Irian Jaya Carpet Python Not Eating

[Mas0n]

Hey everyone!

I have a Irian Jaya Carpet Python she's always eaten well. I fed her 1 medium size rats a week and sometimes her schedule would go a bit off but she would still eat no matter what. Now for about 2-3 weeks she has not eaten anything. She normally stays in her hide and then comes out when she's hungry. She comes out and moves around the cage non-stop like she's hungry but when i dangle the rat in her face she won't eat she just goes past the rat to escape the cage. I tried putting her on the floor and feeding her there with more room and no such luck again. I'm completely at a loss and feel so bad that she's hungry but won't eat. Any advice is appreciated!

Mason

[MDT]

I have had several carpets seasonally go off food over the years. Sometimes for several months. It’ll be ok. You can offer food ever couple of weeks, and most likely, when you least expect it, she’ll start in feeding again.

[EL Ziggy]

I agree with MDT. My coastal and my Bredli will skip a few meals during the colder months and breeding season. If your temps are dialed in just keep offering food every 2-3 weeks and she should get back on track soon.

[kazz]

Carpets don't really like rats. Try mouse or bird. And try leave a prey in complete dark. My IJ carpet don't take food with tweezers and don't eat rats at all.

[MDT]

Originally Posted by kazz

Carpets don't really like rats. Try mouse or bird. And try leave a prey in complete dark. My IJ carpet don't take food with tweezers and don't eat rats at all.

Kazz, while this may be your experience with your carpet, it is not altogether accurate. Carpets, like any snake are opportunistic carnivores. "Liking" something is attributing human characteristics to your snake. A carpet may be acclimated to a certain prey item, and thus, more difficult to get to take something else (one of my carpets is a mouser and extremely difficult to get to eat a rat), however, with time and effort, you can get them to eat just about anything. Of my 5 carpet pythons, 4 will eat rats, mice, quail, Reptilinks... in other words, they are not picky when it comes to food items.

Mas0n, just keep trying every couple of weeks... things should get back on track soon enough. You can try to vary the diet a bit if you'd like (and Kazz brings up a good point on trying different things).... it never hurts.

[kazz]

Originally Posted by MDT

"Liking" something is attributing human characteristics to your snake.

I have read a thread on another site where carpet keepers were saying their carpets didn't eat rats. Mice and birds were taken. And they were sharing how to make carpet to take rats, and it was very hard.

My Irian Jaya carpet can eat anything if it corded up to a quail