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Carpet Python
Photo: Doug Beckers from Killcare Heights, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0
Snake
Intermediate
Morelia spilota
Lifespan
20-30 years
Adult size
150-250 cm (subspecies vary)
Temperament
Alert and active; young are nippy, adults settle
Temperature
20–32°C
Humidity
40–60%
Vivarium
200 x 90 x 90 cm (adult); arboreal, taller is better
Wikipedia →
Native to most of Australia (except the arid centre and west) and to New Guinea and nearby islands, in habitats from rainforest to dry woodland and farmland. A semi-arboreal python with highly variable blotched patterns; the black and yellow jungle carpet is the best known. Keepers like its bold, active nature, striking looks and many subspecies and morphs. Youngsters are often nippy and some adults reach 2.5 m or more, so it suits a keeper with some experience.
Care information is provided for educational purposes only and does not replace professional veterinary advice.
🔥 Heating
Use guarded halogen lamps or a ceramic heater on a thermostat at one end, giving a basking spot of 35-38 °C near a branch and a cool end of 24-26 °C. Nights of 22-25 °C are ideal, and a few degrees lower in winter is fine.
💡 Lighting
About 14 hours of light in summer and 10 in winter. UVB is recommended: a 5-6% T5 tube over about half the vivarium giving a UVI of 2-3 at the basking branch.
🪨 Substrate
A topsoil, coir and sand mix, coconut husk or aspen, about 5-10 cm deep, with leaf litter on top. Remove damp paper or newspaper promptly, as it causes skin infections.
🍽 Feeding
Frozen-thawed rodents about 10% of the snake's weight and no wider than 1.5 times its body. Juveniles every 1-2 weeks and adults every 2-4 weeks; move on to rats as it grows rather than feeding many mice.
💧 Water
A large bowl of fresh water at all times, scrubbed weekly. Mist to keep humidity around 40-60%, more during a shed, and let the vivarium dry between mistings.
🏠 Enrichment
Sturdy, securely fixed branches and shelves at different heights are essential, plus at least two hides (one raised) and plenty of foliage cover.
🩺 Health Considerations
Common issues are respiratory infections in damp or poorly ventilated vivaria, mites, stuck sheds, obesity and burns from unguarded heaters. Breeders widely report neurological problems (head wobble, poor coordination) in the jaguar morph.
🤲 Handling
Hatchlings and young snakes are often defensive and nippy but usually calm down by 1-2 years with gentle, regular handling. Support the body with both hands, never lift by the tail, and do not let children handle one alone. Non-venomous, but bites from large adults are painful.
⚖️ Legal Restrictions
No Dangerous Wild Animals licence needed in the UK. It is CITES Appendix II (UK Annex B): keep proof of captive-bred origin; no certificate is needed for captive-bred pets.
📋 Additional Notes
Commonly kept forms include jungle (M. s. cheynei), coastal (M. s. mcdowelli), diamond (M. s. spilota), Darwin (M. s. variegata) and Irian Jaya carpets; Irian Jaya and Darwin carpets are the smallest and coastals the largest. Morphs include jaguar, granite, zebra, caramel, albino and axanthic. Males have longer tails and larger spurs; probe to confirm sex.