Scientific name: Morelia spilota cheynei

Care: moderate, if temps and humidity aren't regulated closely enough they could develop respitory problems

Adult size: 6-7 feet

Temperament: Jungle Carpet Pythons are in general a docile species. Care should always be taken around feeding time, as they have very strong feeding response and can deliver a nasty bite. Juveniles are nippy but settle down with frequent handling. If you are using an arboreal setup, a snake hook should be used to move the snake from eye level.

Captive Housing: The ideal setup for a Jungle Carpet Python is a large, arboreal cage. Height is more important than width, although the bigger is better all the way around. Branches should be sturdy and well-secrured to protect
this active snake from injury while moving around. A large water bowl should be avaliable at all times. If you are using a normal reptile cage, it should be at least half the length of the snake. A forty gallon breeder would be a good size for any adult Jungle Carpet Python. It is very important to give the a branch to perch on because they are arboreal they like to sleep up high.

Feeding: Jungle Carpet Pythons readily eat pre-killed rodents. Juvenilies should be fed consistently, but not overfed; 2-3 appropriately sized mice a week is good. Adults should be feed 1-2 appropriately sized rats once a week
to every ten days. Care should be taken when feeding,as these snakes have large some what fang-like teeth. Match the prey size to the girth of the body, not the size of the head. Prey should be 100% to 125% as large as the widest part of the snake. I suggest switching from mice to rats at about 3'. Jungle Carpet Pythons do not like the taste of rats in general. What we have found very affective in getting them to switch is rubbing a mouse on the nose and head of the rat. After one feeding this way, they will usually start feeding on rats.

Heath issues: Dysecdysis and retained eye caps are common when humidity levels are kept too low. Regurgitation of food, mouth rot and respiratory infections are common when proper temperatures are not maintained. As with all snakes, Carpet Pythons are susceptible to mites. Humidity levels should be kept at 60 to 65%, and temperature levels around 78 to 87. Always have a warm and cool side to your cage to give your snake a choice. I find that keeping the temperatures in the mid to high 80 on the warm side works the best. Night time temeratures should be about 5 to 10 degrees cooler than your day time temps. If you are in a low humidity area as we are you will want to use a solid top cage to raise humidity and mist cage at least once a day. If you live in high humidity area, a screen top will do.

Colors of the Jungle Carpet Python: Colors and patterns very widely from snake to snake. A well-bred Carpet Python with good genetics will 
have really bright yellows and deep, rich black patterns .

Shedding: When shedding, as with any snake, keep all your movements slow and exact. Their vision is very much affected by the shedding of the eye caps, so they tend to be a little cranky around shedding. If you move slow to let the snake know you mean him no harm, they will remain docile. If your snake does not shed the  skin completely, soak him in warm water for 30 minutes and use a dry towel. Let him crawl though it pulling the old skin off. If the eye caps fail to come off, wet them down and use a pair of twizzers to remove them. Be care not to injure the animal.

In short: This is one of the most beautiful snakes in the world and is very low maintinance if you maintain if the proper humidity and temperature levels. If properly taken care of you should have a healthy pet with a life expectancy of about 20 years or longer.