Craigslist Gold.... Could use some info.....

[BFE Pets]

So I saw an ad on CL that said African Coastal Python. I thought hmmm gotta see this. so I looked at it. It had a pic of what I was pretty sure was a coastal carpet but they arent from africa. lol I texted the guy told him that it was a coastal carpet python from austraila not africa. Now mind you ive never owned one and really had no intentions of having one. so this is where I could use some help/info. Ive seen them and admired them from afar but never handled one. I asked him what he was asking for it and the normal bs like male female how large what its eating etc. he told me its eating 2 med rats biweekly and wanted $100 with tank. I thought hmmm what the heck all he can do is say no... I said Ive got $60 cash and wouldnt mind something different for my collection. He said come and get it. lol So today was a pretty good day.
on my way there I found this...

score there!
I get there and shockingly he gives me this cage not some cracked fish tank

its a npi style cage but i think its a knock off. now the lights and stuff he didn't give me but no biggie. threw some dome lites on it some flexwatt and a hydra farm bam good to go for a qt cage. the card board hides are temporay. gotta get an order together for reptile basics.
So $60 got me this female carpet and that cage. Dont think i did to bad. here she is.


So she is a coastal or something else? pretty sure shes not anything special but just wanted someone with experience to tell me what they think of her. I really dont know much about the species other than what little ive picked up in passing at expos and reading the care sheet on here. I'll tell ya what the care sheet says these are beginner snakes. This one is NOT a beginner snake! I will be needing a hook to get her out of the cage. She was pretty cool out of the cage (which she was when I got there) but after I put her in the cage shes pretty testy. She took a swing at me when I put the water dish in and again while i was closing the door. didnt get me but im sure her poor nose is a lil tender from where she tagged the glass. Are most carpets this way? I guess thats the kind of stuff im wanting to know. Thanks all! Still stoked about my inexpensive first carpet.

[ChrisS]

Nice score! I don't know much of anything about carpets though sorry I'm no help

[reptileexperts]

Looks to me like a high % coastal, can't say pure by any means, but is definitely got a good bit of coastal influence in it based on head pattern / general look. Most carpets are testy when they are young, but calm down pretty mellow as they go into adult hood. Something about getting some size on them really helps them calm down. Sometimes though, when a carpet is rarely interacted with with the exception of food time they can become pretty cage aggressive. Not a beginner snake in my book, but they are not a hard species to work with and keep. Make sure you use a hook properly when getting her out, and even start tapping her on the head when you initiate an interaction outside of the cage, this way you can start to try and hook train her so to speak. My carpets were devils when they were younger (heck my Irian Jaya girl is still devilish). But as soon as the majority got over 3-4' they calmed down and are not even cage aggressive unless there is food directly involved. Any specific questions other than that let me know I should be able to assist. Otherwise. Great pick up! (also I picked up gas for 2.80 today personally :-D

[mainbutter]

To address your questions:

1) Without definite trust-able lineage info, consider her an intergrade (aka cross, non-subspecies or locale specific individual). She looks coastal-ish, though plenty of wild jungles in oz look like her too. I would not recommend breeding her, but highly recommend enjoying her as an awesome pet!

2) "Most" carpets I can't answer for, but none of mine act aggressively or defensively currently. My youngest two did when I got them at less than a half year old. They do not have a reputation for being defensive as adults. My oldest does sometimes strike at nothing in the air towards my shadow when it crosses his cage at feeding time if he hasn't been fed for a week or two, but has NEVER taken a swing at me defensively.

I'm going to contest your assertion that they are "not a beginner snake". A bitey, flighty, angry snake could still be a "beginner" snake in my book if it were easy to keep healthy and was tolerant of a variety of temperature and humidity gradients, as well as feeding schedules and feeder species. Carpets fit the bill nicely, don't get so large they are unmanageable, and still have a reputation as incredibly handle-able (if energetic) as adults.

I recommend a snake hook with pretty much any snake that isn't a ball python.

[reptileexperts]

Contest at will! I consider them an intermediate pet personally. They can obtain a good bit of size, and have a strong feeding response. This can lead to accidents to unsuspecting keepers. They can pack a pretty good punch with a bite when they get to adulthood, and any snake that requires a hook automatically rules it out as a beginner snake IMO. But two opinions are better than none!

[BFE Pets]

I'm going to contest your assertion that they are "not a beginner snake". A bitey, flighty, angry snake could still be a "beginner" snake in my book if it were easy to keep healthy and was tolerant of a variety of temperature and humidity gradients, as well as feeding schedules and feeder species. Carpets fit the bill nicely, don't get so large they are unmanageable, and still have a reputation as incredibly handle-able (if energetic) as adults.

I recommend a snake hook with pretty much any snake that isn't a ball python.

ok I can see your point there. thank you. I have no intentions of breeding her. I had no intentions of actually getting a carpet but the price was insanely cheap imo. I saw some hatchlings for $60-$80 at the cleveland expo last sunday. I do educational shows for my local clubs like boy scouts, library and cub scouts etc, so anytime i can pick up a healthy animal that I dont normally have around I usually jump on it. So being a coastal cross how much bigger can I expect? shes right about 5 foot at the moment. the cage shes in is 36 long by 24 deep by 24 tall. Is that enough for now or do I need to start looking for something else? she is nice and firm well rounded but she still just seems slim. is that normal? or does she need a little extra put on? any info from you pros is greatly appreciated. Thanks

[reptileexperts]

She could be full grown - most coastals, generally speaking, the males will get larger than the females. Pure coastals of some regions can get up to 10 ft in length, but it is quite rare, and these bloodlines are rarely introduced (were) into the US. I would suspect her to stay between 6 and 7 ft. You can move her up to a 4x2x2 for optimal size, but most keepers rely on 3x2x2 for their adult carpets, including myself.

Cheers

[BFE Pets]

Thanks for the help guys! I'm hoping to get more confident with more advanced snakes so some day I can get one of those gorgeous giants known as retics it'll be a few years yet but some day.... Maybe sooner if someone makes me a SD zigzag platinum sunfire that's in my price range lol.