The carpet python (Morelia spilotes variegata) are so called because they look like oriental rugs, well at least until the start sliding across your floor that is. They can grow up to a massive seventeen feet, and can be found throughout Australia and New Guinea. By python standards they are medium-sized; larger than a green tree python, but only half the size of the longest snake in the world, which is the reticulated Python (Python reticularis) that can reach an amazing thirty three feet in length.

So are carpet pythons Suitable as pets? I would say yes they are, but as they grow to nearly seventeen feet you need to make sure that you have enough space. A lot of folks that are attracted to the carpet python's skin patterns can only manage a smaller snake. A good species in this case is to consider the closely related Diamond python (Morelia spilotes spilotes). Its beautiful diamond patterns should keep you happy.

Carpet pythons are not exclusively abboreal, and indeed enjoy burrowing, but providing a few branches for climbing is essential, and a small tree would be much appreciated by your pet snake. In total you will need to provide a vivarium that is more than seventy inches in length. The natural habitats of the carpet python vary from woodlands to rain forests and to mimic this I would suggest that the range of temperature in the vivarium should be from the mid twenties centigrade to thirty degrees.

Like all snakes the carpet python in an elongated reptile, which has all its paired organs (such as kidneys) running in a row down one side of its body. Handling a carpet when it is young is not too challenging, and indeed it is important that as a captive snake it gets used to human contact, however, as these snakes reach adulthood they are best left in their vivarium. As with many large snakes a carpet python does not sit still for very long, and out of the vivarium they will soon be wrapping themselves around your furniture, and crushing any loose objects.

Carpet pythons will eat all mammals, and even enjoy munching on a bird or two. In captivity they will eat weekly, but in the wild they would eat a few large meals each year. They make good pets, but are not for you if you want a snake that is easy to handle.

Green tree pythons are another alternative to the carpet python, and I would say that they are more spectacular. See them at http://hubpages.com/hub/Green-Tree-Pythons