Jungle carpet stunted growth

[kvanwingerden]

A friend of mine messaged me looking for a home for a 5 year old jungle carpet female that belongs to someone she knows. When I was questioning her on it's health, she said she was "kept small on purpose." I've never really agreed with the idea that if you feed it less you keep it smaller. They kept her on mice, and currently feed her two a week. She is supposedly around five foot long. I'm definitely going to get her over to medium or large rats if I end up taking her. I'm just curious if she's going to end up getting bigger or if her growth ended up being stunted? Two mice a week doesn't sound terrible for a snake that size, but she probably hasn't felt full in a long time and I think it may have affected her growth. I was sent a picture and she looks pretty healthy, I'm just hoping I can still get some impressive size on her. It will be my first venture outside of ball pythons and I'm really excited.

Here she is waiting for food.



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[John1982]

If I was looking for a long lived pet or a breeding addition I'd be more interested in a snake such as the one pictured than a 5 year old, overfed, slug. She looks in splendid health from what little I can tell from that picture. Overfeeding is a major issue for many captive snakes and Australian species seem especially susceptible to resulting health problems. When in doubt, it is typically better to err on the side of underfeeding for the overall health and longevity of your serpent. My adult cheynei seldom get fed anything larger than a small/medium rat and when they do I often wait several weeks before the next food offering.

[kvanwingerden]

My question was more about length. Like I said, she looks healthy but I'm wondering if the feeding schedule affected her growth. At 5 years I'd think she would be a bit longer than five foot.


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[EL-Ziggy]

I'd say she looks pretty healthy too. 5ft is an average size for a jungle. She may grow a bit more but I wouldn't push it.

[kvanwingerden]

Thank you very much everyone.


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