Cranky SW Carpet Python

[holly]

I have recently brought my first carpet python. He is a wild caught snake around 1.1 M in length he has been handled well and feeds well. When I went and first saw him he was in a white enclosure approx 700mm square (cant say for sure im guessing) newspaper in the bottom and a thick rod and a hide. He was calm and easily handled.
I have brought him home and placed him in a 1200 x 600 x 600 with a false rock look back, pet turf, tick branch and a nice large cave hide, temps are all good and consistent. Since being home he seems cranky and doesnt want to be handled he puffs and coils up, he sometimes strikes (yes he has bitten me but im not fearful of him) but I calmly bring him out his movements are erratic but after a while he calms down a bit. My question is probably going to sound strange but .......... Is it possible that he dislikes his enclosure? Is it too big for him? :?
Im not going to give up on him as he is truly beautiful and needless to say all his huffing and puffing isnt scarey to me. I just dont want to stress him too much but want to calm him down again.
Any ideas or opinions would be greatly appreciated

 

[CrystalMoon]

At a guess, he just needs to settle in..... Perhaps he could up grade to a bigger feed? Just a few things that can make them a tad tetchy. I am all for letting my new additions settle for weeks/months(varies between reptiles) You could put a couple hides in, not just one

 

[Snowman]

I have recently brought my first carpet python. He is a wild caught snake around 1.1 M in length he has been handled well and feeds well. When I went and first saw him he was in a white enclosure approx 700mm square (cant say for sure im guessing) newspaper in the bottom and a thick rod and a hide. He was calm and easily handled.
I have brought him home and placed him in a 1200 x 600 x 600 with a false rock look back, pet turf, tick branch and a nice large cave hide, temps are all good and consistent. Since being home he seems cranky and doesnt want to be handled he puffs and coils up, he sometimes strikes (yes he has bitten me but im not fearful of him) but I calmly bring him out his movements are erratic but after a while he calms down a bit. My question is probably going to sound strange but .......... Is it possible that he dislikes his enclosure? Is it too big for him? :?
Im not going to give up on him as he is truly beautiful and needless to say all his huffing and puffing isnt scarey to me. I just dont want to stress him too much but want to calm him down again.
Any ideas or opinions would be greatly appreciated

I'm not sure why you would buy a wild caught SW carpet if you wanted it for a pet to hold and cuddle?
I keep quite a few wild caught SWCP and they settle down with time, sometimes years, sometimes days, sometimes never. My wild caught are for breeding more than pets. Though I've had some that were captive for 8 years that are the same as captive bred.
Fact is they don't like to be held. Most can learn to tolerate it though.
As a first snake you should have bought a captive bred hatchling. Then your handling and knowledge skill set will grow with the sake.
You may have your work cut out for you now. The main thing is to reduce stress. Handle it no longer than 10 min a day and don't disturb it for the rest. Give it a nice TIGHT hide. The wild SW carpets love to squeeze into tight spots. It's not doubt how they have survived predators to make it this far.... It makes them feel secure to have a tight fitting hide.

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Oh and don't touch it at all for a fortnight to let it settle in.

 

[holly]

Thankyou for your replys.
I may be new to owning snakes but in no way do i have them because I want a cuddle and hold them all the time.
But being able to handle them does make things easier when cleaning cages and needing vet assistance.
As I said he was calm and easily handled prior to me bringing him home. He has been in captivity for approximately a year. I brought him as I truely think he is beautiful, I did handle him before buying him, he wasnt a impulse buy as I went home and thought about it and went and brought him a week after first seeing him.
Im wanting to hopefully get him to calm down again after moving him, I dont want to stress him out.