Feeding

[Tracy33]

Hi everyone, my carpet is 15 , thats how long i have had him, and as i`am sure you know that these snakes have a good feeding responce as a rule. Well at least my snake did until a few years ago . Being 9 ft it was tricky, but now it is a different story. I now gently place rat in his mouth ,then he clamps down, but does not really constrict the rat. I also find it easy to handle him afterwards , when placing him back in tank. Is there anyone who could shed some light on this at all .Is he getting on in years , or is he just being a baby? ( my big baby) :rolleyes: Tracy.

[Lankyrob]

As long as he is eating then i wouldnt worry :). Can we see some pics, never seen a carpet that old before :)

[SWDK]

Could be that after all those years of eating frozen thawed it finally realized that it doesn't need to constrict and eats much calmer. Just my 2 cents.

[red ink]

How often do you feed him and what size prey?

Skip a couple of weeks feeding schedule and see if response perks up...

[Tracy33]

I would like to put on some pics , but not sure how to do it . I thought carpets lived for 15 to 30 years old , do you consider him old? He is not really a big eater, sometimes once every two weeks ,mostly once a month. He takes full size rats. I must say, he is over all a relaxed snake , even when i pick him up , he just hangs there. Thanks for your thoughts ,Tracy.

[Lankyrob]

Set up a photobucket.com account, upload pics there and then all you do is copy the IMG code into your post here. Hey presto, pictures!!! :)

[shaunyboy]

carpets can live to 20 to 30 years of age,so imo he's starting to get old....

that said,i have carpets that hammer their prey most of the time,then the odd time,they will give a laid back half hearted strike,if any at all,before dragging the prey away to eat it WITHOUT constricting it at all

if everything else is as it should be (eating,shedding,general behavoir),then i wouldn't worry about it

cheers shaun

[Tracy33]

Set up a photobucket.com account, upload pics there and then all you do is copy the IMG code into your post here. Hey presto, pictures!!! :)
Thanks for that Lankyrob, i will look into it. Tracy.

[Tracy33]

carpets can live to 20 to 30 years of age,so imo he's starting to get old....

that said,i have carpets that hammer their prey most of the time,then the odd time,they will give a laid back half hearted strike,if any at all,before dragging the prey away to eat it WITHOUT constricting it at all

if everything else is as it should be (eating,shedding,general behavoir),then i wouldn't worry about it

cheers shaun
Hello Shaun, yes everything else is normal . He shed his skin today in one piece, he had laid in his water tank for six days, which he never has done before, although he always sheds well . Do you have older carpets to ? or do you think they are just as relaxed as mine. Tracy.

[shaunyboy]

does he normally soak in his water bowl before a shed ?

i know people who's carpets soak,but none of mine do

it may be he has mites and this is causing him to not act as he normally does

if he goes back into his water bowl for long periods of time,then wait a few hours,then pick him out and swab his,nostrils and eyes with a white cotton bud.....

the mites climb to the nostrils and eyes of the snake,to avoid drowning

as said it may not be mites

cheers shaun

[Tracy33]

Thanks shaun , i have had a look for mites and all seems well. He is resting up now , and keeps opening his jaws wide ,as they do . I guess he will be wanting a rat very soon. He eats full size rats ,but sometimes goes 3 to 4 weeks before taking another, i dont know if that is normal or not. Maybe it is his age. Tracy.