New owner of 2yo Darwin...

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mr_sikma

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Hey guys,

I just purchased a 2yo male Darwin Carpet Python from a mate!

He used to handle him once or twice a fortnight but has been busy with work so didn't think it was fair on the snake to just leave it, so he sold it to me with the enclosure!

Fluffy was tied up in a pillow case for about 2 hours while the tank was pulled apart and put back together! But now he seems pretty ticked off and has struck at the glass if you get too close!

Im assuming he's annoyed from being moved and being out in the pillow case so I'm hoping he will get over it!

I seen him eat a medium sized rat last week and he wasn't striking before or after feeding and seemed really placid.

Its my first snake and I've only really ever handled a couple other small snakes, so should I just give him a few days or weeks to settle in and relax?

Thanks
 
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... so should I just give him a few days or weeks to settle in and relax...

Firstly congrats on your first snake and welcome to APS!

Yes, I would recommend leaving your Darwin for a week to settle with minimal disturbance.

I'm guessing as it had come from a mate he helped with cage set up (temps/hides/...)?
 
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Thank you :)

Yeah he set it up as he has had it for a few years! There's plenty of real wood logs in there for him to hide and climb over! One is located near the heat source so he can be higher in the tank!

Just woke up to come see him and he's right near the glass just staring at me :/
 
Hi there,

I am no expert with snakes but my GTS has only ever gotten cranky when I changed his enclosure and after I moved house.
He calmed down after a few days and was back to normal.


Best of luck with your new snake :)
 
He's a bit stressed and probably defensive after being moved, give him a week to settle in with minimal disturbance, monitor his temps though. And congrats on becoming a snake owner. :D
 
Thank you guys!

Hes not snapping now but he's aware as soon as your near the tank!

Where do people put a thermometer?

I have a heat lamp at one side of the tank and the thermostat is in the middle of the tank set at 26?
 
I have 2 thermometers in all my enclosures, one at the hot end and one at the cool :) You want his basking spot to be around 30-33 degrees and mid 20's at the cool end.

Congrats and good luck, we'd love to see pics as well :D
 
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So with the current globe it's about 32deg directly under the light cage but it doesn't seem to heat the tank up! In the middle of the tank it's only getting to about 24deg at the max!

Also I managed to handle him last night and again tonight! I used a small snake hook and had welding gloves on and he didn't really try to bite me!
 
You don't need to heat the whole tank up. The point of having a heat source is to get a temperature gradient. If the basking spot under the light is 32 degrees and the rest of the tank is less then it sounds like you have a good set up. He will move from higher to lower temp zones and back depending on his needs.
 
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