Scaly friends count too.
Carpet Python
Morelia spilota
Also called Diamond python, Jungle carpet python, Coastal carpet python, Inland carpet python, Rautenpython
From Australia (most of the mainland except the arid centre and west), southern New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and the northern Solomon Islands.12
At a glance the quick version
Looks how to spot one
Smooth scales; slender-to-medium python with heat-sensing lip pits
A graceful python with a highly variable pattern of light and dark bands or diamond shapes. Base colour ranges from olive to black, set off by cream, white or gold markings, and each subspecies has its own look.12
Personality what they are like
Varies by subspecies. Young carpet pythons are often nervous and quick to nip, but with regular handling most mature into calm, engaging adults. Diamond and inland forms are generally thought of as the most easygoing.31
Daily activity how busy a day looks
Semi-arboreal: spends lots of time climbing but also comes down to the ground. Needs tall enclosure space with sturdy branches and perches.31
Grooming and care the hands-on bits
Regular, consistent handling helps young pythons settle. Provide a humid hide at all times and lower temperatures by about 3-6 °C in winter.3
Home where they are happiest
Minimum enclosure about 200 x 90 x 90 cm (6.5 x 3 x 3 ft), with extra height strongly preferred. Basking surface 35-38 °C, cool end 24-26 °C, night 22-25 °C. Humidity 40-60%. 5-10 cm of soil-based substrate.3
Food basics what goes in the bowl
Whole prey such as mice, rats, quail and chicks, with variety encouraged. Juveniles eat every 1-2 weeks, adults every 2-4 weeks. Wild carpet pythons eat small mammals, birds and lizards.31
Company who they like around
Solitary; house individually.3
The story where it all began
Lacépède described the species in 1804. Across Australia and New Guinea it split into several distinct regional forms, now treated as six subspecies, and these forms are kept and bred widely in the hobby.21
Fun facts for the dinner table
- 1
Mothers coil around their eggs and twitch their muscles to generate warmth, a kind of shivering that keeps the clutch warm.1
- 2
Heat-sensing pits along the lips let them detect warm-bodied prey.1
- 3
The species comes in brown, red, green, yellow and even blue forms.2
- 4
Females lay between 10 and 50 eggs at a time.1
Recognised by the official bits
- The Reptile Database
- Accepted species Morelia spilota (Lacépède, 1804) with six subspecies: spilota, cheynei, mcdowelli, metcalfei, variegata and harrisoni.2
- IUCN Red List (as reported by Wikipedia)
- Least Concern overall.1
The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you
A typical home-care rhythm for a Carpet Python. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.
- Fresh waterevery day
- Temperature checkCheck the warm and cool endsevery day
- Humidity checkevery 2 days
- Spot cleanevery 2 days
- FeedingHow often depends on species, age and sizevaries
- Shed checkNote each shed in the diary; a complete shed is a good signvaries
- Weigh inevery month
- Full cleanevery month
- Vet check-upFind a vet who sees exotic petsevery year
You might also like
Boa Constrictor
Ball Python
Brazilian Rainbow BoaLike what we are building? Buy us a coffee.
The breed atlas is free for everyone, with a source on every fact, and it will never show ads. If it helped you, a small tip keeps the research going. Any amount is lovely, and no is a perfectly fine answer too.
Where this comes from
Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
- Morelia spilota - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.orgused for names, range, size, weight, lifespan, colours, temperament, behaviour, reproduction, conservation, fun facts
- Morelia spilota - The Reptile Database reptile-database.reptarium.czused for accepted name, distribution, subspecies, colour forms
- Carpet Python Care Sheet - ReptiFiles reptifiles.comused for enclosure, temperatures, humidity, substrate, diet, handling, length, lifespan
Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.