What size tank for a Coastal/Jungle Carpet Python Hatchling?

[Lana's_mom]

I just got a 75% Coastal/ 25% Jungle Carpet Python Hatchling in a trade yesterday. It is 2 weeks old and I have it in a temp 5 gallon setup that was just to get him through the night. I am going out to get a better tank today, but am not sure what size to get. Is a 10 gallon ok? And is belly heat good for these guys? Most of what I have read talks about back heat, and not much about belly heat. I was also informed after I got him in trade that he hadn't eaten yet. So I left a live pinky ASFs in the tank with it over night, I know I should of waited a couple of days before trying that, but I removed it this morning. I will try a pinky again in 5 days. But what is the best way to setup a tank for this baby? Thanks

[reptileexperts]

a 10 gallon set up will work just fine. The only possible issue that you will have with belly heat is the fact that most of the time neonates / juveniles are pretty arboreal and will tend to want to stay up high. You'll need to keep his setup pretty simple at first, give him a bowl of water, and maybe a PVC perch. If your air temperature is really cool, you may want to consider a different form of heating in order to increase your ambient temperatures as well... now, on the counter side of things. You can do OK keeping it in a rack system as a neonate / juvenile. Because of their arboreal nature, people tend to stay away from such a shallow tank, but in most cases they will do just fine without a perching system. If offered one they will typically use it, but if not offered one they won't get stressed to be honest.

Make sure you can get your abients to around 82 degrees on the low side for the warm side, and a basking spot around 88 generally works out pretty well. Keep its susbstrate simple until you get at least a few meals in it though. And don't worry about sustaining this massively high humidtiy in the cage, just another thing people tend to over do when it comes to carpets.

[Vypyrz]

Sometimes they can be notorious mousers when young. I would suggest offering an appropriately sized mouse. It may not recognize an ASF as a prey item...

[Lana's_mom]

Thanks so much for the information! That is exactly what I needed to know. I bought a UTH for the tank but I also have a heat lamp. Would the lamp work better? Its a 75 watt bulb, should I use a thermostat with it? I was going to put him on Aspen bedding if that would work for him.

[reptileexperts]

You can use on / off thermostats with a lamp system, but it's usually easier to get a dimmer and adjust the ambient temperature yourself. You'll need to control your under tank heater with some kind of t-stat in order to keep it from overheating.

The other advise was also spot on. Always start new borns on mice, then quickly change them to rats when they are of a little size. You can try frozen/thawed but most will prefer live right from the start, which can be problematic to some keepers. . . and don't be too worried about it getting imprinted on mice, they are generally good eaters and will convert to Rats easily without the need for ASF :-)

[Lana's_mom]

I have a t-stat for the UTH, but I wasn't sure if I should use the UTH or just the light? But I can hook it up with little to no problems. Thanks again. And I will try a mouse in a couple of days after he has had time to settle in.

[Lana's_mom]

Here is what I have set up. I have the UTH on the same side as the Lamp, there is a T-stat probe taped to the bottom of the UTH under the tank( Prode is not inside of the tank) there is a thermometer tied to the branch that he is sitting on under the light and I have a temp gun to check the surface temps of the bedding and stuff.
Is this a good set up for him?

[reptileexperts]

Should work fine, check temps on the cool side of the tank as well and make sure there is a good enough gradient. If the light is too hot, get a dimmer switch for it for about 10 bucks at a hardware store. This will allow you to reduce the light output to a proper level. 75 watt basking spot would be overkill on a 10 gallon tank. I used 50 watt daybulbs on my QT setup which was almost idetnical to this, and even those bulbs had to be put on a dimmer. As long as your room stays a constant temperature, you don't need a t-stat for the light. But again, the dimmer is a great investment to ensure it does not get too hot / cold. Don't forget to check the temps under the hot hide, hides placed over heating pads, regulated or not, can get drastically hotter than expected. Check it!

[Lana's_mom]

Thank you so much. I am going to get a different bulb tomorrow, since I spent everything I had on a new tank and heating pad and everything on him yesterday I moved the lamp higher off the tank and I will also get a dimmer switch. Thank you so much for the helpful information that you gave me and for answering all of my many questions.

[reptileexperts]

No worries, raising the light is fine for now, just ensure its secured. Also make sure that the top of the catch is locked down some way to keep the snake inside. Carpets can be escape artists! This setup should last him for at least a year size wise. Carpets do not grow extremely fast.