handling carpets !

[wyz]

Hey hey, getting a couple of baby carpets tonight !

Now, I'm wondering..

Look at my signature at the bottom, these are the snakes we have presently. How do carpets compare with the rest ?

When older, what kind of personality should I be expecting from them ?

We have young kids in the house (3-7-9) and some snakes can be handled by them, some not.. BRB per example.... yes they are very tame, but I read they could be unpredictable, so I'm not taking chances.

Are carpets the same ?

thanks.

WYZ

[Andy_G]

I would say they handle like a BRB, but it depends on what type of carpet you are getting. Carpets are as a rule very tame once established and if handled regularly. It is not unreasonable to expect a ball python type attitude from older snakes or even younger ones after they are through their nippy stage, usually fairly predictable becayse they will hiss if they want to be put down, if hissing does not work then they will usually start to strike, but as far as I know they give a lot of warning.

[ohh_kristina]

I held an 8 foot coastal carpet the other day, and he ended up biting me in the face :D
He was very active, and hissed repeatedly, so I went to go put him down and he leaped back and tagged me right on my lower cheek. This was at a reptile shop and they were selling him for 99 dollars! I wanted to hold him to see if there was anything wrong with him, because that price seemed off to me. Well, it turns out that he was just very old and aggressive and they wanted to get rid of him. I ended up not getting him, because my grandmother (who was there and witnessed the tag) begged me not to. I don't know if most carpets are like that, but this was my first encounter with one. I think if you get one as a hatchling and raise it, it will tame down. But, like with any species, it just depends on the animal.

[Invictus]

How bad was the bite, Kristina? Did it break skin?

[ohh_kristina]

hah yes, it broke the skin - majorly. My entire cheek is bruised and cut open. It bled for hours, too. Definately the worst bite I've had so far.

[Andy_G]

Most carpets, unless wild caught, are NOT like that. If you happen to get a nippy carpet I can almost guarantee you that it's a baby/sub adult that isn't handled often enough or an older wc animal. You can tame them by handling or by over-stimulation, which is where you wear some garden gloves or something similar and get it to purposely bite you repeatedly by doing things it hates within reason, like petting for instance, and they will get so tired of biting you that they will totally stop, it takes a few weeks to a few months with this method, which is usually used on adults that are nippy. The reason I say to wear gloves when doing this is that you will bleed and depending on size it may hurt, as Kristina said lol.

[PoiSoNouS]

Irian Jaya carpet makes great pets as adults, but they are vigourous, but not too much, still fun to play with (lotafun) :)
They are not too big too.. godd advantage.. :)
love them :P

<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/507/129irian25.jpg">

[lordkovacs]

i have never had a bite or even a strike by any carpet. I own 2, and my buddy has 3 that I handle now and then. if it's handled properly and regularly as a neo./juvenille, then it's all good. good luck.. .and I agree with Mary, IJ's are pretty docile and active (esp. at night).

[Colonel SB]

Most carpets I've delt with are active but not aggressive and as long as you support them they will be nice :)

He he he my babies are in the nippy stage it's so cute, they remind me of my WC retic's only alot smaller.