Jungle Carpet
Python
(Morelia spilota
cheynei)
This species has the smallest geographic distribution of the carpet pythons and is the second smallest in size. They are found in dense subtropical rainforests of the Antherton Tableland in northern Australia. These pythons tend to be
small elongate pythons with the head distinctly wider than the neck. Juvenile jungle carpet pythons tend to have laterally compressed body conformations that become
rounded posteriorly with age. Jungle carpet pythons can be sexually mature at 4.5 to 5 feet but will generally reach an adult length
of 6 feet possibly more. As can be seen in the photos, the markings of this species consist of a highly contrasting series of rings or bands. The
pale pattern elements may range from a vivid golden yellow to off white and the dark pattern elements are satiny black with pale centers.
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This is what the female Jungle Carpet looked like at approx. 14 months of age and 3 feet long. It is difficult to
capture the beauty of these animals on film. Flash photography tends to "wash" out
the yellow resulting in black and white snakes. These were taken outdoors
and you can see that the pattern contrast and yellow is
outrageous. Click on images to view larger versions. |
I recently acquired a pair of Jungle Carpet Pythons from
Harford Reptile Breeding Center. These beauties were almost a year old when I
received them in February 2000 and were already showing highly contrasting
yellow and satiny black. The yellow continues to improve with each shed. Both of
these snakes were very feisty and would occasionally hiss and appear to strike
out at me (closed mouthed). However, after a short period of consistent handling
and acclimatization to their new surroundings they became relatively calm. I
would always use a snake hook to pick up these animals as this was the most
stressful part of handling for them and would likely have resulted in my
getting bit. Using these techniques neither snake attempted to bite me. As these jungle carpets
have grown older they have become much calmer
and tolerant of handling.
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Female Jungle Carpet
Python at 18 months and 4+ feet long. Isn't she a
beauty! |
The male of this pair settled very quickly and
immediately began to feed on thawed mice. The female had other plans, and for
the first several months would only eat live mice. I continued to offer thawed
mice to her in between live feedings. Eventually I broke her and she began to
feed voraciously on mice. Despite HRBC claim that they could seldom get
their animals to feed on rats, this female recently switched to eating
small rats with no problem at all. To ease this transition I had been thawing
her mice in direct contact with rats for several months prior to feeding her an
actual rat. When I first began to scent the mice in this way she would "throw"
the mice around a little before settling down to eat them. This
initial reaction to the scented mice only lasted for a few feedings and never
happened again. A month or two later she ate the first
rat offered to her. If all goes well this little girl will lay a perfect
clutch of white leathery eggs in the spring of 2002.
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These
photos show some of the defining characteristics of the Jungle Carpet
Python including: a well defined and highly contrasting head pattern;
black nasal scales; and a black stripe or blotch from the angle
of the lower jaw. The dark blue coloration on the tissues of the mouth
and the tongue are normal for this
species. |
Hatchling Jungle Carpet Pythons
average 16 - 17 inches in length and just under one ounce in weight (Barker and
Barker, 1994). Typically the hatchlings are patterned as adults but the yellow
pigmentation is greatly reduced or missing entirely. I purchased a week old
hatchling from Bob Clark at the San Antonio expo in June 2000. As can be seen in
the following images this male is a combination of black and cream color.
Although many hatchling jungle carpet pythons can be nippy and aggressive this
little guy is easily handled and has never attempted to bite. These pictures
were taken prior to his first shed and show the shinny (just out of the egg)
appearance of the skin. I hope that this little blighter will grow rapidly from
this point and sire a clutch of little beauties just like him in the summer of
2002.
The
original male Jungle Carpet Python from Harford Reptile Breeding Center (not pictured
here) grew rapidly and ate readily, often consuming the thawed mouse that the
female didn't eat as well as his own meal. Unfortunately for all involved this
ideal behavior took and a sudden and fatal turn for the worse. A month after
purchasing this snake it had problems shedding and was only able to remove 25
percent of its shed. He was soaked for an hour and assisted to shed
completely. All appeared back to normal at this point. However, during what appeared
to be the next shed cycle less than three weeks later he suddenly showed
signs of central nervous system (CNS) trauma. He was uncoordinated and seemed
to struggle to propel himself using vertical undulations of his
torso instead of horizontal. Despite the obvious CNS problem this snake looked
very healthy and alert. I was concerned that this was inclusion body disease
(IBD) which is a highly contagious virus (among boas and pythons). If it had
been IBD I could easily have lost my entire collection.
Despite
contacting numerous experts via email and having
a local vet come to the house, no cause or cure could be found for what ailed
this snake. He rapidly deteriorated physically despite injections of antibiotics
prescribed by the vet and all the care I could give. By mid June I had
no choice but to put this animal to rest as humanely as possible. This was done
not by lethal injection (if it's even possible for a snake) but by freezing.
Being cold blooded, freezing rapidly slows down the metabolism and the
reptile enters a hibernative state prior to death.
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