Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well it was bound to happen eventually. I have been looking into getting either an IJ or JCP for a while now, and I finally gave in while in Daytona this past sunday. I wandered around the show all day and managed to avoid spending any money until I ran into Van (vvvddd)who showed me the little male JCP he picked up from Ophiological Services. Needless to say within about 10 minutes I was over at there table picking up an equally beautiful female with a very similar high contrast pattern. I can't wait to see how this little girl turns out. Like Van's male, she is already on rat pinks so I will not have to worry about the eventual change over from mice to rats.
I am definately excited to have this little girl. I love australian python's but to this point I have only kept members of the Antaresia genus.
Anyways, its great to finally have a reason to post in this forum and any tips from the pros would be appreciated. I know the basics, but there is nothing like experience when it comes to snakes. So any tips would be great.
Thanks all,
Chris

Congratulations on your first JCP! (Notice I wrote "first."

Since you've already got the husbandry details down, the only thing I'd recommend is a perch. JCPs will use perches quite regularly. It can be a simple horizontal branch or a decorative feestanding structure.

I recently got a yearling and a two year old JCP that were kept in rack-type enclosures. I now have them in identical cages with wooden horizontal perches. The yearling hasn't come down yet! She couldn't care less about the hide box, but she loves that perch. And the two year old is using his perch more and more, with greater confidence.

I have radiant heat panels above one end of the perches so the JCPs use them for basking heat, but they also go to the cool end.

Good luck!

Bill

hey bill,
Sounds pretty close to the setup I have the new JCP in. After a week of being in there now she is using the perch on a much more regular basis especially in the evening. Also, I fed her for the first time and she took down her rat pink without thinking twice. Thanks for the tips.

Chris

Hi Chris.

That's great that she took the rat pink. Very great!

The only other thing I would recommend is dusting the rat pink with Miner-All Indoor formula. I've raised IJs and a GTP on Miner-All and the stuff must taste pretty good because I've never had a feeding problem.

My thinking is this: rat pinks do not have formed bones and unless dispatched right after feeding from the mother (you'd see the milk in the rat pink's belly), they are very lacking in calcium.

Since you are fortunate enough to have a JCP that eats rat pinks, do not offer mice. Stay with the rats.

So, the Miner-All will provide some calcium and other essential minerals until your snake is big enough to eat rat pups (I even dust those).

Regards,

Bill