Need tips for getting my Jungle Carpet python to eat

[Mikoh4792]

I've had him for about a week now. I tried feeding him yesterday and tonight with no success. Both were at night when my snake was active and roaming about. The mouse was warm from being thawed out in warm water.

Since day 1, the perches(basking area) in the upper half of the enclosure are at the 90F mark. On the floor of the enclosure on the hotside, the ambient air temperature goes back and forth between 81-83 F. On the cool side of the enclosure it goes back and forth between 76-80F depending on time of day. At night, I turn off the heat, and turn on a 25 watt night bulb just to keep the enclosure at appropriate temperatures.( I live in new york so with all heating sources turned off it can get to the low 70's). Humidity is usually around 50%. I mist every couple of days and the bedding is a mixture of cypress mulch and eco earth so it holds humidity. pretty well for a while after the misting. My JCP is about 2 feet long and is in an 18x18x18 exo-terra.

[Donnie]

Don't offer food so frequently just try once a week and make sure the preys head is nice and hot. You have only had him for a week so don't worry if he doesn't feed for you straight away some take a bit of time to settle.

[Lankyrob]

As above, leave for at least a week before trying again, i personally would try rats rather than mice as well

[Starbuck]

like lanky rob and Donnie said, at this point i would wait it out. Do you know what the breeder was feeding it (F/T, live, mice, rats?)?
My newest snake wouldnt eat until i'd had it for two weeks, they just need some time to settle in. Try again in a week.
Good luck!

[Derek Roddy]

Does he have a hide box?

D

[franks]

I want to emphasize what lankyrob said. It would be much easier for you in the long run if you got your little guy eating rats. Mine is a little over 3' and is easily taking rats much bigger than any mouse size available. When your snake gets to 6 or 7 feet, you are going to have a hard time keeping him full with mice. At that size one appropriate size rat is much easier then 4 or 5 mice. It is not always easier switching them over to rats, which is why rob recommended getting him on rats now while he is still young.

[Terranaut]

Mine get rats right out of the egg for the exact ,above reason. Skip the mice. Try once a week and no more. Leave it overnight in the viv if you have to. Young carpets usually eat well so be sure your rat is 90ºish and not 125º or 75º or anything to far off a normal body temp.

[Mikoh4792]

Does he have a hide box?

D

He has three official hide boxes. One on lower hotter side, one on the lower cooler side, and one in the middle. The rest of his enclosure(ornaments, logs, vines, perches) all give him plenty of hiding places although I think it is unnecessary it's nice to have.

[Mikoh4792]

Okay I will give it a week guys. The reason I tried mice was I talked to the previous owner and this is what he said:

(His email response) We were feeding it f/t fuzzy mice in a brown paper bag. If it won't take it that way, try jump starting it with a live fuzzy again and then go back to frozen.

My frozen rats come in on tuesday( I already intended on getting it on rats asap). I will dip them in broth or rub it on mice and try it that way.

So what is the consensus on feeding in/out of the enclosure these days?

[Mikoh4792]

Mine get rats right out of the egg for the exact ,above reason. Skip the mice. Try once a week and no more. Leave it overnight in the viv if you have to. Young carpets usually eat well so be sure your rat is 90ºish and not 125º or 75º or anything to far off a normal body temp.

Not doubting your advice but wouldn't leaving it overnight cause some bacterial/mold/fungal growth inside the enclosure?

[RyanReptile]

If you put the rodent in before you go to bed and throw it out when you get up there should be no problems.

[Terranaut]

If you put the rodent in before you go to bed and throw it out when you get up there should be no problems.

Exactly :) you will smell the rat going bad before it becomes an issue for bacteria.

[Lankyrob]

Okay I will give it a week guys. The reason I tried mice was I talked to the previous owner and this is what he said:

(His email response) We were feeding it f/t fuzzy mice in a brown paper bag. If it won't take it that way, try jump starting it with a live fuzzy again and then go back to frozen.

My frozen rats come in on tuesday( I already intended on getting it on rats asap). I will dip them in broth or rub it on mice and try it that way.

So what is the consensus on feeding in/out of the enclosure these days?

I wouldnt worry about the broth/rubbing it on a mouse for the first attempt, it may just smell rat and go for it.

I feed my seven in their enclosure on the substrate, not had. Problem in over a year of doing it this way.

[Mikoh4792]

Got my rat pinkies in today. Tried to feed him but no success. Same as last time. He just strikes at it in a defensive manner. Doesn't seem to be interested in eating. Honestly, his requirements(heat,humidity,hides..etc) are up to standards.

Humidity right now is at 59%. Usually my air conditioner is on so the temp gradient is usually 78-90F top to bottom. Today is unusually hot so I dimmed all heat sources. Coolside is 81 basking spot is at 89. He is active at night usually moving around the perches. In the day time he either sleeps perched or goes into his hide. I just don't have any reason why he wouldn't eat.

I'm just gonna leave a rat in there overnight as you guys have advised and see what happens.

[Donnie]

Leave it a WEEK before trying again. It has been at most 5 days since you last tried and offering to often may be stressing him out. He will be fine not eating for a long time so don't think you are going to be starving him by not feeding him after a few days. When I switched one of my jungles over to rats she didn't eat for 14 weeks and showed no signs of deteriorating health. It may take a bit of time but don't panic just keep offering weekly or even sometimes every 2 weeks. Keep us posted in a week if it goes well or not

[Terranaut]

Yup wait the week. Also, after reading another members post about keeping higher temps I made the switch to my basking area being 95ish. The difference it made was awesome. My carpets will bask a bit then move elsewhere. I think getting the heat boost helps them quite a bit when they need a little digestion help or an imune boost. I suggest you up the hotside temps 5º today and wait the week.

[Mikoh4792]

Yup wait the week. Also, after reading another members post about keeping higher temps I made the switch to my basking area being 95ish. The difference it made was awesome. My carpets will bask a bit then move elsewhere. I think getting the heat boost helps them quite a bit when they need a little digestion help or an imune boost. I suggest you up the hotside temps 5º today and wait the week.

If I make the basking area 95F(which is 6 inches under the heat source on a perch of a 18 inch high enclosure), the coolside will probably be near 83-85 degrees. Is this still okay?

[Mikoh4792]

Leave it a WEEK before trying again. It has been at most 5 days since you last tried and offering to often may be stressing him out. He will be fine not eating for a long time so don't think you are going to be starving him by not feeding him after a few days. When I switched one of my jungles over to rats she didn't eat for 14 weeks and showed no signs of deteriorating health. It may take a bit of time but don't panic just keep offering weekly or even sometimes every 2 weeks. Keep us posted in a week if it goes well or not

Man, 14 weeks just sounds crazy. I'm assuming your carpet was an older specimen? Can't younger ones like mine(6 months old) die from not eating for a few weeks? <- If that's a stupid question I apologize but I was always under the impression that young snakes are supposed to be chowing down meals every 5-7 days because of their faster metabolism.

[Donnie]

Man, 14 weeks just sounds crazy. I'm assuming your carpet was an older specimen? Can't younger ones like mine(6 months old) die from not eating for a few weeks? <- If that's a stupid question I apologize but I was always under the impression that young snakes are supposed to be chowing down meals every 5-7 days because of their faster metabolism.

She was just over a year old when I switched her over. A member on here Shaun had one of his hatchlings go about 10 months without eating from when it was born and it was fine, they are a lot tougher than we think a lot of the time. As long as they are not dramatically loosing weight/condition then they should be fine. With mine she was stubborn and didn't want to eat a rat as she loved mice so much but in the end I guess she got hungry enough.

[Terranaut]

If I make the basking area 95F(which is 6 inches under the heat source on a perch of a 18 inch high enclosure), the coolside will probably be near 83-85 degrees. Is this still okay?

Try it and see. Low 80's is fine.

My male carpet adult will go from November until April without eating and not lose weight. They are built for this so a little hiccup in eating is no big deal.

[waf]

Hello... In my experience, what you have to do, when you get a python is, No. 1 double check the parameters, and seems that you had them ok, No.2 leave it, for at least 2 weeks in the enclosure, not taking it off, neigther feeding, during that period, you python will get confidence on its enviroment, and will eat normally.... but please, do not feed it with live preys, you will have a bad experience one day... Promissed.

Regards!

[Mikoh4792]

She was just over a year old when I switched her over. A member on here Shaun had one of his hatchlings go about 10 months without eating from when it was born and it was fine, they are a lot tougher than we think a lot of the time. As long as they are not dramatically loosing weight/condition then they should be fine. With mine she was stubborn and didn't want to eat a rat as she loved mice so much but in the end I guess she got hungry enough.

Try it and see. Low 80's is fine.

My male carpet adult will go from November until April without eating and not lose weight. They are built for this so a little hiccup in eating is no big deal.

Yeah he's not skinny(for a carpet python that is). No protruding ribs, good muscle tone, controlled movements. Which you could see from some of the pictures I have posted on the other sections. Just a few more days to go, I haven't done anything except change his water bowl and mist his enclosure. Although today, I turned on the house heater and took a nap for two hours. When I woke up his basking spot was 99F and cool side was 86. I woke up just in time or else he might have died from over heating.

Hello... In my experience, what you have to do, when you get a python is, No. 1 double check the parameters, and seems that you had them ok, No.2 leave it, for at least 2 weeks in the enclosure, not taking it off, neigther feeding, during that period, you python will get confidence on its enviroment, and will eat normally.... but please, do not feed it with live preys, you will have a bad experience one day... Promissed.

Regards!

Is feeding live to kind of "jump start" the feeding trigger response okay?(this is what the previous owner suggested) If I fed live it would be with a fuzzy mouse or rat pinky which wouldn't do any harm.

[Terranaut]

99 and 86 will not kill your carpet. No worries.Would you die in 99º heat? I said 5º not 10. You can try the live thing although I prefer to stick to frozen you can try it if your getting worried.

[lady_bug87]

Yeah he's not skinny(for a carpet python that is). No protruding ribs, good muscle tone, controlled movements. Which you could see from some of the pictures I have posted on the other sections. Just a few more days to go, I haven't done anything except change his water bowl and mist his enclosure. Although today, I turned on the house heater and took a nap for two hours. When I woke up his basking spot was 99F and cool side was 86. I woke up just in time or else he might have died from over heating.



Is feeding live to kind of "jump start" the feeding trigger response okay?(this is what the previous owner suggested) If I fed live it would be with a fuzzy mouse or rat pinky which wouldn't do any harm.

Yes. Feeding a live fuzzy or pinky *could* jump start it and yes they are typically too little to do much damage. If you choose to try it live just be vigilant. You shouldn't leave the snake and rat unattended.

So far though I would wait it out

[Lankyrob]

Are your viv heaters not on a thermostat?

[Mikoh4792]

Are your viv heaters not on a thermostat?

My jungle carpet python is in a viv with a heat lamp which is on a dimmer. This is it's temporary enclosure. I am waiting for my helix thermostat and "repti-rack" arboreal enclosure to come in the mail. For this I will hook up a radiant heat panel to a thermostat.