Carpet Python

Carpet Python care at a glance

Adult length

1.8–2.7 m (5.9–8.9 ft)

Adult weight

2–5 kg (4.4–11 lb)

Lifespan

15–20 years

Basking / warm side

31–33 °C (88–91 °F)

Cool side

24–27 °C (75–81 °F)

Night minimum

20 °C (68 °F)

Humidity

50–60%

UVB

Optional (low-level is beneficial)

Diet

Rodents

Activity

Nocturnal

Lifestyle

Semi-arboreal

Typical values from common keeping practice, not yet reviewed. Individual animals and setups vary. See the enclosure size guide.

Carpet Python morphs and genes

5 genes in our list. Log your animal's genetics and Reptilytics builds its morph name for you, or try the carpet python genetics calculator.

Carpet Python research

86 published papers in the HerpAtlas library. Most cited below, or see the latest research →

• Why do Larger Snakes Eat Larger Prey Items?

  Functional Ecology · 1991 · cited 206 times

• Sex-specific niche partitioning and sexual size dimorphism in Australian pythons (Morelia spilota imbricata)

  Biological Journal of the Linnean Society · 2002 · cited 109 times

• Habitat Use, Movements and Activity Patterns of Free-Ranging Diamond Pythons, Morelia-Spilota-Spilota (Serpentes, Boidae) - a Radiotelemetric Study

  Wildlife Research · 1988 · cited 93 times

• Anthropogenic and natural organohalogen compounds in blubber of dolphins and dugongs (Dugong dugon) from northeastern Australia.

  Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology · 2001 · cited 89 times

• Thermal influences on foraging ability: body size, posture and cooling rate of an ambush predator, the python Morelia spilota

  Functional Ecology · 1997 · cited 82 times

• Habitat use by the inland carpet python (Morelia spilota metcalfei: Pythonidae): Seasonal relationships with habitat structure and prey distribution in a rural landscape

  Austral Ecology · 2004 · cited 69 times

• Foraging in groups allows collective predator detection in a mammal species without alarm calls

  Behavioral Ecology · 2013 · cited 56 times

• Pythons in the pergola: the ecology of 'nuisance' carpet pythons ( Morelia spilota ) from suburban habitats in south-eastern Queensland

  Wildlife Research · 2001 · cited 55 times

Carpet Python natural history notes

Field and captive observations published in Herpetological Review's Natural History Notes. Each is a single observation, summarized by us, with a link to the original.