Bhageera's thread

[Starbuck]

thought i would share some pictures i took of her enclosure yesterday as we were setting up; i'm looking for pointers, tips, etc

she is in a 3x2x2 tub, on its side, so it is front opening. There is a 60 watt night blue bulb suspended over the cage, for a hotspot of between 88(at night) and 93 during the day. Is this warm enough?

The pics below are before i added a water dish in, but she has one, and the plant cover has been arranged a bit so it is more 'cover', and she can get to the water without being seen etc. I didn't see her drink, but i saw her cruise over the dish so she knows it is there.

Im going to be stopping at the hardware store tonight to get some materials for a perch; I'm trying to decide between a shelf style along one edge, or dowels?

she has paper towels as substrate right now; I'm getting a hygrometer at the hardware store as well. Will be trying to keep humidity between 50 and 70?

right now there is some grapevine and lots of plant cover, she was cruising around last night quite a bit, and overall seems to be adjusting very well!

The guy who sold her to me said they would max at around 5 feet, which i thought sounded very small… I've read elsewhere that they get between 5 and 7 (for a jungle?)

[Starbuck]

feeding?
The show had one rat/mice vendor (??) and his sizes seemed really variable… so i got one of each, as my honduran can eat these as well if the jungle can't,
she is about the diameter of a quarter, so i took a picture of the two sizes next to a quarter to hopefully get some input. Its feeding day for everyone else, so i figured i would try her (tonight) while the scent is in the air, so we'll see.

[Mikoh4792]

Why the heat lamp? Wouldn't there be the risk of making the surface of the tub too hot?(melting, outgassing..etc)

I'd just install a radiant heat panel in there. IMO much more reliable heat source.

For perches you can go either way, I've found making a shelf style, dowel perch works well. An example of this from my own enclosures. They literally stay there all day.

http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a594/mikoh4792/20131103_143521_zps7729b01b.jpg
http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a594/mikoh4792/DSC_0654_zps21e456f0.jpg

you can also do a crazy naturalistic style perch setup

http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a594/mikoh4792/DSC_0519_zps5f45119f.jpg

[Mikoh4792]

Humidity doesn't need to be high. I think it's agreed upon by most breeders that 40%-60% is just right. I haven't been misting my carpet cages at all and they shed just fine, but I'll mist from time to time because that's how they drink their water.

Size depends on many factors including genetics and food intake. Some people have monster jungles that are 8ft+(will byrd has python pete line jungles that are 8 and 9 ft) and there are jungles that can stay small(around 4-5 ft) depending on locality(palmerston, cowley beach..etc) and food intake.

For feeding I'd try giving her the smaller one first, and see how big of a lump it gives her.



edit: not sure if this works for all carpets but it does for every single one of mine. Try misting the walls of the enclosures and after a minute or so you should see yours lapping up the water. Pretty interesting to see.

[Starbuck]

i will probably do something a little more naturalistic and permanent when i get an 'adult' cage for her, this is short term (a year or so).

a heat lamp is all i had in my 'surplus' reptile closet, the temperature of the plastic itself is less than 105 degrees (by temp gun), her hot spot is a few inches beneath that. I'll look into the RHPs, but have never used them before.
good to know r.e. the humidity, here in florida it is lambently about that, i probably won't need to mist at all then (i don't for my colubrids).


does the smaller rat look about appropriate?

[thinkbig317]

Congrats on the pick up Starbuck!

[Mikoh4792]

I'd say so. Carpets can take pretty big meals, its just my own personal preference to feed them something moderate.

Try taking a picture of the lump it leaves so we can all see.

[Starbuck]

what a champion. Just offered her the rat pup, since i was feeding everyone else, and it had thawed much faster than i thought it would (was originally going to wait until tonight). she hissed like a little steam demon when i was putting the rat into her cage, and i had to distract her with my hand to get her to turn towards the rat; once she realized it was there though she completely forgot about the hairless monkey watching her; ate it like a pro :)
I think I've definitely answered my own question about size, but ya'll can chime in: it seems she is actually a lot bigger than i thought haha, more like a silver dollar in diameter at her widest point, so next time I'm going to try a larger rat (weanlings? small? the rat guy was pretty inconsistent). There was not much of a bulge at all. here, pictures!

**Bonus: she had a nice, smelly little urate (very small fecal component) as well waiting for me when i went to feed her, so we know the plumbing works!

[Mikoh4792]

If you are going to be feeding her weekly I'd say that size is good for now(for a couple of months). Seems to leave a slight bulge in her....

It's good that you got her first feeding out of the way! Now there are no more worries haha.

[Terranaut]

Nice looking. Love the name !!

[franks]

Nice looking carpet!! They are the greatest. Your snake could easily handle bigger prey. It looks from the pictures like that pup is a little less thick than the thickest part of your snake. Carpets can handle proportionately bigger prey than many other snakes.

[Starbuck]

I couldn't wait; it was kind of grey this morning but i decided i'd take Bhageera out for some glamour shots, and to spruce up her cage a bit.
I was a bit worried that she would be a little terror, after the way she hissed when i fed her last week, but i used a hook to get her out and after the initial huffiness, she was a complete doll. Not defensive or anything, totally calm as a cucumber.
The yellow showed up a bit better this time, but what i really love about her is the velvety black when she moves just right; it is very rich and deep in person. I also got a neat shot of her spurs; she was sold as a female, and i know that females can have spurs too, but can anyone confirm this for me?

also a shot of her cage, i added a box with a hole in the bottom so she could retreat and hide if she wanted, and it also acts as a shelf perch. This also lets the plants provide a bit more cover.

Can't wait to share more pictures with y'all :)

[marvelfreak]

Nice looking Jungle.

[lady_bug87]

I know 'natural' is in vogue but for perches I love PVC pipe. It's easy to work with and it can be sterilized, its nonporous, can be secured well, doesn't swell or crack and comes in a variety of sizes

[Starbuck]

i do like the 'lego' element to the pvc; that you can build it into all kinds of shapes, etc… and some very good points about cleaning too LadyBug :P

thanks for the compliment Marvel… I'm definitely hooked on Morelia :P

[lady_bug87]

Yea you learn about the value of Cleaning when you offer a rat and the snake bursts it all over everything

[Donnie]

Welcome to the world of carpets :) nice looking jungle.
Does that lamp not make the plastic really hot beneath it?

[Starbuck]

i forgot to mention that we weighed her in a 453g, and measuring using serp-widgets put her at roughly 51 inches!

i have a temp prob directly beneath the lamp, outside of the cage and its about 105, +/- 5 degrees depending on temperature of the room. I use a temp gun to measure her closest perch and it is low 90s, she normally clocks in around 80-85, the rest of the closure anywhere from 70-80, again depending on time of day and room temperature. I am looking into RHPs as an alternative…
I'm a bit confused; if my lamp is 105 degrees to get a hot spot of 92 at her perch, wouldn't an RHP need to be about the same (100s) to produce the hot spot at her perch? Still doing more research into it. Im using a 60w midnight blue bulb at the moment.

[Mikoh4792]

i forgot to mention that we weighed her in a 453g, and measuring using serp-widgets put her at roughly 51 inches!

i have a temp prob directly beneath the lamp, outside of the cage and its about 105, +/- 5 degrees depending on temperature of the room. I use a temp gun to measure her closest perch and it is low 90s, she normally clocks in around 80-85, the rest of the closure anywhere from 70-80, again depending on time of day and room temperature. I am looking into RHPs as an alternative…
I'm a bit confused; if my lamp is 105 degrees to get a hot spot of 92 at her perch, wouldn't an RHP need to be about the same (100s) to produce the hot spot at her perch? Still doing more research into it. Im using a 60w midnight blue bulb at the moment.

No because the radiant heat panel would go inside the tub, it wouldn't have to heat the tub from the outside(produce enough heat to penetrate from outside).

Also having a heat source actually inside will also help with ambient temperatures.

[Starbuck]

feeding day today as i have an exam tomorrow: She is such a pretty girl :) apparently my rats were not quite as hot as i thought they were (i guess i didn't leave them in the hot water long enough? measured at 115 F) because when i opened the door she smelled the rats but went for my hand. A leather work glove fixed that and she focused on the right pink thing no problem :) i came back 30 minutes later and it was all gone.

[Starbuck]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202583102522516&set=a.1686038394546.193294.1345253311&type=1&theater

pic, hopefully…

[shaunyboy]

re my Carpet temps

day time temps...hot end basking spot of 88F to 90F...cool end low 80's F

nightime temps... hot end mid 70's F to low 80's F...cool end low 60's F to 70's F

re feeding
imo Carpets will take prey 3,4,5,times their girth without issues

cheers shaun

[Starbuck]

thanks shaun, I will try the larger rat this weekend then, and let you know how it goes. My temps are right about what you quoted.

also; she passed some grayish urates the first day i had her, and a few days after that a VERY small, mucusy poo; and hasn't pooed at all since then. Is this normal for them, or should i take it as a sign that my rats are too small? thanks! I do see her actively moving around her cage, basking and retreating etc. I had not SEEN her drinking/in the water dish, but i don't bother her often.

[Mikoh4792]

My yearling jungle male did the exact same thing upon arrival. Pooped a bit, and then a few days later pooped a very small amount. Now he just poops normally(one big poop a week or so)I've heard that young rats cause runny stools. I've seen this with rat pinkies and fuzzies a while ago, but I've switched to mice. I'll just feed them rats when they are big enough for pups.

[Starbuck]

Feeding day: weighed the larger rats at 70g, so that puts them at just under 20 percent of her weight. I am planning a longer stretch between feeding so the larger rat should be perfect. Still no poops, but I'm hoping the large rat will cure that as well. I did find another.urate pile yesterday, so I'm confident that the other meals were just too small.
Thanks.for y'all s interest!

[shaunyboy]

Feeding day: weighed the larger rats at 70g, so that puts them at just under 20 percent of her weight. I am planning a longer stretch between feeding so the larger rat should be perfect. Still no poops, but I'm hoping the large rat will cure that as well. I did find another.urate pile yesterday, so I'm confident that the other meals were just too small.
Thanks.for y'all s interest!


Carpets don't poop much when they are on small prey (they absorb most of the prey),that should change as you up the prey size

a Carpet will take very large prey with ease

i feed every 7 days until they hit sub adult hood,when i up their prey size and feed larger,less often (every 2 or 3 weeks)

once adult i feed the largest prey item they will take every 2 to 4 weeks,depending on which season it is.....

if they start to lose their lean muscular shape and start showing fat,then i cut the feeding back...

i like to keep my Carpets lean and muscular

cheers shaun

[Mikoh4792]

Carpets don't poop much when they are on small prey (they absorb most of the prey),that should change as you up the prey size

a Carpet will take very large prey with ease

i feed every 7 days until they hit sub adult hood,when i up their prey size and feed larger,less often (every 2 or 3 weeks)

once adult i feed the largest prey item they will take every 2 to 4 weeks,depending on which season it is.....

if they start to lose their lean muscular shape and start showing fat,then i cut the feeding back...

i like to keep my Carpets lean and muscular

cheers shaun

What is subadult hood for you?

[Starbuck]

I've been alternating geesings, last time I used the bigger rat, she dragged it into her hide so I didn't get to see her eat it, but tthe following day she had a very nice food bump that looked big, but about right compared to other peoples carpets. Sure enough about 5 days later was a giant poop! This time I will offer 2 smaller rats (they were 30g I think) and then one more big rat before I go back to ny for 10 days for christmas.