jungle carpet python wont eat

[redline7757]

I purchased a male 08 jungle carpet python at a reptile expo a few weeks ago. He still has not eaten. I have tried feeding him frozen thawed fuzzies but he just ignores them when i wiggle them in front of his face. I tried feeding him a live pinkie rat but he would just strike at it and then not hold on. I think he was afraid of it. I think he is stressed. I have not handeled him in about two weeks because he is stressed. I have him in a 10 gallon with aspen a hide and a water dish. he spends most of his time hiding under his waterdish on the cool side of his tank. The hot spot is about 88 degrees and the cool side is about 79 degrees the humidity stays at about 50%. I dont know what i am doing wrong but i would realy like him to eat. eny suggestions on how to get him to eat would be greatly apreaciated.

[Will0W783]

I have read that aspen is a bad bedding choice for carpets because it gets stuck in their labial heat pits and vents. I would switch him out to repti-bark or a tank liner. Also, you might want to raise your temps a bit. During the day, get your basking area into the 90s and the cool side in the low 80s. At night don't let it drop below 76 (all are in Fahrenheit). It is possible it is too cool for him. Also, the live pinky most likely was not active enough to trigger a strike. I feed my baby coastals (all about 1.5 feet long and about as thick as my pinky finger) live hoppers. The pinks do not emanate much body heat, another reason why they may not register as food source. Try giving him a live fuzzy or hopper. How large is he? If he is at least 1.5 feet long he can handle a hopper. A 3-foot carpet can handle an adult mouse. My yearling carpet eats a rat weanling (about adult mouse size) every week, sometimes two. Give him a prey item about as thick around as he is, not larger than that, but not tiny. If the prey is too small, the snake might not even bother.
Those are just some thoughts IMO. Good luck, he will eat when he is ready if you are doing everything right. They can go a long time without food, so don't panic yet.

[gonesnakee]

Reptibark NEVER if ingested & Carpets will ingest substrate when they eat, it will cause impaction for sure. I sold a Woma last year that buddy kept on that bark crap & it died as a result of being impacted by it due to ingestion while eating.
Young Carpets that are kept in tubs I use shop towel papertowels, all bigger ones in enclosures get aspen.
As for it not eating what does the seller/breeder have to say about it? Thats step one after you had ensured husbandry is correct of course. Ask WHO sold it too you. Ask WHEN it ate last, WHAT it ate last & has been eating in the past. Ask HOW the person was going about feeding it & WHERE it had been housed etc. That about covers what should have been asked prior purchase. Cheers Mark

[Will0W783]

Huh, that is interesting. When I was doing research on carpet python care, I had read that aspen could get caught in their vents. But if you use it and have no problems, then my source must have been wrong. My babies have newspaper, my adult has a tank liner, and the yearling has coconut bark because he likes to dig into it.

[citysnakes]

I have read that aspen is a bad bedding choice for carpets because it gets stuck in their labial heat pits and vents.

if this is the case, then wouldnt aspen get stuck in any snake with labial heat pits and vents...?

[redline7757]

thanks i got him to eat by dipping a black fuzzy/hopper in chicken broth and i left it in him cage. maybe it was the black mouse or the chicken broth but maybe he just needs the privacy when he eats. I am probably going to switch his substrate to something new thanks.