Cannibalism In Carpet Pythons?

[owen]

I been trying to breed my Carpets to a Male Jag python...problem is, my IJ looks at him like her next meal. It worries me, and i really dont want to give Bindi a $2000 snack...obviously because of this, i havent left them together without me right there, but a watched kettle never boils, so thats kinda useless. I was wondering if there is much of a risk of cannibalism in carpets? I fed my IJ a huge rat, gave her about 12 hours, and then re-introduced the male, and same routine. its too sketchy for me to leave em together, but im sure someone else has encountered this problem, so maybe they would have some answers

thnx

[hartsock]

Owen, I believe that I had heard of this possiblity before, but can't remember where. But I guess you would treat it the same way you do Corn/King combos. make sure they are fed up, it might be a good idea to have a male carpet to put in near her for a short time to get her in the mood and then do the switch thing for the Jag...again, heard of this mentioned for the corns/kings but don't know how much of a problem that might be...

Also, I would set the mood lighitng (in other words keep it almost completely dark, lol) and sit in a chair as far away from them that you can to keep your distance, but still be able to watch what is going on. It may take nights of doing this. But safest way, and then have either warm or some cold (probably cold) water on hand, to use to break up any thing other than mating that might occur. You may always run a risk, but if you are careful, I think you can do it... Besides, I wanna see pics of the babies!!!!!

Thinking they would be awesome looking snakes! :yes:

[spix14]

How much bigger is she than the male? I dunno, there's always the slight chance I suppose, but I can't recall ever hearing of cannibalism in carpets. She's probably just thinking, "What the heck is he doing in MY cage?!" I'd sit and watch them, like Scott said, and see if she actually strikes at him or anything. It's probably just her not being used to another snake in her cage.

[owen]

she is quite a bit bigger then the male, but the male is older then her

[pythonguy21]

i dont think she is going to eat the male, if it was a spider or one of the other 1,000s of species the female eats the male after mating or the male dies after mating i would worry.

she is starring at him because it is a new introduction, same way any snake stares at your hand like a target practice but most usually don't act on it. she is taken precautions for her safety. if they haven't tried to kill each other yet, they probably wont.

[owen]

i would want to get all the info before i leave them alone though, shes looking like shes pretty ready to strike

[JuliusSqueezer]

I wonder how the males have avoided being eaten the last 65 million years without our watchful eye

[owen]

Originally Posted by JuliusSqueezer

I wonder how the males have avoided being eaten the last 65 million years without our watchful eye

lol true, I just dont want my friends jag to get tuned in. Bindi has a vicious feeding response, and the way shes been staring at him as freaked me out

[JuliusSqueezer]

Maybe that's why I don't score lately. All the chicks I stare at think I'm going to eat them.

[owen]

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