Carpet pythons ( Morelia spilota) are popular snakes among reptile enthusiasts, known for their adaptability and stunning array of colors and patterns. Understanding their dietary needs is crucial for responsible ownership and ensuring their health and well-being. This article delves into the intricacies of the carpet python diet, covering everything from feeding responses and prey selection to feeding schedules and troubleshooting feeding problems.
Natural Diet and Feeding Behavior
Carpet pythons are carnivores, meaning their diet consists solely of animal prey. In their natural habitat, these snakes primarily consume small mammals, birds, and lizards. They are constrictors, meaning they subdue their prey by wrapping around it and squeezing until it suffocates.
Feeding Responses in Captivity
One of the benefits of working with carpet pythons is their generally strong feeding response. When introducing food, simply use tweezers or a hemostat to carefully grab the prey item, open the snake's enclosure, and present the prey. Often, this is enough to trigger a feeding response. If the snake doesn't immediately strike, gently touch it behind the neck with the prey item. However, caution should be exercised with individuals exhibiting a particularly vigorous feeding response, ensuring they don't bite the feeding tools.
Establishing a Feeding Routine
Consistency is key when it comes to feeding carpet pythons. A regular feeding schedule helps maintain their appetite and overall health.
Feeding Hatchlings
Neonates are typically offered fuzzy mice after their first shed. It is beneficial to start hatchlings on frozen rodents, as this is often the preferred feeding method for adult carpet pythons in captivity. Hatchlings should be fed every 10-14 days, gradually increasing the size of the prey as they grow. Around three months of age, they can be switched to large pinky rats.
Read also: Diet of the Burmese Python
Transitioning to Rats
The goal is to transition carpet pythons to a diet of rats as soon as possible. Rats offer several advantages over mice, particularly for breeding females. They allow for faster growth and reduce the need to feed multiple prey items per feeding, which can be time-consuming when managing a large collection of snakes.
Feeding Adults
Once carpet pythons are feeding on pinky rats, continue feeding them every 10 days, gradually increasing the size of the rats as they grow. Prey items should appear slightly larger than the snake's girth. As adults, carpet pythons can be fed rats of varying sizes, typically ranging from 100 grams to 300+ grams, depending on the snake's size and appetite.
A structured feeding system is particularly important when managing a large number of carpet pythons. Regularly check the size of each snake and adjust the prey size accordingly. For example, snakes might be fed 100-gram rats every 14 days until they are large enough to move up to 200-gram rats. Larger individuals may eventually require 300+ gram rats, with some even consuming rats weighing 500-600 grams. Snakes feeding on 100-gram and 200-gram rats can be fed every 14 days, while those consuming 300-400 gram rats can be fed every three weeks, and the largest snakes every four weeks.
Preparing Frozen Prey
Proper preparation of frozen prey is essential for the health and safety of your snake.
Thawing
Remove the required number of prey items from the freezer approximately 24 hours before feeding and place them in plastic bins in a warm room. The prey is ready when it no longer feels cold. Avoid thawing prey in warm water if using a substrate that can easily stick to the prey, as this can result in the snake ingesting substrate during feeding.
Read also: The Hoxsey Diet
Temperature
Ensure the prey is fully thawed before offering it to the snake. Feeding prey with a frozen core can be harmful. However, be mindful of the thawing time, as the prey can begin to decompose if left out for too long.
Addressing Feeding Problems
Occasionally, carpet pythons may refuse to eat. Several factors can contribute to this, including:
- Inappropriate husbandry: Incorrect temperature, humidity, or enclosure setup can stress the snake and suppress its appetite.
- Stress: Transportation or changes in the environment can cause stress, leading to temporary refusal to eat.
- Natural fasting: Pythons are known to fast for extended periods, sometimes without any apparent reason.
Troubleshooting
If your carpet python stops eating, first check the enclosure conditions to ensure all parameters are within the correct range. If the conditions are correct and the snake shows no signs of illness, it may simply be fasting. In such cases, avoid panicking and stressing the snake by offering food too frequently. Instead, stop offering food for at least four weeks and then try again.
If a carpet python refuses to eat rats but readily accepts mice, you have two options: continue feeding mice or try to switch it to rats. To switch to rats, offer a rat instead of a mouse and, if refused, wait two weeks before offering food again. Eventually, the snake will likely become hungry enough to accept the rat.
Water
Fresh, clean water should always be available to carpet pythons. Neonates housed in small enclosures can be provided with water by spraying fresh water on the enclosure walls daily. Larger enclosures should be equipped with a water bowl. Replace the water daily or more frequently if it becomes soiled.
Read also: Walnut Keto Guide
Nutritional Variety and Supplementation
While mice and rats are the most common feeders, carpet pythons should ideally eat more than just these to truly thrive. The key to providing a healthy, balanced diet for your pet snake is variety. Provide as varied of a diet as you possibly can, and you will be rewarded with a healthier snake!
Prey ideas for carpet pythons:
- mice
- African soft-furred rats
- domestic rats
- hamsters
- gerbils
- guinea pigs
- quail
- chicks
- Reptilinks
Carpet pythons can survive without vitamin or mineral supplements, but they can be a good way to help prevent nutritional deficiencies. Occasionally lightly dust the prey item with a 50/50 mix of calcium and multivitamin before thawing. Arcadia RevitaliseD3 and Repashy CalciumPlus LoD are both good options.