Carpet pythons

[DennisM]

1. How would you rate the handing and personality of a Carpet vs. a Boa?

I haven’t kept boas, so am not entitled to an opinion.

2. Is it OK to house more than one Carpet together eventually?

No it is not.

3. How bad is the Jaguar neurological thing? Right now it sounds scary to me and makes me want to avoid Jaguars entirely. Is it a danger only if the animal actually exhibits the Jaguar gene or is there a risk even if it just has some Jaguar in its ancestry?

It varies. I currently have 8 jags in my collection and have had 4 others in the past. 11 of the 12 had only very mild symptoms. The other, a male DCI/coastal intergrade, had fairly strong symptoms as a hatchling that manifested itself at all times, not just times of excitement which is frequently reported. He was quite difficult to feed as he either couldn’t hit the prey or couldn’t locate it after he constricted it. For the first 2-3 years it would normally take 4-6 offerings before the meal would be consumed. The snake is now 10 years old and has become fairly efficient at feeding on offering #1. However, at about 4-5 years of age his equilibrium became increasingly poor. The snake is more likely to be spotted upside down than right side up these past several years. None of the other jags in my admittedly small sample have had any noticeable difference in the degree of their symptoms over the years. However, there is enough reported evidence in other collections to show that it may get worse. And sometimes get better. But I think mostly what you get wobble wise as a youngster is what you will get as an adult.

The wobble only occurs in jags. it is related to the gene

4. If the goal is to get a friendly animal, would it be better to get a baby (more chance to handle it as it grows up) or a yearling (more chance to see how its personality has developed)?

I don’t think it matters, they all calm down.

5. What time of year do Carpets hatch out? i.e. - when the breeders will have loads of selection to choose from.

Summertime is prime time, but autumn is popular too.

6. What are some good breeders to look at? I know inlandreptile is one.

Nick obviously very good. My go to guy for carpets is Will Bird at http://www.ectotherms.net/. I’ve been doing business with Will for over a decade. He produces top notch animals from excellent lines with reasonable pricing. He’s a great guy who will provide you all the help and advice you need. He’s in it for the animals, not the money.