Mystery Carpet Baby Help

I picked up a small, unsexed "jungle x cross" carpet python at the Hamburg show last Saturday. Just got the 150w ceramic heat bulb set up last night, until then it was at room temp, low 70's. The only info I got from the seller/s was that it had only been fed once or twice, live food, I presume mice. It looks quite large enough to take a rat pinky, but I haven't offered it anything yet, allowing it time to settle in and warm up.

I've heard that it's difficult to switch carpets from mice to rats? Any advice from experience on that would be appreciated. Also, what should I offer it and how often? I have 1 day old quail chicks and rat pinkies in the freezer.

It's currently housed in a 29 gallon aquarium with a large water bowl directly under the ceramic heat bulb, which is just barely above the screen top. Humidity is a little over 50%, temp at the eggcrate packing foam hide at the end of the tank is 90. The snake has stayed under the foam for the last couple days now, just moved a little closer to the center of the tank where the heat source is situated.

I presume as long as there's a suitable hide and a heat gradient available the size of the enclosure isn't critical?

for the temperatures... make sure you have a reliable heat gun or probe that you trust is acurate..
ambiant should be 80 ish and the baskin spot 88-92...
usually with ceramic heat imitters you would have a controller with a probe that shuts it off when it reches the set point.. this is why i say make sure you have a reliable source to check the temps.. a 150w heat source on all the time could get to warm overall.. and being in a fish tank with a screen top, it creates a chimeney effect where all the humidity is sucked out..

as for feeding, you have nothing to lose by trying a rat pinky if the snake is big enough, it's the only way to know if it will take or not..
I myself would first feed it the same thing it's been fed just to illiminate any additional stress from the move.. if it eats and all is good, then try a rat.. if it doesn't want the rat !!! try rubbing the pinky rat on mice for smell transfer.. this trick works most of the time.. i would personally avoid quail and go for rats instead..
since it's so young and only had a couple meals... the important thing now is that the snake eats... if it doesn't want rats right away and it's picky..feed it mice then hopper mice until it's put on some weight.. then you can start the task of switching it but going a few weeks between feedings... BUT make sure it's had many feeding before doing that.. you wnat it to be a reliable feeder first.

another trick would be to feed it two smaller prey items, the first beeing the mouse and when it's almost got it down follow with a small rat pinky.. but do this when the snake has eaten multiple meals.


I would offer a mouse first after the snake has settle in for a few days to a week.. then if it eats it, offer a small rat pinky in 5-7 days.. if it takes it perfect kep feeding them every 5-7 days for a few months after a good1 2-15 meals i then go 7 -10 days closer to the 7-8 and let it grow .

if it doesn't take rats.. kep feeding mice for another 10-12 meals while trying a rat here and there !!! you never know.. if picky. try rubbing the rat on a mouse if it doesn't work after a short while. leave the snake alone and try the following week doing the same thing.. with luck it will switch over..
if it doesn't try the double prey trick with smaller items..

more tricks out there but let us know how it goes and we can help from there..

best of luck

Steph

Thanks, I'll see about some suitable size live mice, if not available I'll have to get frozen. I ordered a rheostat to dial back the heat a bit, but the tank is large enough to maintain 80 on the cool end with a much warmer spot directly under the ceramic bulb. The new arrival was curled up around stick last night, out from under the hide for the first time in a couple days.

There is a large water bowl in the tank, and the humidity gauge reads 46%. I have a temp gun, also 4 yearling DRMB's settled and established and a 2 month old BCC that Becka fell in love with at the show. The BCC should be easy enough to manage, I had one back in the 80's, but the carpet baby is smaller and unfamiliar to me.

sweet !! sounds like a nice collection

you may be lucky and it would take to a pinky rat right away ?? never know!!!
since you have other small snakes , you could thaw one out and try the carpet, if it shows no interest.. pass it on to the next ..

for humidity, if it's the stick on dial gages, they tend to be off by 10-20%
the digital ones are more accurate, i think zoomed makes a nice one in the 10$ range now much better than the exoterra ones..

I only have 2 BCI in my collection..from the info and experience i have with them, they are similar to the BCC..
when that young i would recommend feeding slightly smaller prey items then the widest part of heir bodies... to big a meal and they can regurge.

but you probably know this ;-)

best of luck and keep us posted on them.. don't be shy to post pictures.. we always love to see pictures hehe

cheers

steph

Humidity and temp gauges are digital, $9 Wal-Mart items that use 1 AA battery. They seem good on the temp when I check it with the gun, and the humidity reading is close to the larger digital meter across the basement. There are 11 active aquariums between 40-220 gallons also in the basement, so even with the forced air gas furnace heating the basement doesn't dry out too much.
The little carpet has been hanging out along the top rim of the tank, squeezed under the screen top, near the middle where the ceramic bulb is sitting. Heat gun reads 94 in the middle, snake has been there all day and isn't moving much now. I tapped the screen top a bit to make sure it was still alive, it moved a little but didn't go far.
I'll try a f/t rat pinky, just think that would be too easy to hope for at this point.

Mystery carpet baby (tank is 12" wide):





DRMB yearling, they're all just about 24" now:



Eating quail chick:


Becka's new baby red tail, Damien:

Nice
thanks for the pics, they all look sweet

I have a few of tghe wall marrt ones and they do work quite well...
Aquariums do put out lots of humidity, my 2 reef tanks would give out enough that i had to get a dehumidifyer, it was pullingout 6L a day set at 50% !!!!!

best of luck with the feeding, hope it goes easy..

love that little carpet, i may need to get me one some day..

cheers