Is my JCP underweight?

[abrunsen]

Hey guys, I got a JCP at Tinley and I have struggled with her the whole time. She has only eaten for me three times and has yet to shed. I weighed her on 4/12 and she was 83 grams (I don't think stomach was empty). I weighed her today and she was 70. She was born August of 2011. Is she underweight should I be concerned?



Thanks,
Alex

[1nstinct]

Has she pooped for you? Some carpets are the worst eaters as they are growing, I have a 09 female jcp which I got in nov she weight 240 grams! She would only eat the smallest meals a a baby the breeder said. Now she's a beast at feeding time I can't get the rat in the cage before she grabs it lol. She's close to 1000 grams now and shows no sign of slowing down now that she's got a huge appetite. Try some smaller meals with yours, but try to keep her on rats because, carpets are known to be bad rat eaters.
Best of luck
Tom

[TheWinWizard]

Indeed, get her over to rats asap. They love to imprint on mice. She looks okay for her size.

[dart]

The imprinting onto mice is waaaaaaaay over hyped. I have never had an issue switching any carpet. But, to answer your question, it's a little hard to tell from those pics. Remember, hatchling JCP's only weight like 30g so 70-80 at 6-7 months isn't too bad. Each snake grows at their own rate. If you've gotten her to eat 3 times in just over a month, sounds like you have nothing to be concerned about.

[Brandon Osborne]

The imprinting onto mice is waaaaaaaay over hyped. I have never had an issue switching any carpet. But, to answer your question, it's a little hard to tell from those pics. Remember, hatchling JCP's only weight like 30g so 70-80 at 6-7 months isn't too bad. Each snake grows at their own rate. If you've gotten her to eat 3 times in just over a month, sounds like you have nothing to be concerned about.

I disagree. If it was over hyped it wouldn't be brought up so much. I've experienced it with several and tried everything short of starving them to death to get them to switch. It depends on how much mixed blood is in them. Jungles and Irian Jayas seem to be the only problem locales. I've had a few switch but not a good percentage.

[gman8585]

I have one jungle that i have been trying to switch over to rats for well over 6 months.

[mandalorian]

I have one jungle that i have been trying to switch over to rats for well over 6 months.

I tried something today that finally had my male jcp take a ft rat after going back to pk mice. I thawed out a small rat at room temperature then pulled out my trusty hair dryer. I have a couple of frozen mice hoppers that I used to rub all over the rat as a I got it warm. With the scent of the mice in the air, my jcp started to sniff around and took the rat after I dangled it on his branch. Eventually, I'm hoping he will go back straight to rats without doing all this preparation.

[vangarret2000]

IJ's are the ones that can really be trouble switching over.

A lot of the time it's people that screw up a switch over. Most common is people don't always give it enough time. They worry it has been to long that their snake hasn't eatten and then go back to mice. All that teaches the snake is that if they wait long enough they'll get what they want.

[dart]

IJ's are the ones that can really be trouble switching over.

A lot of the time it's people that screw up a switch over. Most common is people don't always give it enough time. They worry it has been to long that their snake hasn't eatten and then go back to mice. All that teaches the snake is that if they wait long enough they'll get what they want.

Exactly. Carpets feeding response is so strong eventually they'll take a human limb if offered. I've just played the waiting game on any that are hesitant to switch. To this day I've never been unsuccessful at switching one.