Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I might be getting one of these. I'm not new to snakes, have a few colubrids, and a rosy boa, but hubby saw a picture and said he wanted one, so now I need to learn all I can about them. Are there good websites with all the "need to know" information? We'll be getting a female probably. '02.
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~Sasheena

Kit, Kaboodle, Tantilla, Tantillas, Lightning, Kinkee, Maple, Licorice, Castle, Bishop, Queenie, Jester, Pandora, Phantom, Aphrodite, Athena, Hermes, and Lady

Well I went and did it, bought a snake I know nothing about, so it's time to kick my learning into overdrive and learn all I can so that this little Dreamer can have everything that is right for her. She's an '02, a picky eater, captive bred, and arriving tomorrow overnight express.

I WILL be reading both this forum and the archived forum and learning all I can, but again, if anyone can point me to a care sheet, and especially point out the beginner errors that are common so that I might avoid them, I would appreciate it. I love the look of these darling snakes, and believe I will do right by her, but information is what I need to be sure she gets what she needs.

Thanks again in advance for any advice. I do know that i'm doing it all backwards and that I should have learned everything I could before even considering purchasing her, but the deed is done.
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~Sasheena

Kit, Kaboodle, Tantilla, Tantillas, Lightning, Kinkee, Maple, Licorice, Castle, Bishop, Queenie, Jester, Pandora, Phantom, Aphrodite, Athena, Hermes, and Lady

Well, the good thing is carpets are not terribly difficult to care for.I own a 1.1 pair of jungles, but I don't think I can give a whole caresheet. Instead, I'll post a couple sites that I've found to have very good information. The first is http://reptiles.drivennewmedia.com/carpet_python_care.htm. Its a good site done by Anthony Caponetto who frequents this forum. Another would be Matt Turner's site. In order to access it, go to the kingsnake home page and click on Matt Turner Reptiles. He has an exellent caresheet on there about jungles(I can't access it right now for a link). Another would be the VPI Caresheet that you can find on www.vpi.com's homepage. I hope these three sites will help you. Good luck with your little girl. They're great snakes. Just please...in the future, do a little homework.

Thank you SO much for the info. I tried the Matt Turner Reptiles, but the link was down, but read both the other care sheets quite carefully. This makes me very excited for my Dreamer. One thing I noticed in both care sheets was that the hatchlings don't like pinkies, preferring hoppers or young juvenile mice. I believe the person selling her to me has been assist-feeding pinkies... and this makes me hope that with the appropriate hopper mouse as a lure she will be eating regularly in no time. I will post a picture of her as soon as I get her.

The care sheets answered a lot of my questions and I don't feel too badly about purchasing her without any knowledge. I know this is a silly reason to get a snake, but I had a vivid dream the night before last where I saw a little jungle carpet python, and I told my husband about it, and so yesterday, when we saw the picture of the little Dreamer she was a "must-buy". So that is her name too, Dreamer.

You'll certainly hear a lot from me in the future as I work with this my first python. Thanks again for the helpful links. I appreciate all I learned.
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~Sasheena

Kit, Kaboodle, Tantilla, Tantillas, Lightning, Kinkee, Maple, Licorice, Castle, Bishop, Queenie, Jester, Pandora, Phantom, Aphrodite, Athena, Hermes, and Lady

This web page was very helpfull for me when I was looking up info on the web. It also has a Bredli bend to the info. Thankfully Carpets are not usually hard to keep. But do your homework, especially if your little girl is a picky eater. People have a lot of posts on how to tempt troublesome eaters into feeding on the arcive forum.

http://www.pythons.net/australia/carpet/

Best of luck
Darci

But you made your first beginner error by settling for a non-feeder. Anyone that would sell an assist feeding snake obviously has either no time or given up on trying to feed it the right way. Your in for allot of excitement as you attempt to get it to feed on it's own. It's not easy, and it may never happen. The first thing you need to do when you get it is set it up and leave it alone for a while (week). It's probably going to be stressed to the max. Once it has settled in make sure it's in a small enclosure...probably shoebox size. With proper heat and humidity and a few hides. Feeding advice will be given then.
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Thanks for the advice. I know that it was risky getting the non-feeder, but I have had some luck with non-feeders. I had a Rosy Boa who was a problem eater (kept regurging and finally stopped eating for three months), and an Arizona Mountain Kingsnake who had two meals in her life when she was given to me--one before she was brumated and one just after. Both are eating fine now. (in fact they're little piglets). But I do know that it will be a challenge.

My current plans, even before reading your post, was to put her in a shoebox sized container, with appropriate hide and water. I won't be doing anything with her for a week or so, and when I do try to feed her I will start with a live fuzzy. My hope is that I will be able to get her to eat on a fuzzy, if she's only ever been offered pinkies. I figure the first thing to do is to get her to eat anything, and then later to work her towards frozen/thawed rodents. Since I raise my own mice, I have all sizes.

She'll be undisturbed and given space and time, and hopefully she will become a good feeder. Perhaps I set myself up for a heartbreak, but I can live with that decision.
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~Sasheena

Kit, Kaboodle, Tantilla, Tantillas, Lightning, Kinkee, Maple, Licorice, Castle, Bishop, Queenie, Jester, Pandora, Phantom, Aphrodite, Athena, Hermes, and Lady

Sounds like a good plan...also try feeding at night in a small container. Place the snake inside and leave it for 15 minutes to let it settle...then in the dark (or with as little light as possible) introduce the prey item and leave it be for a while. That normally works for me.
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http://www.moreliapythons.com