I'm joining the carpet club...

[TheKingInYellow]

I've just put a female JCP on hold with a local breeder here in Winnipeg. I haven't selected the actual snake yet, just had my name down first in the queue. These are brand new hatchlings, they have eaten 2 or 3 times already and I'll be able to pick her up in about two weeks.

I'm stoked

Anyhow, I had originally planned to get a BP, but when I found JCPs available from a reputable breeder mere blocks from my home, I did more research and got hooked.

I have an enclosure that my JCP will no doubt outgrow in 2 years or so (a 30" x 12" x 18" 29g aquarium) but I'll build her a nice permanent residence when she's bigger. The basement she is gonig in is cooler (67f ambient or so) so I'll run 2 8" x 8" UTHs on thermostats and a 100w IR bulb on a rheostat for warmth.

I do have a few questions I was hoping to get answers to.

Do you need two hides for carpets or just one? Warm side or cool side? Do you put your hides on the ground or raised up?

Any general advice for picking a healthy specimen?

How long should I go before handling her? I want to handle her daily so she can become comfortable with me quickly.

And any other advice you can offer would be appreciated. This is my first herp so I'm looking to get as much info from experienced keepers as possible.

Thanks!

[Thor26]

two hides on the ground at least and something to climb on is pretty important. dont handle fo a week she may be nippy =]

[TheKingInYellow]

Nippy doesn't bother me, I've got a parrot

I was more concerned about her safety, comfort and well-being.

[ChicaPiton519]

Do you need two hides for carpets or just one? Warm side or cool side? Do you put your hides on the ground or raised up?

i have 2, but i have alot of ground cover as well... if you have seen the pics of my male, and his cage... one hide is a small exo-terra and another is this ceramic jar my grandma got me while she was in singapor(sp) or something...

Any general advice for picking a healthy specimen?

you get to actually pic, lucky =]
i had to look at pics lol, um personally, the one that is nice and active, and healthy looking, if its draging around, not a good choice, i would also go with a semi chill one, but babies are always feisty...

and as far as not handling for a few weeks... dont do it, handle her after she has been with you for a few days, atleast look at her, and get her used to seeing you in those few days, but baby carpets are always nippy =]

How long should I go before handling her? I want to handle her daily so she can become comfortable with me quickly.

give her a couple days to adjust, maybe feed her, give her a few days after that, but i held mine a few days after letting him adjust. and i handle him daily now that school is out =]

[Colin Vestrand]

congrats, they're addicting, so be careful with that....
as far as hides go, i admittedly don't have hides in all my carpet cages and some that do have hides never use them... they just like to curl up wherever they may. for a hatchling though i'd say a couple hides would be best, one warm, one cool... the adults actually move their hides around from warm to cool if they don't want to come out. most of them really only use their hides extensively if they are opaque. if it's a neonate then some aspen or other loose bedding will suffice because they'll most likely just burrow under that or perch somewhere in the enclosure.
if it's a quality breeder you're getting it from, you shouldn't have to worry about a healthy specimen - they should all have had a few meals on their own and obviously have no defects or whatever. with jungles, it can be a toss up as far as determining which ones will turn out the best looking as adults, but if you choose a highly contrasted specimen then you probably won't be disappointed.
as a first herp, you may have your hands full, but if you provide warmth, water, food, and shelter you should do just fine... purchasing a neonate will definitely be a very rewarding experience, so good choice there! when you get it, it will most likely be very 'mean' but most do calm down, regardless of how much they're handled. ironically, my only jungle carpet is all piss and vinegar and is probably my meanest snake... not to discourage you.
the only other 'advice' i can think of is that you may want to feed it rats ASAP because jungle carpets in particular can be finicky and you really don't want your 6' long, 10 lb adult eating mice... that would suck.
well, sorry for the long post, but i guess i get excited when people get into morelia.

[TheKingInYellow]

Okay, I'll go and grab a couple of hides today. I'm not sure how big a hatchling Carpet is, so should I be looking at the small, medium or large hides? I think Exo-Terra is the brand I'm most likely to find out here. I also need to know the same thing for the water dish.

I know I can go cheap rubbermaid for the hides and water dish, but I greatly, greatly prefer a natural looking enclosure.

I have some Exoterra 'jungle vine' and a couple of medium silk plants already. I'll get a piece of reptile safe wood or something else sturdy for climbing today as well, and then used some twisted vine to provide another climbing option.

Once this is done, I can set up my heaters and thermostats and give it a week or so to get my temps settled. After that, I'll go get my JCP

[Colin Vestrand]

i use those cheap plastic garden pots for hides and the plastic garden saucers for water dishes... cheap cheap cheap and they do the job. the pots double as a perch as well since they have a little height to them. plus they're natural colors so they don't look too bad.

[TheKingInYellow]

I still think I'll get hides. I know they aren't any better, but this is my first snake and I wasnt a display piece as well as a pet. The cost is not a huge issue to me.

p.s. kzoo - GO LIONS!

[TheKingInYellow]

Well, I have all my gear. I'm going to set up the terrarium today, and get the heaters running to see how my temps are. I'll post pictures of the enclosure if anyone is interested.

[TheKingInYellow]

I finished setting up the enclosure this morning, and I'm letting it settle in so I can monitor the temps.

Here's the enclosure:



A close up of the left side and smaller hide:



And here's the right:



There is an 8" x 8" UTH under each hide running on independent thermostats and a 100w IR bulb on top which is dialed down with a rheostat. The back and sides of the aquarium have been painted with black Krylon Fusion so that the snake will not be exposed on all sides. There is combination of silk plants, flexible vine and fake branches for climbing, but I think I will replace the vine and branch with real wood, as I don't think this will support her weight. I'll move the flexible stuff into my Crested Gecko cage which is herp project #2.

I haven't decided which side to make the 'hot' side. One hide is slightly larger than the other, but I don't know if that matters when it comes to heating...