Warning, this is probably going to be an overly long post. Skip to the end for advice on feeding.
I have new albino carpet python. I was told it was a Darwin/Coastal mix about one year old and 16 inches long. Sounded a little short to me. When I got him he turned out to be 5 feet long. The previous owner told me he was eating one large adult mouse each week. The poor guy is super skinny. I have a 2 year old Colombian Rainbow and she is about 4' and twice his girth. She is amazing, never nipped or hissed, will eat anything, and a snake I let kids hold without hesitation. I could write a entire post on my love for her, but that's not the point. She eats small rats so I decided to give him a go on those since I had plenty. More about him: he was previously in a bin with what looks like a small lava rock as his water bowl. His scales are worn from the rock. As soon as I put him in his new home he rushed into the large water bowl to bath. Poor thing was probably dehydrated. Now I'm treating him as my rescue that I want nurse back to a good weight.
The pic his previous owner sent me.
I had him for two days and it was her normal feeding time. So I decided to see if he would eat a small rat. He was a little reluctant at first. He sniffed but didn't go in for the feed. I turned out all the lights and came back about 15 minutes later. He was eating the rat. GREAT or so I thought. I was worried about switching him over from mice. I wanted him to gain a little weight.
One week later I decided to try again. This time he wouldn't eat it. He just hissed at it. I left it in over night and nothing. I had handled him a couple times during that week. He seemed super docile and did well. So I thought maybe I had just gone too fast and he needed more time to settle. He moves around his setup. I have a tall terrarium. He mostly stays at the top near the light during the day, and at night he mostly stays in his warm hide. The warm spots are around 87 and the ambient is around 81. He has pooped and peed for me.
So I bought a bag of large mice to try on the third week. I hadn't handled him in two weeks except to clean out the poo/pee mess. This time I thawed a rat and mouse together. I offered the rat first and he took it greedily. I gave him the mouse after. I thought I had figured out his dilemma. Maybe he was just starving when I got him but he preferred mice.
So the week after that I tired thawing both together and just offering the rat. This time he hissed and tried to strike it like he was afraid of it. So I put both the rat and mouse in and left over night. He wouldn't eat either. Another week goes by and I try just a rat thinking maybe he is hungry enough now. Nope. He actually hissed and lunged at me wanting nothing to do with the rat.
What to do? Do I stop with the mice since I know he has taken rats twice from me? Do I just wait it out and only offer him food every 3 weeks since I know that's how long it has been between him accepting meals from me? I just worry because he seems so slim. I think he should be eating medium rats.
His new setup.
If you look close in this pic you can see the lava rock damage to his scales. They were so dry.
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