Bought my first snake!

[dvs]

Hello everyone, I finally bought my first snake this past weekend.... I've been jealously gazing at all of yours for a while now (thanks for all the cool pics) and just had to get my own. So I bought a (from what the guy said) Queensland carpet python for what I thought to be a really good price.... the snake has a very nice pattern, allot of deffenition between color lines and what seems to me to be a really long body in proportion to the rest of him. I've been though all the treads here and other places and haven't really seen any that are like him as far as pattern.... I really wish I could post some pics but I can't so I can't show you to get your oppinion about him. What's the normal legth for a coastal that's just about 4 months old???? I haven't measured him out yet since I just got him this past sunday and didn't want to handle him for couple days since he ate for me that same night (2 fuzzy mice). So far he seems to be very well tempered...... he didn't like the guy who sold him to me to much but as soon as he was on me he totally chilled out, prolly see how he is tonight, he already seems to feel very comfortable in his new home. Can any of you post any pics you have or may know of ... of any sized coastals or queensland (if there's any difference) pythons??? and give any tips, or good things to know about these snakes?? like habits?? or things to look out for?? And how big the "average" coastal gets??? I know this guy might get pretty big but what's the norm for larger than usual carpet????

Sorry for all the questions........ just a little excited.

[Dom]

Hello and congrats on the new addition!

A 4 month old coastal or queensland (to me i consider them to be the same .. but locality wise they may differ a bit .. He would measure about .. hhmmm .. give or take12 to 16 inches I guess..

I owne two coastals .. My female is 4 yo about and measures at almost 8 feet and about 8-10 pounds .. my male is closer to the 5 yo and is 7 feet and a half and a good 8 pounds.. In general they attain lengh of about 8 feet sometimes 9 feet ..

I once took care of a 9 foot and a half coastal but have never evert seen one larger than that .. (thisone was a female over her 20 yo.

Here is a pic of oneof my beauties .. not the best pic though ..

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/507/55meandcarpetpython-med.jpg

[dvs]

Hey, thanks.... yeah he's about right then, he's just hit the 4 month mark and Im guessing he's a bit on the longer side.... maybe even hit the 2 foot mark, I'll be finding out for sure tonight. Do females tend to be the larger ones??? that would be good cuzz I think mine may be a male (not possitive). What kind of enclosures are you using for those adults??? measurements??? and do you house them together??? pics???

Do you know of any other places or forums to see more pics of coastals??? I've done some searching but haven't seen to many good pics..... especially ones that look simular to mine, what do you think the chances are that mine may be mixed with something else??? really wish I had a camera. Only reason I question it is because the guy who sold him to me was either just trying to please me and tell what he thought I wanted to hear to make the deal or he really didn't know much about what he was selling....... doesn't matter to much cuzz I love the snake, but it's always nice to know, ya know?

oh yeah and before I forget... How do there coats change as they get older??? fade? lighten? or improve???

[dvs]

just thought of another question.... when are these guys most active???? night? day? anytimes of the day when I should becareful before sticking my hand in his tank???

[Dom]

Alright heres are the answers lol Ill try to answer all of them ..

First of all - yes females do tend to be larger then the males .. Here is a pic f my female ..

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/507/55coastalfemale2-med.jpg

and an other

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/507/55coastalfemale-med.jpg

Hope u like them!


Mine are housed in a 7x2x2 cage .. seperated In the middle right now during the cooling season and as soon as the time is right they are reunited .. here is a pic...


http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/504/55carpetsmallwallsetupofcages-med.jpg

Hope this all works ..

[Dom]

Ures could be mixed with other different localities although there is no way of me telling u that unless we see some pics of the lil guy.. Check out hte whole carpet python forum since it oppenned ull get lots of info there...

As for the coats .. hmmm .. got me thinking . I personally think that there coast are nicer when there yearlings and tend to darken as they get older .. i may be worng though .. I have never owned a carpet under the 4 feet rage (coastal i mean)...

It darkens 2-3 weeks b4 the shed and very light after their sheds.. the pics u see are b4 a shed .. they usually are a bit lighter than that...

I am pretty sure coastals are nocturnal and not diurnal .. As fo rsticking ure hands .. lol only u know when u can .. u'll learn with time

Hope it helps!

Take care
Dom

[Shane Tesser]

Congrats with your new snake...now the real addiction begins ;)

[dvs]

Yeah no $hit!!! I've been glaring at all the GTP's and ETB's for quiet some time now, figured I'd be pretty stupid to jump right into something like that with no experience ( I don't want a $600-$1200 snake dying on me). I love boa's too..... I already can't wait till this snake gets big enough so I can build him a cage...... that way while Im at it I can go ahead and add another level or 2 on it and then I'll have to find something to fill it...... ha ha, Im sure my girlfriend would love that!!! wait till she finds out how big this one might get...... oh well, what's she gonna do???

Thanks for the help Dom, anyone else have anything to add???

I really want to see some more pics....... lets see um!!!! yours, your cousins.... who's ever, I just wanna see some more pics to compare untill I get a camera so I can see what you people think of my little guy.

[rocket]

hi there. the queensland & the coastal are the same. they are native to the east coast of australia as far south as southern new south wales & possibly vic. majority of the ones i see come from the brisbane area as they seem to be darker than some of the more northern ones. there are a few species of spilota. the coastal is morelia spilota mcdowelli. i actually live 2hrs drive north west of brisbane & have been observing these fine creatures in the wild for most of my living memory. it is only recently i have thought of keeping them as pets. they usually attain a length of 7 to 9 foot they have been known to reach 14 feet in length but this really is quite rare. for an adult coastal i would say around a minimum cage dimension of 5 x 4 x 2 & make sure the long dimension is the height. these snakes are vary arboreal & do not like to be on the ground for too long especially when young. rodhttp://C:\mypicciescagefinished.jpg http://C:\mypiccies\websizemineinfork.jpg

[rocket]

sorry will try to post the pics again. rod.http://www.C:\mypiccies.com/cagefinished.jpg http://www.C:\mypiccies\websize.com/mineinfork.jpg

[dvs]

Hey thanks, can't see your pics..... but that just might be the way my pc is setup, not sure how to fix it. (can anyone help?) Anyway, so you say 5'highx4'widex2'deep is good??? That's a little bigger then I was thinking but I guess I'll just wait to see how big this guy gets..... I was thinking a little more like 3'hx4'Wx2'd...... I've heard these guys don't need as big of an enclosure as most equal in size, Have I heard wrong??? Plus my guy seems to spend and equal amount of time on the floor as he does in branches.

It's been a full week now since I brought him home, and he's eating like a pig..... first day I brought him home (last Sunday) he ate 2 fuzzy's and yesterday he put down 3. The pet store didn't have a very good selection to choose from so I had to get 3 smaller ones instead of the one to big. What size mouse is good for a 4 month old coastal??? about 22" to 23" long?

[rocket]

with regards to feeding them they are absolute gluttons. they will feed any time you are ready to feed them (except when they are shedding) he sounds very healthy. if he suddenly goes off his food do not panic he is just getting ready to shed. mine wont eat sometimes up to a month before he sheds. mind you as soon as he does he is seriously hungry. one thing i will warn you about is that it is very unhealthy for them to be overfed. it sounds to me like you are doing that. i feed mine 2 fuzzies every 8 - 10 days and he has doubled in weight in about 5 months but still looks healthy. you do not want to obese your snake coz they can develop heart disease just like we can. i had the luxury to see the siblings of the snake i bought and he is nearly twice the size but without being obese. with regards to the photos it was not your pc it is my inability to use the photo system on this website. i cant post more than 1 pic at a time. when i do they dont work. i will just attach 1 photo so you can see how he looks. happy herping

[dvs]

wow.... nice yellow in that guy. So is that a recent picture and are you saying you think that guy is overweight???? Looks healthy to me.... my little guy is going into a shed now, his eye's are pretty cloudy now and he hasn't done much of anything the last 2 days. I know it may of sounded like I was feeding him allot form my other post but the fuzzy's really were pretty small, especially from the size of the mouse they guy who sold him to me said he was feeding him. It's the 3rd day now since his last meal and the lump in him is pretty much evened out already...... plus I thought he looked a little slim to begin with when I first brought him home. Thanks for the pic...... oh yeah, and what do you think about the smaller cage size I mentioned??? Im not EXACTLY sure about his sex yet but the guy seemed to think it was a male, so he shouldn't get too big.

[liquid_mage]

Congratulations. My first snake was a carpet python too. I agree with Rocket they will eat just about anytime you are ready to feed them except when they are ready to shed. Mine didn't eat for almost 20 days one time. I try to feed her every 5 to 7 days depending on how much she ate. I will offer her two hoppers if she eats both it's seven days if she eats one its 5 days.

Mine is six months old she is almost two feet right know I keep her in a ten gallon aquarium and she seems very happy. She will climb on her branches and she will even sit on top of her hide sometimes.

Good Luck