Description of Python Snakes

The family boidae consists of boas and pythons, and it possesses the planet's longest species of snake, the reticulated python. Thirty-three types of pythons are members of this family; an additional skull bone and more teeth distinguish pythons from other snakes in this family. Pythons also differ from boas in some other behavioral aspects.

  1. Description

    • Pythons range in size from the reticulated python, which grows to 33 feet long, to the anthill python, which reaches just 23 inches in length. All pythons have thick muscular bodies relative to their body length and often have coloration patterns that match the environment in which they live. Being among the most primitive of all snakes, pythons have the remnants of rear limbs and a pelvic bone and also tend to have two lungs, while most other snakes have only one.

    Range and Habitat

    • Pythons, unlike boas, are only native to the old world, while some boa species are found in the Americas. The pet trade, however, has created some wild populations of certain pythons such as the Burmese and reticulated varieties in the warmer parts of North America. Pythons are otherwise found in the warmer tropical climates of Africa, southeast Asia, Madagascar and Australia. Depending on species, they can be found living in rain forests, open savanna, grasslands and swamps.

    Diet and Hunting

    • Like all snakes, pythons are carnivores and hunt for their food. Using camouflage, pythons lay in wait for prey to wander close enough for them to strike out and grab it. The teeth in a python's mouth are curved backwards, so once a snake bites its prey the animal is hooked. Once the prey is bitten the snake then wraps its powerful body around the animal and squeezes the life out of it. The prey chosen depends on the snakes' species and size and can range from small rodents to large antelope.

    Giving Birth

    • Pythons, like many snake species but unlike boas, reproduce by laying eggs, while boas give birth to live young. Depending on the species, the snakes lay between two to 100 eggs in a nest of vegetation. In most python species, the mother protects the eggs by coiling around the clutch. Some larger species will actually shiver to create heat to help incubate the eggs. Hatching takes between 40 to 100 days depending on species and the hatchlings can range from 10 to 27 inches in length at birth.