General Questions for a Carpet Newbie

**Minkness** · 10-05-15, 09:05 AM

Hey all! I have some general questions for my new lady.

1. She seems very slender and there was no food bulge left the day after she ate a mouse pinky and a mouse fuzzy. I checked to see if she regurged and there was nothing in her tank. How often should I be feeding her for a slow but healty growth?

2. I have heard that carpets are hard to change onto new foods, so, should I be working her on some rat pinkies instead of mouse fuzzies?

3. My girl seems to sleep at night and be active during the day/evening time. Is this normal?

4. Does pink on their tail/underside mean they will be shedding soon?

I'm sure I will have more questions later but this is it for now.

Got a pic of her awesome butterfly marking in her head too!

Also, having trouble picking her name, soooo.....what do you think? Shisa, Aria, or Nali?

MDT · 10-05-15, 10:44 AM

See responses in red

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minkness

Hey all! I have some general questions for my new lady.

1. She seems very slender and there was no food bulge left the day after she ate a mouse pinky and a mouse fuzzy. I checked to see if she regurged and there was nothing in her tank. How often should I be feeding her for a slow but healty growth?

Carpets can take pretty big food items. Looking at her, I'd switch to rats ASAP

2. I have heard that carpets are hard to change onto new foods, so, should I be working her on some rat pinkies instead of mouse fuzzies?
See above

3. My girl seems to sleep at night and be active during the day/evening time. Is this normal?
No worries

4. Does pink on their tail/underside mean they will be shedding soon?
did she go "blue"
I'm sure I will have more questions later but this is it for now.

Got a pic of her awesome butterfly marking in her head too!

beautiful carpet!!!

Also, having trouble picking her name, soooo.....what do you think? Shisa, Aria, or Nali?

Pogie · 10-05-15, 11:26 AM

I can't answer any of your questions, however I can give you my opinion on one of the names

I like the name Aria! A pretty name for a pretty snake

MDT · 10-05-15, 12:37 PM

with that butterfly marking, Papillon seems to work

**Minkness** · 10-05-15, 12:48 PM

I only got her on Saturday and the lady at the store didn't have a shed record (hadn't been there long) but said she looked about ready to shed.

Thank you for answering my questions!!! I will offer her a rat pink on tomorrow or Wednesday.

This brings up another question though. Do carpets get obese easily like BPs and some boas?

MDT · 10-05-15, 01:40 PM

You can prob make it obese for sure. I would feed appropriately sized rat every 7 days at this stage, then as (s)he gets a bit bigger, every 10 days. For my old girl I feed a large rat every 14 days or so.

**Minkness** · 10-05-15, 03:36 PM

Thank you again MDT!

toddnbecka · 10-06-15, 12:44 AM

My jungle/cross will take mice or rats, only difference is the feeding response. If I have an overabundance of mice I feed a couple small live ones, if not I feed f/t fuzzy rats. The f/t are taken very calmly and simply swallowed, not "killed" first like the boas do with them. It took several weeks after arrival to get that one to take a live hopper mouse, so I suspect he/she may have been started on rat pinks. Come to think of it, a carpet breeder would likely have rats on hand rather than mice...
Our new little IJ eagerly took a fuzzy mouse the day after she arrived. I haven't had rat pinks to try her on, but it would likely be a good idea to get her accustomed to them as well.

Klaire · 11-15-15, 08:19 PM

Shes beautiful! how old is she?

**Minkness** · 11-15-15, 09:34 PM

I didn't get her exact age, but according to the store she was still very young. My guess, 2-3 months. But it's only a guess.

Klaire · 11-16-15, 12:29 AM

Ok nice