Vote for BP.Net for the 2013 Forum of the Year! Click here for more info.

» Site Navigation

» Home
 > FAQ

» Online Users: 2,868

0 members and 2,868 guests
No Members online
Most users ever online was 6,337, 01-24-2020 at 04:30 AM.

» Today's Birthdays

None

» Stats

Members: 75,031
Threads: 248,489
Posts: 2,568,441
Top Poster: JLC (31,651)
Welcome to our newest member, isismomma
Results 1 to 8 of 8
  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    01-07-2021
    Posts
    7
    Thanks
    5
    Thanked 23 Times in 6 Posts

    Coastal Carpet Question

    Hoping to get some input from some of the more experienced carpet keepers here, my 2019 coastal female started acting a little odd this winter and not sure what could be going on. Went off food early December and was acting fairly normal outside of not eating until about early February which is when she started almost constantly cage surfing every night and never using her hides. Her hides had gotten a bit snug so increased to the XL size early march and since then she has been only in her hides and not out at all, still showing no interest in food. Have been offering her normal rat every 2-3 weeks. Currently in a 4x2x2, hot side 86-88 cool side 76-78, humidity 40-60%. No changes in setup outside of the new larger hides during this period at all. Any thoughts as to what’s going on or how to get her back in her normal groove?

  2. #2
    BPnet Lifer dakski's Avatar
    Join Date
    02-08-2014
    Location
    Connecticut
    Posts
    4,802
    Thanks
    8,109
    Thanked 9,691 Times in 3,863 Posts
    Images: 134

    Re: Coastal Carpet Question

    Could be a number of normal things, like time of year, sexual maturity, etc.

    However, I have a few thoughts.

    1. Temps seem low to me. I've read about night drops to 76F, but not normal cage temps. I personally do not use a night drop.

    From what I've read and what I keep my CP at, are as follows.

    Hot side 86-90F with a 92-93F hot spot (on a perch below RHP) and 90F on heat pad below. Ambient about 84-86F and cool side about 80-82F.

    I DO NOT KEEP A COASTAL CARPET. So do not quote me here as there can be variations within species. However, I do keep a Irian Jaya/Darwin Hybrid and I've read consistently that adult carpets can handle up to 93-95F+ on a hot basking spot. Not cage temp, etc.

    I would at least bump hot side to 90F - higher temps equal faster digestion (when in a safe range for the species). Yafe, my CP, consistently uses the hotter temps (93F) to digest, but rarely otherwise. He is often in the 88-90F range though.

    2. Humidity seems low too. I would say 50% is a minimum for CP's. I keep Yafe at 55-65% most of the year with bumps to over 75% when in shed. He got lost by fedex as a baby and had a major RI. He's been fine for years, but I do not want to risk it. 40% is probably pushing it.

    3. What are you feeding?

    CP's like big meals. I've read some won't take smaller meals. Get your temps and humidity straight and offer appropriate sized meals. I generally feed Yafe 10-15% of his body weight in a meal. He's still growing a little. CP's, with proper husbandry can eat 15-18% of their body weight in a meal commonly. Even a little more. If an adult, you can feed smaller meals more frequently if they will take it, or larger meals less frequently.

    Please let us know what you are feeding and if these adjustments help. Also interested in others who keep Coastal's and their thoughts.

  3. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to dakski For This Useful Post:

    Albert Clark (03-23-2022),Bogertophis (03-23-2022),Haasjosa (03-23-2022)

  4. #3
    Registered User
    Join Date
    01-07-2021
    Posts
    7
    Thanks
    5
    Thanked 23 Times in 6 Posts

    Re: Coastal Carpet Question

    Thanks for your input, I will definitely try a little bump in temp and humidity to start and see where that gets me for now. She was 1.9kg last weigh in and normally gets a 150-200g rat every two weeks or so until this little hunger strike started so maybe I will try a little bump in size there as well. Like you, I’d love to hear from anyone else with some more coastal specific experience but sounds like a great place to start.

  5. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Haasjosa For This Useful Post:

    Albert Clark (03-23-2022),dakski (03-23-2022)

  6. #4
    BPnet Senior Member jmcrook's Avatar
    Join Date
    04-05-2016
    Location
    Mississippi
    Posts
    3,640
    Thanks
    7,844
    Thanked 7,195 Times in 2,638 Posts
    Images: 13

    Re: Coastal Carpet Question

    Your temps honestly sound fine to me. I’ve got three coastals in those parameters and they do well. I don’t offer supplemental heat at night and let them get down to 75° during the regular season and ~70° during the winter.
    1.9kg at 3yrs is big though. Could be the snake is over fed and not hungry. My 2018 female Brisbane Coastal is only 900grams. I don’t feed for a few months in the winters though when I drop temps lower. My 2019 Rockhampton female is maybe 700grams as well. 2019 male Brisbane is maybe 500grams. I feed a little lighter than some folks though.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  7. The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to jmcrook For This Useful Post:

    Albert Clark (03-23-2022),Bogertophis (03-23-2022),dakski (03-23-2022),EL-Ziggy (03-23-2022),Gio (03-23-2022),Haasjosa (03-23-2022)

  8. #5
    BPnet Royalty Gio's Avatar
    Join Date
    05-28-2012
    Location
    Minneapolis
    Posts
    4,724
    Thanks
    6,879
    Thanked 6,571 Times in 2,984 Posts

    Re: Coastal Carpet Question

    Quote Originally Posted by jmcrook View Post
    Your temps honestly sound fine to me. I’ve got three coastals in those parameters and they do well. I don’t offer supplemental heat at night and let them get down to 75° during the regular season and ~70° during the winter.
    1.9kg at 3yrs is big though. Could be the snake is over fed and not hungry. My 2018 female Brisbane Coastal is only 900grams. I don’t feed for a few months in the winters though when I drop temps lower. My 2019 Rockhampton female is maybe 700grams as well. 2019 male Brisbane is maybe 500grams. I feed a little lighter than some folks though.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    If your snake was too cold or too warm it would likely be hugging the hot spot of submerging in your water bowl. Coastal carpets are fairly hardy animals and in the wild they are used to a lot of variation in climate and humidity. Your constant temps don't seem off to me.

    The fact you have had this setup for a while and the behavior has only changed recently, leads me to believe your micro-environment is not the issue.

    Look at the months your snake started acting up. December, she went off feed. December is the month with the least amount of sunlight and one of the coolest months in the US.

    February is a month that daylight hours begin to lengthen. It is possible your snake is feeling the seasonal changes and is acting upon them.

    My late coastal mix was very much an "eat when I want" type of snake. She would go 2-3-4 months at any given time and refuse food.

    Another possibility with a question; how certain are you the snake is a female and what other snakes do you have in the room?

    The constant movement could be related to pheromones from other animals or the snake is reaching a more mature age.

    If you have been overfeeding, your snake may self regulate its food intake, not always, but it could be a possibility.

    I'd wait this out a bit and see what happens.

    You could try to offer food in mid or late April. There is absolutely no harm in skipping a month or 2 when it comes to feeding a snake that age.

  9. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to Gio For This Useful Post:

    Bogertophis (03-23-2022),dakski (03-23-2022),EL-Ziggy (03-23-2022),Haasjosa (03-23-2022),jmcrook (03-23-2022)

  10. #6
    BPnet Senior Member jmcrook's Avatar
    Join Date
    04-05-2016
    Location
    Mississippi
    Posts
    3,640
    Thanks
    7,844
    Thanked 7,195 Times in 2,638 Posts
    Images: 13

    Re: Coastal Carpet Question

    Quote Originally Posted by Gio View Post
    Another possibility with a question; how certain are you the snake is a female and what other snakes do you have in the room?

    The constant movement could be related to pheromones from other animals or the snake is reaching a more mature age.
    Beat me to it, Gio. My male has been pacing at the doors for months, likely wanting at the females in the room. He’d eat a shoe if I offered it though. I’d double check the sex of the animal as well as that sounds like male behavior. None of my 3 female carpets pace like that


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  11. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to jmcrook For This Useful Post:

    Bogertophis (03-23-2022),Gio (03-23-2022),Haasjosa (03-23-2022)

  12. #7
    Registered User
    Join Date
    01-07-2021
    Posts
    7
    Thanks
    5
    Thanked 23 Times in 6 Posts

    Re: Coastal Carpet Question

    Thanks again for all the input guys, i have long lurked on here and have seen how helpful everyone is. Really a great community. I have no experience probing so I can’t confirm but she was sold to me as a sexed female by the breeder StarPythons. There are 3 other snakes in the room, a male childrens python and a male and female ball python. I am very used to the ball pythons going off food in the winter but the carpet and childrens never miss a chance to eat which is why I was concerned in the first place. Have 15+ years of experience with balls but have only had the aussie species for about two years now so still learning their little nuances. I will definitely wait until next month to offer food again and try spacing out meals a little longer.

  13. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Haasjosa For This Useful Post:

    Bogertophis (03-23-2022),dakski (03-23-2022),Gio (03-23-2022)

  14. #8
    BPnet Lifer EL-Ziggy's Avatar
    Join Date
    11-05-2014
    Location
    GA
    Posts
    4,190
    Thanks
    5,014
    Thanked 5,484 Times in 2,683 Posts

    Re: Coastal Carpet Question

    I agree with Gio & JMCrook. Your temps and husbandry are very similar to mine. I keep a 75/90 temperature gradient and don't concern myself with humidity at all. If your snake is 1.9kg at 3 then she's already a pretty good size. You may want to consider spacing out your feedings a bit. It sounds like you're already feeding her large rats so she really doesn't need any larger prey than that. At age 3 I typically feed my carpets every 3-4 weeks which is plenty. A couple of my adult carpets, including my costal, will voluntarily go off food for a few months each year during the winter/breeding season. They'll start eating again when the weather warms up a bit more in April or May. I only offer them food once every 4-6 weeks during their fasting period. As long as your girl isn't losing any significant weight, or showing any other signs of illness, I see no cause for concern. She should get back on track in a month or two.

    This guy hasn't eaten since Jan. 5th.

    Last edited by EL-Ziggy; 03-23-2022 at 02:47 PM.
    3.0 Carpet Pythons, 1.1 Bullsnakes
    1.0 Olive Python 1.0 Scrub Python,
    1.0 BI, 0.1 BCO

  15. The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to EL-Ziggy For This Useful Post:

    Albert Clark (03-23-2022),Bogertophis (03-23-2022),dakski (03-23-2022),Gio (03-23-2022),Haasjosa (03-23-2022),Homebody (05-14-2022)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.1