Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been keeping snakes for the last 6 years. I have experience with Rainbows of all sorts, different Redtail subspecies, balls and corn snakes.

This past weekend I purchased two young Jungles. They're approximately 16" long.

In all of my time of keeping herps, I've never been tagged. I know my animals so well, I can tell when they are nervous - and though I havbe been struck at - I am usually fast enough to get out of the way. That time is over.

These are both very fast snakes. My female is much more subdued, but my male is like a machine gun - strike, strike, strike, strike, strike... They are small so the bites don't hurt - but my hand is covered in pin-head size holes.

I am now handling them both with gloves, twice a day for 5 minutes each and am taking them in out of the cage 4 times a day total. The female doesn't strike at the gloves, but the male keeps on going.

Is this a typical natured carpet? I am up for the challenge of taming them, but I must say - I am surpized in their current disposition.

Beautiful snakes none-the-less. I am very happy to be a new member to this club!
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-Iman

Loving to Learn
Learning to Help
Helping to Love

Stimulate debates, stifle arguments.
Please be nice always.

Yeah, this is not unusual baby jungle carpet behavior. He'll get over it before long.
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Dennis

Sounds exactly like my jungle, and many others, too.

4 times a day sounds pretty excessive to me- personally, I'd limit it to once a day. Remember, it's a defensive response to something they feel threatened by, and every time you reach in there, you're stressing the snake(s).

//Todd

I agree that you probably are over doing it as far as handling goes and it will not make a difference anyway as far as calming them down (they wont chill out till they are ready). Keep in mind that NO REPTILE likes to be handled EVER. Some seem to but they are just going along with being handled better in OUR eyes than others. As far as Jungles go, most all juvies are very nippy but most all calm down and the majority become very safe and easy to handle. They seem to calm down at around a year old even if they have never been handled. I rarely handle any of my reptiles including my Jungles. I have had juvies that were typiclly nippy and calmed down completly with out ever really handling them. It is fine to handle them and other reptiles as long as it is for a short period. If you handle them too much now it will stress them and that could lead to very bad consiquences. Once well established and feeding well, you could handle them daily if you like but keep it to a short ammount of time. The cure to being able to handle them more often is to have many. That way you get what you want out of them but are spreding it out over a number of animals. Plus, the more the better, as with most things.
I am sure you will grow to love your new Jungles more and more. They are just a wonderful captive. Unlike your Rainbows (which are wonderful in there own right) your Jungles will stay out in the open on display (if set up properly) for you to enjoy. They are also a very hardy snake and are very easy to care for. They are just great! Keep them in a fairly small and easy to clen enclosure for now and when they are bigger you can set them up in a nice big aboreal enclosure. Maybe something around 3' high, 3' wide and 2' deep. I keep my juvies in my small rack for the first year or so and then move them into a small arboreal cage. As adults you can set them up in about as big a cage as you like. Give them some oppertunity to climb and bask as well as hides on both the warm and cool side. I use cork bark for hides for adults and small pieces of cork for juvies. I put a half "tube" of cork in the rack with the juvies. This gives them a hide but also give them a place to get up on like a branch would but is easier to take out and clean then braches would be in a rack. The adults have many pieces of cork and also well anchored heavy branches. They seem to like to be up in the branches when on the hunt, liking to strike down at there prey. I could go on and on about them. Again they are just wonderful captives as are most all Carpets. Enjoy!!

Good luck w/ them!

Kevin

I got the morelia "bug" a couple years ago, and most of the ones I have were pretty nippy initially. Some say to handle them more, some say less, and while I'm no expert, I've noticed that daily routine cage maintenance without handling has been helpful. I'll go into a cage to change the water, give a light mist, spot clean, or adjust a piece of foliage, and because I'm not touching them, they don't seem to feel threatened. "Snatch", however, my '05 male JCP will tag me at every opportunity, but hey...it's part of his charming nature!

Hi. I'm 13. I got a Jungle Carpet Python for Christmas. It bites so much!! it doesnt hurt all that bad though. haha my Uncle and Aunt make me go in and get it by myself!! lol. don't gloves scare them and make them want to bite more. because it looks like a bigger thing is trying to eat it?