A Mid-Sized Snake: Carpet Pythons

The carpet python (Morelia spilotes variegata) are so called because they look like oriental rugs, well at least until the start sliding across your floor that is. They can grow up to a massive seventeen feet, and can be found throughout Australia and New Guinea. By python standards they are medium-sized; larger than a green tree python, but only half the size of the longest snake in the world, which is the reticulated Python (Python reticularis) that can reach an amazing thirty three feet in length.

So are carpet pythons Suitable as pets? I would say yes they are, but as they grow to nearly seventeen feet you need to make sure that you have enough space. A lot of folks that are attracted to the carpet python’s skin patterns can only manage a smaller snake. A good species in this case is to consider the closely related Diamond python (Morelia spilotes spilotes). Its beautiful diamond patterns should keep you happy.

Carpet pythons are not exclusively abboreal, and indeed enjoy burrowing, but providing a few branches for climbing is essential, and a small tree would be much appreciated by your pet snake. In total you will need to provide a vivarium that is more than seventy inches in length. The natural habitats of the carpet python vary from woodlands to rain forests and to mimic this I would suggest that the range of temperature in the vivarium should be from the mid twenties centigrade to thirty degrees.

An important consideration with a carpet python is that they are not that easy to handle as adults. They tend to move around a lot and wrap themselves around any loose objects once they are out of the vivarium. However, it is important that you handle them when they are young so they get used to human contact. Once they are adults you can still handle them if you have the patience! These legless, oily, reptiles have all their organs running down one side of their body.

Carpet pythons will eat all mammals, and even enjoy munching on a bird or two. In captivity they will eat weekly, but in the wild they would eat a few large meals each year. They make good pets, but are not for you if you want a snake that is easy to handle.

Green tree pythons are another different to the carpet python, and I would suggest that they are more spectacular. View them at http://hubpages.com/hub/Green-Tree-Pythons