Quote Originally Posted by loud View Post

If you'd be able to answer any of the questions about carpet pythons above, I'd also appreciate it How large is the enclosure you have for your jungle carpet python?

Sounds like both you and threezero love the more active, "fiestier" (as threezero says) snakes! Do you handle them frequently? This will be my only snake and I really would like to have one I could handle frequently, and let out into the room occasionally. Is this an unrealistic expectation, or a perfectly fine plan?.

Sorry for the delay, been under the weather.

Okay, first off, on enclosure size -- my girl is (at 6.5 feet) currently in a 36" long X 23" deep X 18" high cage with a Radiant Heat Panel mounted in the ceiling.

Care is pretty basic. She has an approximately 90 degree basking area. Ambient in the coolest part of the cage is in the upper 70's. Her humidity is around 55%, but I don't worry about it.

Temperament I'd call her gentle but moody. When she was a baby, I handled her a lot because I wanted a tame display snake. As an adult, I probably handle her a couple times a week, whenever she wants out or when I have to clean her cage. I've had two jungles; Sheila and a male I had in high school through my first year of college. (My first python.) Neither went through a nippy stage, but this hit or miss. Orion was always very deliberate. As a baby, Sheila was what I can only describe as a spastic bootlace.

Size/Feeding These kind of belong under the same heading. Carpets love to eat. I fed Sheila once a week as a juvenile. She now takes 1 extra large rat every 2-3 weeks. One of the biggest challenges in feeding carpets is keeping them from getting fat. Jungles in particular are not intended to be heavy-bodied snakes. But it's really easy to keep them from getting too plump with climbing props and handling.

As a baby, honestly, it's cute how enthusiastic they are. Grown up, it can be a little daunting. But that's what long tongs are for.

Price is hugely dependent on the baby's lineage. Babies out of excellent parents from bloodlines known for producing super sexy black and yellow adults cost more than Jungles out of unknown parents, mutts, unattractive parents, etc. Most baby Jungles are somewhere between $75 - $200. Most I see around here (the PNW) are like, $100-$150. Yearlings may cost a bit more.

As far as total price, something to keep in mind (true for ball pythons, too) -- you're not looking at one cage for the entire lifetime of the snake. A hatchling/juvie carpet can live happily in a 10-20 gal long for up to a year and a half. That's time to save toward the more expensive adult cage . . . Or talk a handy friend into building one. Tanks can be found for $5 at garage sales and can be made snake-tight pretty darned easily. That saves money for the heating element (I like Ultratherm UTHs for this kind of thing) and the even more important, can't live without it, thermostat.

So, as far as Jungles . . .

Pros: Beautiful! Great size for someone who wants a larger snake that doesn't handle like a cumbersome, stout snake. They mostly cruise when out and like to go up. They're very inquisitive. Feed like clockwork. Love to perch, especially once they get some size and confidence, so a great display. Their head shape. Just cool. Seems less prone to stressing than ball pythons.

Cons: Expect to have to tame it. This is easy and I recommend the use of thin gloves. The intense feeding response. At the same time, Jungles can be a hassle when switching from mice to rats. More frequent cage cleaning than a BP. The poop of an adult carpet is basically like that of a medium-sized dog. Sometimes less, sometimes A LOT more.


Other? For both price and handling, I'd also recommend a baby if you decide to go with a Jungle. Mine is wonderful, and I love her, but something I do not do is open her cage after dark. Not unless she is in desperate need of cleaning. She's in pure feeding mode after the sun goes down. That's her time, I'm okay with it. She is also trained to expect feeding when I click open her cage in a certain way, and handling in another. I do this consistently. She's also learned the routine before I feed her (specifically) and gets very excited on her feeding nights. It makes feeding her interesting, but I think it also highlights one of the things I really like about her. As far as snakes go, she's pretty clever. I can't compare her to a mammal, but you can tell someone's home.

Really, if it's between a JCP and a BP, both are great pets. BPs do take up less space . . . But the carpet is a lot fun.