want a mellow carpet, get either a Bredli or Inland. I was told both of those are pretty laid back and pretty much all babies are a bit jumpy.

With that said, there will be exceptions. My advice is ask the breeder what the temperament is when you buy it. And like you, I like handling my snakes so that's why I'm a boa and retic guy. All 4 of my boas are really laid back even as babies and Caesar the retic is a lounger as well. If he doesn't want to be held, he just tries to climboff my arms, down my leg and to the floor lol. He isn't jumpy or anything.

I'm sure i'll get reamed for it but imo I see carpets kind of like GTPs, more of a display animal than a daily handle animal. Of course there are exceptions to the rule as I've seen guys with GTPs that were as laid back if not more than any of my boas.

I too wanted a lot of different species but I'm being drawn back to boas lol. The only species that really grabs me are retics specifically SD/D crosses as I don't want something over 10'. That's why I'm going to get me the Peruvian BCC and probably a sharp snow female BCI for Rango. That will probably be it for me for a long time. One day I would like to get another carpet but would probably go for a Bredli or Inland.

[Reinz]

I have 4 Carpets ranging from 2014 - 2010. I find that statement about over handling preposterous.

Sounds to me like that person may have handled their Carpet(s) so often that they may have been in the blue at times. My Jungle girl can be hard to tell when she is in shed at times unless you are looking for it. Even then I've handled her the day before shed not knowing.

I think I could handle all my Carpets in shed and they wouldn't bite. I'm sure one day I'll do something stupid or neglectful and get bit, but not so far.


Lizzy

[Reinz]

My Jungle Carpet was a terror when I got her. She bit at anything that came within like 3' of her. I got her tamed down kind of where it was a 50/50 chance I got bit. Took like 4 months and ......................


I'm sure i'll get reamed for it but imo I see carpets kind of like GTPs, more of a display animal than a daily handle animal. Of course there are exceptions to the rule as I've seen guys with GTPs that were as laid back if not more than any of my boas.

.............................

Realy? Really Sauzo?

I've always respected your posts and felt almost all noteworthy, except some of your Carpet posts, especially THIS one. You have 4 months experience with a Carpet and you make a blanket statement like this? Wow! That's not you brother, you know better.

I probably have as much or more experience with Retics than the the time you have had yours. I used to hang out with a Breeder and ALOT of his were terrors. Have you ever heard me say a negative thing about Retics? You have encouraged some folks to get a Retic on some threads. I think that is great. You point out a lot of positive things. Have I ever piped in with negative views? No, because I realize that my experience is very limited and a very small snapshot of those Retic's personalities.

I'm truly sorry your Jungle didn't work out for you and you didn't stick it out. I really believe Alli's personality would have mellowed. But if it wasn't a good match I understand that. I hold nothing against you for getting rid of her. Maybe you feel you've earned the right to make such statements with the blood and sweat you put into Alli, but I don't.

I'll stop here, because there is nothing personal going on here, I feel that you are a friend with a great sum of snake knowledge and experience. I just can't let this one go. I guess because I have always had a high opinion of your posts you just let me down this time and I am disappointed.

[Sauzo]

Realy? Really Sauzo?

I've always respected your posts and felt almost all noteworthy, except some of your Carpet posts, especially THIS one. You have 4 months experience with a Carpet and you make a blanket statement like this? Wow! That's not you brother, you know better.

I probably have as much or more experience with Retics than the the time you have had yours. I used to hang out with a Breeder and ALOT of his were terrors. Have you ever heard me say a negative thing about Retics? You have encouraged some folks to get a Retic on some threads. I think that is great. You point out a lot of positive things. Have I ever piped in with negative views? No, because I realize that my experience is very limited and a very small snapshot of those Retic's personalities.

I'm truly sorry your Jungle didn't work out for you and you didn't stick it out. I really believe Alli's personality would have mellowed. But if it wasn't a good match I understand that. I hold nothing against you for getting rid of her. Maybe you feel you've earned the right to make such statements with the blood and sweat you put into Alli, but I don't.

I'll stop here, because there is nothing personal going on here, I feel that you are a friend with a great sum of snake knowledge and experience. I just can't let this one go. I guess because I have always had a high opinion of your posts you just let me down this time and I am disappointed.

I'm not trying to be negative. I'm giving my experience from the one I had as well as what I've been told by people I talked to about carpets. I told him, if I was to get a carpet, it would be a Bredli or Inland as I was told those are going to be your best luck at getting a snake that is going to tolerate a fair amount of handling. I was told that Jungles are probably the most nippy out of all the carpets.

That's why I also told him to find out the temperament of the carpet he wants as we all know not all snakes are the same personality even if the species is said to be calm or otherwise.

And if you have a negative experience with a certain species, you should speak up when someone asks so as to give the person a full spectrum of what to possibly expect and what you have learned so you can pass it on to him.

Sorry if I let you down but I was giving him my experience with what I had and letting him know what I was told by other guys who have had carpets for long long time. Like I said, he can learn from my mistakes plus learn from people who have had good experiences with carpets. I never said anything anything negative about them except that I feel they are more of a display animal than something like a boa which you can throw over your shoulders and go outside and do yard work with and for the most part, they are going to be fine with it. And even my label of 'display animal' isn't a negative.

And finally at the end I did say I would like to get another carpet but I would probably make it a Bredli or Inland as like I said, I was told those are known more for being mellow although I'm sure the babies will be nippy but like I was told, most outgrow it within a year but again some don't. That is how I felt Allie was. Either she wouldn't outgrow it or possibly the person that had her before me might have done something to her to scar her psychologically.

Oh and also, it took 4 months to get Allie to where she would only bite me 50% of the time from about 2' away. The minute you opened the cage, she was in defensive mode in a tight 'S' ready to strike. She never really got out of that habit even after 4 months and she was well over a year old so unless she was a late bloomer, she should have been out of the hatchling/yearling nippy mode. Don't get me wrong, I really did like her, she was awesome looking but after 4 months of not knowing if you were going to get bit or not every time you opened the cage to even change water, it got old. I mean I'm assuming all your carpets including your jungle were fairly mellow when you got them or at most, they would just draw back in defense if you moved a little too fast in front of them?

Anyways, I'm not taking it personal. Everyone is entitled to post their view. That is the whole reason for these boards and discussions.

[DennisM]

Ok, I’ve been keeping carpets for 20 years. I’ve had more than 50 different carpets over the years and currently have 24 in the collection. I have yet to meet the unhandle-able carpet. Almost all of them are quite nippy as youngsters. And some have kept this nippy period up to two years in age. I don’t handle my snakes even close to 2-3 times a week. Having said that, I have found that almost all will take the occasional shot at me throughout their lives. Of course, I’ve learned to read them pretty well and rarely get tagged. I always approach them carefully and look for signs that today is the day that I will get bit just for fun. So, I believe carpets of all kinds to be completely handle-able. But, if you want a snake that will never ever strike at you, a carpet probably won’t work for you.

[ShaneSilva]

I got my first carpet python last fall and she is awesome! Definitely one of my favorite snakes both as an individual and species as a whole. Her temperament is great and I have her out a lot more than my boas. She's an excellent eater but aside from feeding time she's a little puppy dog even in blue. I've handled quite a few other carpets as well ranging from hatchlings to a 19 year old Coastal. I've seen some videos of snappy hatchlings but have yet to encounter one. I've been checking out a lot of hatchlings lately looking to add another on to my collection just can't decide what kind of carpet I want yet. There were a couple hatchlings that striked a few times at first but you can't expect a hatchling not to be scared/defensive. They also seem to calm down after a few minutes. All the juvenile and adults I've interacted with have been great. If you're that worried about it I'd find one locally so you can handle it first.

Good luck!

[Eavlynn]

I don't know if some of you remember Isabel's temperament when she came home, but she fast a feisty baby. Lots of nips and the occasional musking. Not because she was mean, she was just tiny and very frightened. My boyfriend would handle her for 10 to 15 minutes about every other day, always ending the handling on a positive note. She calmed down a lot over the course of 3 to 4 months as she put on some size. Now she's approaching 3 feet, and rarely nips. She'll tag my boyfriend if she's comfy and doesn't want to be messed with, but other than that,she's a total doll. Carpets take patience, but they are fantastic if you're willing to work through the nippy baby stage. We have 5 carpets and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.

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