Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok ill start with the question the local pet shop has a jungle carpet baby that I really like the colors of; the problem is he bites bad. The ownerof the shop said he could handle it every day and it would never get nicer and he said they get worse with age. Is that true if not is the hope with daily handling and such, I could calm him?

Now for the care I am not a beginner to snakes but only a beginner to JCP so how hard is it to care for them, how long will it live in a 22-gal screen mesh cage?

Thanx Randy ps I have troble with spelling so sorry for any misspelled wors.

First off what you were told about temperaments was completely wrong! Almost all carpets will calm with consistent handling and they will also calm with age.

As far as cages I wouldn't use a mesh cage, I would use an aquarium Rubbermaid or a commercial type cage. An adult would be pretty good in a 4 foot cage, if it’s a bigger snake you might need a bit bigger of a cage.

I started with corns and a milk. I now have a JCP and she is a wonderful pet. I bought her at a local reptile/fish store as a yearling so she was over the biting stage. I've read they are biters as babies but do calm down. Not necessarly with age but with size. Any one who tells you they don't doesn't know that much about them. Mine is about 4 foot and tried to bite me once. My fault as I tried to move her after feeding.

I house mine in a 40 gallon breeder size aquarium. I first had her in a 20 gallon long tank but she soon out grew that. I have an under the tank heater with basking light. Red light at night. Lights are on timers. She loves her hide boxes and branches. The only thing I do different with her then my corns is mist her tank down more when she is in sheding mode. Other then that...it's the same basic care as with my corns and milk.

She does come out to 'display' her self more then my others so that is nice. Only problem I've read with JCP is that they can be very hard to switch from mice to rats. Mine swithced with no problems.

I enjoy my JCP alot. Hope you will too.