Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I was thinking of getting a Spotted, Blood, Irian Jaya, or Jungle Carpet python. What I was wondering about them is how big are they going to get, how hard they are to take care of and what is there temperment like. Or if anyone could recommend one (besides a ball) that doesn't get 20 ft long and want to kill me.

Tim

I have nothing against ball pythons before anyone yells at me for hating them or something, I just was looking for something else

Hi. I am just a pet owner. I have a jungle carpet python and she is great. I bought her as a yearling so she was over the nippy stage.(Babies can be nippy). She is 5 plus foot long now, she was like 3 foot when I bought her, but slender. I wanted a bigger snake then my corns and milk but not a 10 foot snake like some boas. Jungles reach 6-8 foot.
I house her in a 80 gallon tank with some branches. They like to climb so jungles make nice display animals vs. ones that hide all the time. I've heard ball pythons hide alot. She has a basking bulb for day temps in the high 80's and a red light at night so her temp don't drop to low along with a UTH. She also has some hide boxes. She is doing great. Only down side to carpets is some won't eat rats. Mine is eating large f/t rats so trying to feed a 6-8 footer mice can be expensive from what I've read.
Other then the fact that my JCP is bigger then my corns she doesn't require any more care. I don't worry about humidity unless she is in shedding mode. There is a great site about carpets... www.acreptiles.com
I am thinking of getting a spotted. I only have room for one big snake. Spotted python are on the small side of like 3 foot from what I've read. They just look neat to me. I saw one at a show and it was small. Hope this helps..

Oh, I wanted to post a photo of my JCP

In my experience Spotteds are very docile, whereas my Jungle carpet is an absolute nightmare. she will bite without the least hesitation, and pees when handled which is one of the most horrendous smells I've ever had to endure. she's a yearling now and I'm hoping that she will calm down some more (she's at least better now than when I first got her), and her colors are starting to really come in (beautiful!). even though she's a challenge to hold I really enjoy her.

sorry to hear your jcp is a nightmare! i've heard some can be a challenge. i guess i was lucky with mine. she is so docile and even if she is due to eat she will let me reach in a pick her up. here is another photo. i think i deleted my first photo.

You listed all great snakes to work with. Spotteds remain fairly small and if you want a small sized python, that is a great selection. Bloods will give you the best feel of a "giant" snake without the lenght (but plenty of girth. You can expect a male to reach 4-6' and females from 5-7' (and there are records of larger specimens). Irian jaya carpets are one of the smallest of the carpet clan reaching lengths of 4-5' on average....great snakes and very docile. Jungle carpets are probably the creme de la creme of carpets; magnificent colors, wonderful temperment and decent size but easily managed by one person (5-7'). Hope this helps. Get the snake that is of most interest to you. Rob Carmichael, Curator of the Wildlife Discovery Center, Lake Forest, IL

You should probably look at care sheets for the different ones you are thinking about and pick which one best fits what you can handle. You should be able to answer any quesyions by looking under CARESHEETS or RECOMMENDED on this site. I would start with carpet pythons. You might not even want to look any farther if you do.