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Python Big muscles, but no venom Type

Reptiles

Area

Africa Endangered Status

Some Endangered

facts

size 2 to 33 feet, length The average bed is 6.25 feet long.

A large python next to an average-sized bed.

food meat mammals, reptiles, birds carnivore

Depending on the size of the snake, pythons may eat rodents, lizards, birds, and larger mammals like monkeys, pigs, wallabies, or antelope.

habitat rainforest, grassland, swamps, and more

Depending on the species, pythons may live in rainforests, grassland, swamps, woodland, rocky outcrops, desert sand hills, or scrub lands of Africa, Asia, and Australia.

description

Supersize snakes

Pythons are some of the largest snakes in the world. These big, non-venomous snakes can range from 23 inches to 33 feet in length, and they can weigh from 7 ounces to 250 pounds. Pythons live in a wide range of habitats, depending on the species, but many seek shelter in trees and can hold onto branches with their tails.

That's a wrap

Pythons don't chase after their dinner. They are ambush hunters that can locate warm-blooded animals by using heat-sensing "pits" or holes along their jaw. They wait until the animal comes close, then a python grabs the prey with its sharp, backward-curving teeth, wraps coils of its body around the prey, and squeezes tight. The snake is not trying to crush its prey; its goal is to stop its potential meal from breathing. After that, the python unfolds its flexible jaw, opens wide, and swallows its prey whole—usually head first—flexing and contracting its muscles to move the meal down its throat and into its stomach.

Slow and straight ahead

Pythons move forward in a straight line by stiffening their ribs, lifting a set of scales on their belly and moving them forward, so the loose ends grab the surface to push them ahead. They move slowly, though, at about one mile per hour.

Pythons lay eggs

Female pythons lay eggs—anywhere from 2 to 100 in a clutch, depending on the species. After the eggs hatch, mom leaves, and the youngsters are on their own.

Breathing with their mouth full

Pythons can breathe when their mouth is full, thanks to a tube in the bottom of their mouth that stays open to one side to take in air.

Python or boa?

While boa constrictors may resemble pythons, pythons are only found in Asia, Africa, and Australia. Boas live there too, but boas also can be found in North, Central, and South America. And while pythons lay eggs, boas give birth to live young.

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