Confirmed Best All Around.

[Gio]

I've seen a bit of chatter here about temperaments in the carpet group.

Are they nippy, feisty, hard to handle and so on. Obviously like a great many juvenile snakes, they are possibly all of the fore mentioned, however with time I can honestly say of the four different species I have here from four different continents, the coastal carpet I have here is the most relaxed, social and predictable snake during interactions and she is the best display snake all around.

The royal python is the only snake here that has never bitten me, but it is very obvious she does not really like to be handled. She will usually lie still, but will make an effort to go away from me. She is an excellent keep but interactive experiences are lacking. She can be active at night, and will use perches when she does get into frolic mode.

Probably my favorite snake, is the boa constrictor. He's approaching the "big snake", not giant snake, dimensions people think about when length, thickness and weight are in the equation. He's impressive and fun to handle, but he wants to get away from me and usually makes an effort to explore areas I don't want him to. The eyes of a boa constrictor are very interesting. They tend to leave me guessing. Again, the boa is amazing, but I am always waiting for a bad day with him. I don't feel he would give me too many signs before deciding to have a go at me. He's the most stealthy animal here. Very controlled motions with no wasted effort. This time of year he is a sensational display snake. Perching and being active almost every night is his gig.

The SD x Dwarf retic is a fun animal. So far he's not the best display snake. He probably takes 3rd place behind the carpet and the boa but he's young and in a cage that is getting smaller as he gets larger. He is very easy to read. He'll throw lots of signs out when he doesn't want to be handled. Of course I usually take him out in spite of that. Handling him is not typically relaxing. I have still not set him flat on the floor or ground. I think he'd make a mad dash and he's very quick. The retic has potential to move up in my personal "all around best" category but it may be a while. I like the fact I can read his eyes and he does come toward me in his cage. However his idea of coming toward me is likely food oriented.

This leads me to the carpet python. I can't get her to bite me if I try. She seems to want to come out, is never afraid, or in a hurry to get away. She is social if you can use that term for a snake and very easy to handle. Long and lean, not too heavy and again, she appears to have a "friendly" disposition. I can always reach in and put my hands on her and take her out. She is the most active snake throughout the day here. She's a terrible eater yet she's 7 feet or maybe more now.

I really can't pick a favorite here, I say the boa because he's my first. The royal is my son's and has been here longer, but the coastal was an expo purchase for not much money at all. She covers almost every area of the hobby I love. Handling is great, display is as good as it gets. Demeanor is perfect, and I've heard other carpet owners say the same about their snakes. I've watched videos of wild carpets being handled and one would think they were captive raised.

I don't know, maybe its me enjoying the coastal carpet this month and I'll have another fan favorite next month, but in all honesty these Assuie snakes really are a treat.

[Reinz]

As usual your post reflects my sentiments exactly. With the exception of the Retic which I do not own.

Of my eight snakes, Carpets comprise five of them. And I started with a BP, followed by a Boa, then a Coastal Carpet. From there I just kept adding more Carpets and one more Boa.

It's hard for me to admit which I like best, Boa or Carpet. But I reckon my collection spells it out in spades.

If I had to pick one word to sum up my feelings about Carpets, it would be FUN. They are just plain cool the most fun!

[ShaneSilva]

I agree with all of this. Carpets Still get a very undeserving bad rap IMO. Although I'd say my retic is my favorite snake, carpet pythons have definitely become my favorite species and I've only had my coastal for almost a year. Handles very well, great eater and very entertaining display snake. And they put on enough size without getting "too big." If they ate as little as a boa does they'd be the perfect snake!

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[Reinz]

Haha, you are so right Shane!

My Carpets could wipe out a full freezer in a month if I caved to all of the begging and hunting they do.

The Jungle in the second photo is still hunting after a huge meal from 3 days ago. So huge was the meal, I am too embarrassed to tell. But she will still hunt and beg daily until the next meal.

[Gio]

Haha, you are so right Shane!

My Carpets could wipe out a full freezer in a month if I caved to all of the begging and hunting they do.

The Jungle in the second photo is still hunting after a huge meal from 3 days ago. So huge was the meal, I am too embarrassed to tell. But she will still hunt and beg daily until the next meal.

Ha LOL!

I've been there as well. Jewel is actually a terrible eater and usually only eats once every two months. Once in a while when she drags it out, I'll come in with a rabbit. I was damn near embarrassed to tell anybody she looked like she ate a football. I thought I probably had done her in and she'd either regurgitate or die.

She didn't miss a beat and as it turns out coastal carpets and some of the other Aussie Morelia take HUGE prey items.

I haven't had my retic for a year yet, and I don't have him set up in his iconic cage. He may turn into a much better display animal once he moves into the larger cage and takes some larger prey more frequently.

Even still the attitude of the coastal here is wonderful.

I can't pick a favorite when it comes down to it, but she does ALL things well and I'd more than likely recommend a carpet python to somebody that was after the same or similar experience that I have going here.

[ShaneSilva]

If I was rich and retired (or hit the lottery), I'd have huge room dedicated to carpet pythons with extra large display cages

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[Gio]

If I was rich and retired (or hit the lottery), I'd have huge room dedicated to carpet pythons with extra large display cages

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You got that right brother.

I'm retired in 4.5 years and I think the kids will be close to out of the house by then. I think my wife may crumple a little around that time. I have a good buddy who can build about anything. I may start my own zoo.

Ideally, I could find some totally arboreal snakes and some completely terrestrial snakes and have a habitat where they live in sympatry.

Probably not a great idea when it comes to transmitting disease although if it were large enough and they never crossed paths it would be fun.

I could build one huge room sized enclosure and house a couple of big coastals!

Dreams LOL!

[ShaneSilva]

I think my wife may crumple a little around that time. I have a good buddy who can build about anything. I may start my own zoo.

HAHA! That's funny when you picture it happening. Sounds like you've been thinking about this for some Time. It'll be exciting to see!(:

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[Bluebonnet Herp]

I've never kept a carpet python before.
However, I do have a boa constrictor, a blood python, two Burmese pythons, an Amazon tree boa, 5 ball ball pythons, a milk snake, and a Selayar reticulated python.
Ball pythons aside, the only two I have that seem to be docile as all gives are the boa constrictor and the retic. The retic seems to enjoy it's time out - not making mad dashes (unless you pull her tail) but will actively explore and try to climb objects such as furniture. Oddly enough, she also tends to actually follow me around when placed on flat ground, seemingly trying to reach for my leg and climb it. Was a difficult eater the first few months I had her, but the stereotypical retic feeding response eventually kicked in.
My boa is pretty much like a lazy cat. Sometimes moves around, sometimes content to lie on your lap for hours on end or fall asleep somewhere like on the bed or couch. Also a little piggy.

For those of you with retics, are carpets essentially like retics in behavior? How do they differ?

[Gio]

I would say to this point the carpet is more like and extra active boa constrictor. My boa is pretty active my carpet more so. My retic is very busy when handling but fairly inactive so far in the cage. I'm getting a much larger cage with 2 feet of ceiling space and I'm hoping he takes to it.

Carpets are kind of a jack of all trades for me. Again I only have one snake of the 4 species I keep. I hear so many with carpets mirroring what have found.