Coastal carpet problem, please help!!!!

[CateMonty]

I have a male coastal carpet, approx 7 years old. I have had him for 4 months, when I got him conditions were all wrong, so Ive worked really hard to make them right. He was always extremely placid, now however he seems to have hit a growth spurt, is always hungry, hunting and aggressive, he is even striking at the glass, which he has NEVER done in his life and has doubled in thickness. Someone please tell me what to do, im afraid to open the cage cuz he will bite, so i cant handle him, im on the verge of selling him if i cant fix this prblem....

 

[kensai]

how much are you feeding him? and how big is he?

 

[Serpentes]

You've had him over winter and now it's summer and he's realising he ain't happy in his surroundings if he's hitting the front of the cage. If you can't handle the snake you should seek the appropriate training so you can look after it properly. It is very important to be able to handle snakes, aggressive or otherwise if you want to keep them.

 

[charlie-jo]

serpentes advice sounds good to me. four months isn't long especially during change of seasons - it took my two a while to settle in but i agree persist in handling asap - really essential for him to get to know you. it's even worth being bitten to cement the friendship!! did the previous owner/s give you info on what/when/how they fed him?

 

[tenacres1100]

I have a male coastal carpet, approx 7 years old. I have had him for 4 months, when I got him conditions were all wrong, so Ive worked really hard to make them right. He was always extremely placid, now however he seems to have hit a growth spurt, is always hungry, hunting and aggressive, he is even striking at the glass, which he has NEVER done in his life and has doubled in thickness. Someone please tell me what to do, im afraid to open the cage cuz he will bite, so i cant handle him, im on the verge of selling him if i cant fix this prblem....

can you post what his conditions were before and now?

what were they feeding before and how often, what are you feeding now and how often?

7 years old, you have had it 4mths and it's had a growth spurt and doubled his thickness?
you might be over feeding him

post a pic of him, when you got him and now if you can and his setup

 

[CateMonty]

He was in a cage way too small for him, with not enough heat (15 degrees below what it should have been) and lights on 24 hours a day. I was only told he was on large rats, but not given a frquency, so I gave him 1 a fortnight, but it now seems i may need to give him 1 a week. He has settled a bit now, not as aggressive, but if he is always hungry and extremely aggressive its hard to handle him as he is extremely strong, im small and usually dont have a handling partner... He has lost a bit of weight now, as he was a bit constipated and has sorted that, so maybe that has helped with the crankiness....

 

[bfg23]

constipated? impaction?

I had a similar story, i got a juvi darwin that was in a cardboard box on sand and no heat and had not eaten for months. I handled it when i first got it and it was fine, but as soon as i got some heat into him and he got his appetite back he turned into the devil.
He is very very aggressive but i have taken plenty of bites now and am getting him used to human handling.

It might just take a long time for him to settle down. I heard adult pythons and lizards take longer to settle down if moved into new environment (could be heresay, but dont shoot the messenger)

What is he like outside the enclosure? Maybe he is just defensive of his tank.

 

[wranga]

hes been cold through the low heat he was kept at and winter temperatures. you have now warmed him up and over fed him. the fact that he was compacted wouldnt of helped his attitude and he may be alittle streesed from his new larger enclosure. slow the feeding up alittle and let him settle in and he should settle down. without having a dig, maybe you should of concidered a small snake that wasnt as strong if your small person. concider this for your own safety

 

[Joemal]

Catemonty if your worried about getting him out then try and use a hook .Your not feeding him in his cage are you .My boy is on a large rat a week depending on how he is when i get him out .His nick name is rubbish bin because he also gets rats the other snakes dont want .He has no problems polishing off 3 large ones in one meal and no even though he is big he is not what i consider to be overfed .He is very placid but the guy i brought him off was scared of him because of his strength.Try and bump the heat up and give him more to eat and try try try and get someone to give you a hand to get him out of his cage .Probably find he could be annoyed with not being able to stretch out .

 

[tenacres1100]

He was in a cage way too small for him, with not enough heat (15 degrees below what it should have been) .

if he was kept 15c below the temp he should have been kept at, that would make him " extremely placid " maybe you are seeing his normal temperment now that you have warmed him up

you may have been better off getting a young one to start with