Jungle Carpet Python Care Sheet!
Jungle Carpet Python
Jungle Carpet Pythons are an active, colourful and a semi-arboreal member of the Pythonidae family. They can be a little defensive as hatchlings but if handled regularly they can tame down really nicely. Jungle carpet pythons come from Queensland, Austraila. They come in a variety of natural colours ranging from bright yellow and black to a dull yellow and black, either way its a naturally beautiful species. You can also get black and white Jungle Carpet pythons, the only pure Jungle mutation that we know of currently is the Zebra morph.
Scientific Name: morelia spilota cheynei
Life Span: 20-30 years.
Adult Size: 5-6ft.
Although some Jungle Carpet Pythons can reach 7ft.
Housing: As hatchlings, Jungle Carpet Pythons are very active and more than willing to sit on display. We keep our hatchlings in 12ltr Really Useful Boxes, these enclosures will last for the first 8-12 months of their life, depending on their size. Remember that Carpet Pythons are semi-aboreal so they will love to climb, therefore having a little heigh to the setup is ideal because you can add branches.
When your Jungle Carpet Python is going into its juvenile years it will be ready to move into a vivarium, although the snake may look small to be in such a enclosure, don't worry, these snakes are generally not shy. Your vivarium should be a minimum of 4ftx2ftx3ft(LxWxH) however a Jungle Carpet python will make use of extra space if given.
Temperature: Hot spot 31-32°C/88-90°F. Cool end 22°C/72°F.
Heating: While your Jungle Carpet python is still a hatchling and it is housed in a Really Useful Box setup, it is best to use a heat mat with a on/off or mat thermostat which has been set by a digital thermometer.
Heat mats only really heat the surface it sits under, so its always a good idea to place a hide over the heat mat.
Once your Jungle Carpet Python has reached a decent size and is able to move into its adult enclosure, a vivarium, you can heat it by one of two ways. One of these ways is by a heat bulb. This will produce heat and emit light into the enclosure but will require that you place a bulb guard over the bulb to prevent your Jungle Carpet Python making contact with the bulb and potentially burning its self. The bulb will also need to be on a dimming stat and set using a digital thermometer and monitored this way.
The problem with having a heat bulb however, is that it produces light to which could shine bright throughout the night, and could cause a disturbance for the snake and yourself if you sleep in the same room.
The second way you could heat your vivarium enclosure is by using a ceramic bulb. These do not emit light and so cannot cause a disturbance at night, however, they can get to extreme temperatures and can melt normal bulb holders and for that reason a ceramic bulb holder must be used. The ceramic will also need a ceramic bulb guard, this will leave a large enough gap between the bulb and the guard which will prevent your snake coming into contact with it and burning itself. To control the temperatures inside the enclosure you will need a pulse proportional thermostat for your ceramic bulb, this should be set up by using a digital thermometer to which you can then monitor the temperatures with.
Heating: While your Jungle Carpet python is still a hatchling and it is housed in a Really Useful Box setup, it is best to use a heat mat with a on/off or mat thermostat which has been set by a digital thermometer.
Heat mats only really heat the surface it sits under, so its always a good idea to place a hide over the heat mat.
Once your Jungle Carpet Python has reached a decent size and is able to move into its adult enclosure, a vivarium, you can heat it by one of two ways. One of these ways is by a heat bulb. This will produce heat and emit light into the enclosure but will require that you place a bulb guard over the bulb to prevent your Jungle Carpet Python making contact with the bulb and potentially burning its self. The bulb will also need to be on a dimming stat and set using a digital thermometer and monitored this way.
The problem with having a heat bulb however, is that it produces light to which could shine bright throughout the night, and could cause a disturbance for the snake and yourself if you sleep in the same room.
The second way you could heat your vivarium enclosure is by using a ceramic bulb. These do not emit light and so cannot cause a disturbance at night, however, they can get to extreme temperatures and can melt normal bulb holders and for that reason a ceramic bulb holder must be used. The ceramic will also need a ceramic bulb guard, this will leave a large enough gap between the bulb and the guard which will prevent your snake coming into contact with it and burning itself. To control the temperatures inside the enclosure you will need a pulse proportional thermostat for your ceramic bulb, this should be set up by using a digital thermometer to which you can then monitor the temperatures with.
Enclosure decoration: There are a lot of ways to decorate your setup and Jungle Carpet pythons make a great display species, so a naturalistic setup really shows them off to their best. We use a substrate mixture of coir, orchid bark and cypress mulch in our setups, cork bark hides and reptile safe plastic plants also make great additions to make the setup look naturalistic. You can always have a basic setup and use newspaper or tissue as substrate and then add branches and fake plants.
A water bowl is required on the cool end of the enclosure, this should allow the snake to curl inside in order to bathe. The water bowl will also provide the enclosure with humidity which for Jungle Carpet pythons should be around 50-60% and can be checked by a hydrometer.
Feeding: Here at Enigma Reptiles we start all our hatchling Jungle Carpet Pythons on Rat Pups so that you don't have to convert them. If a Carpet python has been previously eating mice or chicks, it can be a hard task getting them to eat rats, which once they reach adulthood would be a better main source of food.
Our hatchlings are started on Rat pups until they are ready to move on to Rat Fuzzies (these are rats when they've just started growing fur), while they are eating this sized prey items, we feed them every 5-7 days. After this we feed them on Rat Weaners and small rats which are offered every 10 days. Adult Jungle Carpet pythons can eventually start being offered medium, large or possibly extra large rats every two-three weeks. The prey item should be just bigger than the largest part of the snake, causing a small lump once the rodent has been ate.
It is advised that you wait 24-48 hours before handling your Jungle Carpet python after feeding.
Shedding: Jungle Carpet pythons gain their colour as they grow, looking at the parents of your hatchling can be a good indicator to how bright your hatchling may become. As your Jungle Carpet python gets ready to shed its colours will begin to become dull and your snakes eyes may become blue/cloudy after 3-7 days of your Jungle Carpet python going back to normal, it will shed its skin. Stuck/retained sheds can mean that the humidity is too low, so a little spray of water in the enclosure when the snake is due a shed will help prevent this.
Enigma Reptiles thoughts on keeping Jungle Carpet pythons: Jungle Carpet pythons can make great pets for experienced and new snake keepers. As hatchlings, in general they can be very bitey but with patience and regular handling these snakes can become a delight to handle and keep. Defiantly a lovely display animal for most Snake keepers.
A water bowl is required on the cool end of the enclosure, this should allow the snake to curl inside in order to bathe. The water bowl will also provide the enclosure with humidity which for Jungle Carpet pythons should be around 50-60% and can be checked by a hydrometer.
Feeding: Here at Enigma Reptiles we start all our hatchling Jungle Carpet Pythons on Rat Pups so that you don't have to convert them. If a Carpet python has been previously eating mice or chicks, it can be a hard task getting them to eat rats, which once they reach adulthood would be a better main source of food.
Our hatchlings are started on Rat pups until they are ready to move on to Rat Fuzzies (these are rats when they've just started growing fur), while they are eating this sized prey items, we feed them every 5-7 days. After this we feed them on Rat Weaners and small rats which are offered every 10 days. Adult Jungle Carpet pythons can eventually start being offered medium, large or possibly extra large rats every two-three weeks. The prey item should be just bigger than the largest part of the snake, causing a small lump once the rodent has been ate.
It is advised that you wait 24-48 hours before handling your Jungle Carpet python after feeding.
Shedding: Jungle Carpet pythons gain their colour as they grow, looking at the parents of your hatchling can be a good indicator to how bright your hatchling may become. As your Jungle Carpet python gets ready to shed its colours will begin to become dull and your snakes eyes may become blue/cloudy after 3-7 days of your Jungle Carpet python going back to normal, it will shed its skin. Stuck/retained sheds can mean that the humidity is too low, so a little spray of water in the enclosure when the snake is due a shed will help prevent this.
Enigma Reptiles thoughts on keeping Jungle Carpet pythons: Jungle Carpet pythons can make great pets for experienced and new snake keepers. As hatchlings, in general they can be very bitey but with patience and regular handling these snakes can become a delight to handle and keep. Defiantly a lovely display animal for most Snake keepers.