Confused about my first Carpet Python

[robertmd]

Hi,

I bought this Jungle off gumtree (I know, not ideal but it was very cheap), came as is with enclosure and a fairly decent setup.

The person I bought it from couldn't give me a huge amount of info about it over the phone as they had moved and left it with a family member to look after it for a few months.

I didn't go an pick it up, my partner did, I asked her to ask them when it last ate, **** and shed. They guy there could only tell her it had been feed 2 weeks ago and knew nothing else and was too scared to touch it....

Anyway when she bought it home to me, it's enclosure was filthy, must have had at least 40+ turds in there which is terrible but at least it must have been feed something semi often. So the purchase felt more like a rescue then anything at this point.

It seems happy and healthy so far, eaten and **** just waiting on a shed.

My main concern is that the previous owner said its almost 3 years old. Problem I think with that is it's size. I haven't been able to measure it properly yet but it would be lucky if's a 1m long on a good day which seems really small for 3yo Jungle?

It's extremely flighty but has only tired to bite once and once it's out, all it cares about is getting away from me. Hoping more handling and some time will fix that. I would expect a Jungle of what appears to be a year old at max to be a little more aggressive, so that makes me a little more confident on the age but then again it could just be a snake that doesn't like to bite.

I guess my main question is, is it possible that its not as old as the owner said, has it just not been feed much?

Also after some googleing I found that there is a Irian Jaya Carpet Python that can look exactly like a Jungle just a fair bit smaller. Any chance it's one of those? Anyway to tell?

Sorry for the long winded rant but hoping you can shed some light on this for me.

Thanks

 

[Herpo]

Looks too small to be three years old. Probably the owner didn't know what they were saying and we're ready to say whatever just to sell. I'd think a three year old jungle would have reached adult size. Regardless, it shouldn't be that small. What are you feeding it?

Also, considering Irian Jayas are not native to Aus, it is extremely doubtful this is an IJ.

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You'll also notice alot of Irian Jayas have a maroonish colour like a Darwin Carpet python.

 

[robertmd]

I feed it a fuzzie rat the day after it I got it and it had no problems taking it and shat 7 days later.

The only reason I thought it might be possible that it's a Irian Jaya is that the person that was "caring" for the snake was clearly not opposed to breaking the law. Lets just saying there were some interesting things in the house and some bikie colours hanging over the back of chairs.

 

[Herpo]

Well rest assure it isn't an IJ.

Now a fuzzie rat seems a bit small for one metre. My carpet (Jungle X Coastal) is a year old and around 1.2 m long eating weaner rats. At 1 m he was taking hoppers if I can remember.

 

[robertmd]

Yeh, I thought the same thing, once I bought them home and looked at the snake again I was like, this are probably about 2 sizes too small. It's next feed which will be any day now will probably be a lot bigger.

I guess I will just run with a younger age, which worked out well as I really didn't want one that old, just got it because it was super cheap. So win, win I guess.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Herpo]

No problem. Three years isn't old for a snake though. They can live about 20+ years.

 

[pinefamily]

It could also be small because of the food it has been given. And jungles aren't always aggressive; sometimes it is misunderstood as "aggression". We have an adult jungle which came from similar circumstances, neglected and not handled much, so it is flighty and can sometimes strike out when handled, only because it is not used to it and probably is not keen on being handled. We also had two jungles from hatchlings, and they were quick to strike when you took the lid off their click clack, but calmed down when held.
Up the food size as Herpo has suggested; at least to a weaner rat for a feed or two, and then even go up another size. If a snake doesn't think it can get its prey down, it won't try.

 

[pythoninfinite]

Growth is related to feeding - not much food = not much growth, so you can't guess the age of a snake by its size. Could easily be three years old or even older, but it looks quite healthy at first glance (our captives are universally overfed, or fed far more than they would get in the wild as a rule). Males in particular are generally quite a bit smaller than females too. 100-150gm rats will be fine for it.

Jamie

 

[robertmd]

Thanks for all the advice.

I assume it would be ok to feed to 2 fuzzie rats this feed until I get some bigger ones?