taming down a carpet python

Well i got my carpet python on 10/25/2009 and ive read that as babys they can be nippy. It always been cage defensive/aggressive and ive always had trouble feeding her f/t, she would just refuse it if she was out of her tank and even in her tank, on occasion she would eat from the deli cup trick. So now shes started to accept f/t (so she is still pretty small for a yearling.. i think) The other issue is handling. I would really like a carpet python that i would be able to handle as it gets older. At the moment it strikes at everything and anything. The bites dont hurt and i sometimes use gloves to get her, but the slightest movement sets her off. Im not sure if its her size that makes her do this or her disposition. If this behavior continues im not sure ill be able to keep her and once her feeding stabilizes i might try and rehome her.

Other info- I currently have 4 other snakes (two nic boas, a ball python and a columbian rainbow boa) All feed on f/t and rarely miss a meal (due to shedding)
They are currently in a rack. But the carpet is in a seperate steralite tub.

A little after i got it (Not sure of sex afraid to probe this small a snake)

Carpets are defensive biters when they're small, and very focused on movement and touch. Touch is one of the best ways to stimulate a strike when feeding, in fact.
Personally, I recommend minimal handling until they are rock solid feeders, because trying to desensitize them to touch can impact the feeding response. (Eventually, you will want to desensitize them a bit - and it shouldn't wait until they are adults...mainly because the bites you may take will hurt more then, lol.)

Originally Posted by hhmoore

Carpets are defensive biters when they're small, and very focused on movement and touch. Touch is one of the best ways to stimulate a strike when feeding, in fact.
Personally, I recommend minimal handling until they are rock solid feeders, because trying to desensitize them to touch can impact the feeding response. (Eventually, you will want to desensitize them a bit - and it shouldn't wait until they are adults...mainly because the bites you may take will hurt more then, lol.)

Thanks i have noticed the few times she did eat for me a while back was usually after i teased her with it. Ill get some pics up today of her and show yu her size. Is there a general rule to handling carpets like wait till they are a certain size? Or just until she eats regularly

I have a similar problem with an adult male CP I bought from someone who was feeding it live. I trained it onto FT but at the same time he now associates me and my hand too closely with food that he has tagged me once ( let go right away but it was a painful experience for a few days ). Part of the problem is that I didnt have much time for handling over a few months. So now I'm trying to decondition him but dont know the best way of doing it without getting bitten in the process. He is about 5' and he's not super aggressive, but if I try to handle him ( like when he got out of his cage and I had to get him out of a nook and back into his cage ) he'll start hissing and going into the S-shape making me nervous that he will try and bite me. Any suggestions? I've started working in and around his cage more frequently between feedings but dont know what else is best.

Suggestions? Snake hooks, gloves, goalie mask and a thick sweater (even in summer).

To both whom asked questions about agressive Carpets. The number one rule I have with all of mine is: FEED THEM OUTSIDE THEIR ENCLOSURES. They will calm down A LOT if you do. Some people say it doesnt matter but I'll tell you what; Ive reached close to 20 ADULT carpets and all of them except 1 was completely tame in and out of their enclosures. Feeding outside their cages will help you immensely. They are generally cage defensive NOT agressive. The difference is they seem to never want to be bothered so when 'something' enters the cage they get 'pissy' and defensive, but when you feed in the cage your making things 100 times worse by making them 'pissy' and also think its feeding time which then turns them aggressive and defensive. I know it may get annoying having to take the snake(s) out of their living habitats and put them in plastic tubs for feeding and then taking them out after they finish to put them back in their living habitats but I assure you it will be worth the hassle.

All of mine know when they are eating and when they arent. On top of that Carpets tend to grab on things and its not easy to hook out a Carpet out of a cage when they are perched or wrapped around something. So it saves you time in that sense so you can reach right in their living habitat and take them out (or unravel) them with no worries.

I will have to dissagree when anyone says all Carpets are nippy, they are not. There are many Carpets that are hatchlings that arent nippy at all, there are many hatchlings that grew into yearlings and to adults without being nippy at all. Its based upon how you work with them and how you feed them to determine their 'agressiveness'.

Joe you talked about feeding your Carpet, please look at some advice I gave another member at this link about switching from mice to rats and from live to f/t. http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...d.php?t=194163 My advice helped that member and many others who had feeding problems.

Hope I helped, let me know if anyone has any more questions.

I was told not to handle snakes after they eat. So how do you put them back into their enclosure?

You pick them up and put them back into their cages. Moving them from one place to another doesnt matter, you dont want to handle (as in 'play' with them after they eat). Moving them from a feeding container to their living enclosure will not harm or 'disrupt' them. I have ALWAYS fed all my snakes in seperate feeding tubs outside their enclosures UNLESS you have a gravid female and you want to try to see if she'll eat, DO NOT move her. That is the only exception I have when it comes to feeding in their living enclosures. When I have gravid females I offer them food inside their cages and they are fine with taking it in their cages but the moment they drop their clutch or have their litter, I start feeding them in the feeding tubs again. I have never had any feeding issues with any of my animals. Even when I get a new animal and they are used to being fed in their cages I right off the bat feed them in feeding tubs and they do just fine with making the switch. I open all my cages freely without having to worry about being attacked or grabbed EXCEPT for my gorgeous adult female Jag (shes the one in the pic next to my user ID for this site). She is all around mean but I STILL feed her outside her enclosure because when I go into her cage she lets me move things around but doesnt like to be handled at all so I hook her out which is a pain because she perches and grabs onto everything and generally pulls things outside the cage and makes a damn mess lol. Shes a gorgeous animal though so I can deal with the hassle that comes with her, haha!