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The Burmese python (Python bivittatus) is one of the largest species of snakes. It is native to a large area of Southeast Asia and is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Until 2009, it was considered a subspecies of the Indian python, but is now recognized as a distinct species. It is an invasive species in Florida as a result of the pet trade.
The Burmese python is a dark-colored non-venomous snake with many brown blotches bordered by black down the back. In the wild, Burmese pythons typically grow to 5 m (16 ft), while specimens of more than 7 m (23 ft) are unconfirmed. This species is sexually dimorphic in size; females average only slightly longer, but are considerably heavier and bulkier than the males. For example, length-weight comparisons in captive Burmese pythons for individual females have shown: at 3.47 m (11 ft 5 in) length, a specimen weighed 29 kg (64 lb), a specimen of just over 4 m (13 ft) weighed 36 kg (79 lb), a specimen of 4.5 m (15 ft) weighed 40 kg (88 lb), and a specimen of 5 m (16 ft) weighed 75 kg (165 lb). In comparison, length-weight comparisons for males found: a specimen of 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) weighed 12 kg (26 lb), 2.97 m (9 ft 9 in) weighed 14.5 kg (32 lb), a specimen of 3 m (9.8 ft) weighed 7 kg (15 lb), and a specimen of 3.05 m (10.0 ft) weighed 18.5 kg (41 lb). In general, individuals over 5 m (16 ft) are rare. The record for maximum length of a Burmese python is 5.79 m (19 ft 0 in) and was caught 10 July 2023 in South Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve. Widely published data of specimens reported to have been several feet longer are not verified. At her death, a Burmese named "Baby" was the heaviest snake recorded in the world at the time at 182.8 kg (403 lb), much heavier than any wild snake ever measured. Her length was measured at 5.74 m (18 ft 10 in) circa 1999. The minimum size for adults is 2.35 m (7 ft 9 in). Dwarf forms occur in Java, Bali, and Sulawesi, with an average length of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in Bali, and a maximum of 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) on Sulawesi. Wild individuals average 3.7 m (12 ft) long, but have been known to reach 5.79 m (19 ft 0 in).
In both their native and invasive range they suffer from Raillietiella orientalis (a pentastome parasitic disease).
The Burmese python occurs throughout Southern and Southeast Asia, including eastern India, southeastern Nepal, western Bhutan, southeastern Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, northern continental Malaysia, and southern China in Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, and Yunnan. It also occurs in Hong Kong, and in Indonesia on Java, southern Sulawesi, Bali, and Sumbawa. It has also been reported in Kinmen.
It is an excellent swimmer and needs a permanent source of water. It lives in grasslands, marshes, swamps, rocky foothills, woodlands, river valleys, and jungles with open clearings. It is a good climber and has a prehensile tail. It can stay in water for 30 minutes but mostly stays on land.
Python invasion has been particularly extensive, notably across South Florida, where a large number of pythons can now be found in the Florida Everglades. Between 1996 and 2006, the Burmese python gained popularity in the pet trade, with more than 90,000 snakes imported into the U.S. The current number of Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades may have reached a minimum viable population and become an invasive species. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 was deemed responsible for the destruction of a python-breeding facility and zoo, and these escaped snakes spread and populated areas into the Everglades. More than 1,330 have been captured in the Everglades. A genetic study in 2017 revealed that the python population is composed of hybrids between the Burmese python and Indian python. The species also displays cytonuclear discordance which has made phylogenetic studies of its origin more complicated.
By 2007, the Burmese python was found in northern Florida and in the coastal areas of the Florida Panhandle. The importation of Burmese pythons was banned in the United States in January 2012 by the U.S. Department of the Interior. A 2012 report stated, "in areas where the snakes are well established, foxes, and rabbits have disappeared. Sightings of raccoons are down by 99.3%, opossums by 98.9%, and white-tailed deer by 94.1%." Road surveys between 2003 and 2011 indicated an 87.3% decrease in bobcat populations, and in some areas rabbits have not been detected at all. Experimental efforts to reintroduce rabbit populations to areas where rabbits have been eliminated have mostly failed "due to high (77% of mortalities) rates of predation by pythons." Bird and coyote populations may be threatened, as well as the already-rare Florida panther. In addition to this correlational relationship, the pythons have also been experimentally shown to decrease marsh rabbit populations, further suggesting they are responsible for many of the recorded mammal declines. They may also outcompete native predators for food.
For example, Burmese pythons also compete with the native American alligator, and numerous instances of alligators and pythons attacking—and in some cases, preying on—each other have been reported and recorded.
By 2011, researchers identified up to 25 species of birds from nine avian orders in the digestive tract remains of 85 Burmese pythons found in Everglades National Park. Native bird populations are suffering a negative impact from the introduction of the Burmese python in Florida; among these bird species, the wood stork is of specific concern, now listed as federally endangered.
Numerous efforts have been made to eliminate the Burmese python population in the last decade. Understanding the preferred habitat of the species is needed to narrow down the python hunt. Burmese pythons have been found to select broad-leafed and low-flooded habitats. Broad-leafed habitats comprise cypress, overstory, and coniferous forest. Though aquatic marsh environments would be a great source for prey, the pythons seem to prioritize environments allowing for morphological and behavioral camouflage to be protected from predators. Also, the Burmese pythons in Florida have been found to prefer elevated habitats, since this provides the optimal conditions for nesting. In addition to elevated habitats, edge habitats are common places where Burmese pythons are found for thermoregulation, nesting, and hunting purposes.
One of the Burmese python eradication movements with the biggest influence was the 2013 Florida Python Challenge. This was a month-long contest wherein a total of 68 pythons were removed. The contest offered incentives such as prizes for longest and greatest number of captured pythons. The purpose of the challenge was to raise awareness about the invasive species, increase participation from the public and agency cooperation, and to remove as many pythons as possible from the Florida Everglades. The challenge has run a few times again since then and is now an annual event over the duration of ten days. Recently, in 2023, it resulted in 209 pythons removed by 1,050 participants.
A study from 2017 introduced a new method for identifying the presence of Burmese pythons in southern Florida; this method involves the screening of mosquito blood. Since the introduction of the Burmese python in Florida, mosquito communities use the pythons as hosts even though they are recently introduced.
Invasive Burmese pythons also face certain physiological changes. Unlike their native South Asian counterparts who spend long periods fasting due to seasonal variation in prey availability, pythons in Florida feed year-round due to the constant availability of food. They are also vulnerable to cold stress, with winter freezes resulting in mortality rates of up to 90%. Genomic data suggests natural selection on these populations favors increased thermal tolerance as a result of these high-mortality freezes.
They have carried Raillietiella orientalis, a pentastome parasitic disease, with them from Southeast Asia. Other reptiles in Florida have become infested, and the parasite appears to have become endemic.
In April 2019, researchers captured and killed a large Burmese python in Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve. It was more than 5.2 m (17 ft) long, weighed 64 kg (140 lb), and contained 73 developing eggs. In December 2021, a Burmese python was captured in Florida that weighed 98 kg (215 lb) and had a length of 5.5 m (18 ft); it contained a record 122 developing eggs. In July 2023, local hunters captured and killed a 5.8 m (19 ft) long Burmese python that weighed 57 kg (125 lb) in Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve.
Burmese pythons are mainly nocturnal rainforest dwellers. When young, they are equally at home on the ground and in trees, but as they gain girth, they tend to restrict most of their movements to the ground. They are also excellent swimmers, being able to stay submerged for up to half an hour. Burmese pythons spend the majority of their time hidden in the underbrush. In the northern parts of its range, the Burmese python may brumate for some months during the cold season in a hollow tree, a hole in the riverbank, or under rocks. Brumation is biologically distinct from hibernation. While the behavior has similar benefits, allowing organisms to endure the winter without moving, it also involves the preparation of both male and female reproductive organs for the upcoming breeding season. The Florida population also goes through brumation.
They tend to be solitary and are usually found in pairs only when mating. Burmese pythons breed in the early spring, with females laying clutches of 12–36 eggs in March or April. They remain with the eggs until they hatch, wrapping around them and twitching their muscles in such a way as to raise the ambient temperature around the eggs by several degrees. Once the hatchlings use their egg tooth to cut their way out of their eggs, no further maternal care is given. The newly hatched babies often remain inside their eggs until they are ready to complete their first shedding of skin, after which they hunt for their first meal.
Found this Scrub Python (Morelia amethistina) after being told by some bike riders, in Etty Bay, that it was coiled partially on the road and too cold to move.
Picked it up (it was too cold to even lift its head) and put it in a sunlit tree, and within minutes it was back to smelling the air and moving around.
I mis-identified it as a Carpet Python, but my friend Jeremy corrected me.
Python:Big and Angry His muscles push aside anything that gets in his way. B.A. Baracus is the only man who could ever put him down
This diamond python has spent the winter in our attic and with some warmer weather has emerged into the daylight. I took this picture as it made its way through the garden. They are supposedly harmless to humans and even helpful by eating unwanted rodents.
Chesterfield Canal, Shireoaks
The historic narrowboat Python, now owned and operated by the Chesterfield Canal Trust, was built in 1929 for Fellows, Morton & Clayton Ltd by W J Yarwoods & Son of Northwich and was fitted out at Uxbridge. Commissioned in February 1930, her fleet number was 249 and her registration number was UXB 572. She was built on the same works number as her sister boat Panther, which is now owned by the Coventry Canal Society. Python also used to be the motor to the butty Fazeley, which is now fully restored. Of coppered steel construction, she was originally built as a 70' vessel with a Josher bow* and fitted with a Bolinder 5 hp engine. Python was used as a carrier in the Fellows Morton & Clayton fleet until 1949 when she was sold to the British Transport Commission (later to become British Waterways Board) and passed into the South Eastern Division carrying fleet. In 1960 she was given a major overhaul and fitted with a new engine, and in 1974 became part of British Waterways' maintenance fleet when she was subsequently shortened to 53' in 1982 and her cabin rebuilt to the current format of rear engine room, crew cabin and forward store. But with the introduction of more modern, purpose built vessels she was soon to become redundant and fell into disuse for a number of years. After a lengthy period of neglect Python was handed over to the Chesterfield Canal Trust in 2009 who have a team of volunteers dedicated to ensuring her care and maintenance as a promotional vessel for the work of the Trust. Python is currently decked out as a tug and repainted in British Waterways' blue and yellow colours. She is also registered on the National Historic Ships register.
Josher Bow
A distinctive bow design named after Joshua Fellows of Fellows, Morton & Clayton. The long, slender bow with its double curvature became a specified company style, almost a trademark. Some replica narrowboat designs incorporate false rivets to simulate the construction method used on the original vessels.
Geograph®: www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6251414
Python 19/10/2017 14h18
The last months of the Python '1.0'. In full Autumn colors here this first roller coaster of De Efteling will be fully renovated in between January and March 2018.
Python
Python is a double-loop Corkscrew roller coaster in the Efteling amusement park in the Netherlands. When it started operation, it was the largest steel roller coaster on the European mainland.
With Python, Efteling started the implementation of a new strategy: development from a fairy-tale forest into an all-round amusement park. This change led to many problems with the local community. Environmentalists tried to get the building permit withdrawn, and the park's neighbors feared more problems arising from growing visitor numbers. Because of the likely noise pollution, the highest court of public justice ordered the construction to be stopped. After some time, construction could recommence, but legal problems continued for several more years.
In 2005 the trains were replaced by Kumbak Coasters designed by Karel Willemen and in December 2011 with Vekoma MK1212 trains. In mid January 2012, the python was fitted with new carriages. These new cars have a new set of restraints which accommodate the needs of riders large and small. There is a flexible over the shoulder strap which is not unlike those on accelerator coasters such as Kingda ka but slightly thicker. Over these are metal bars for riders to hold on to and to give support to the under straps. Also, the cars have been fitted with wheels that allow a smoother ride.
FACTS & FIGURES
Opening date: April 12, 1981
Type / model: steel double-loop Corkscrew roller coaster
Manufacturer: Vekoma
Lift/launch system: chain lift
Height: 29.00 m
Drop: 22 m
Length: 750.00 m
Speed: 75 km/h
Inversions: 4
Duration: 120 seconds
Capacity: 1400 riders per hour
G-force: 0 - 3.5
Trains: 2 trains with 7 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 28 riders per train.
[ Source: Wikipedia - Python (Efteling) ]
Python 08/02/2018 14h03
The Python is undergoing a full renovation between January and March 2018. After about 36 years it was time to renovate this famous roller coaster. Perhaps one of the first roller coasters in Europe that was considered cultural heritage. The last ride was made on the 5th of January and the demolition started on Monday 8th January. After one week more than half of the tracks were dismantled.
The new Python (lets call it Python verson 2.0) is sheduled to re-open the last week of March or early April.
Python
Python is a double-loop Corkscrew roller coaster in the Efteling amusement park in the Netherlands. When it started operation, it was the largest steel roller coaster on the European mainland.
With Python, Efteling started the implementation of a new strategy: development from a fairy-tale forest into an all-round amusement park. This change led to many problems with the local community. Environmentalists tried to get the building permit withdrawn, and the park's neighbors feared more problems arising from growing visitor numbers. Because of the likely noise pollution, the highest court of public justice ordered the construction to be stopped. After some time, construction could recommence, but legal problems continued for several more years.
In 2005 the trains were replaced by Kumbak Coasters designed by Karel Willemen and in December 2011 with Vekoma MK1212 trains. In mid January 2012, the python was fitted with new carriages. These new cars have a new set of restraints which accommodate the needs of riders large and small. There is a flexible over the shoulder strap which is not unlike those on accelerator coasters such as Kingda ka but slightly thicker. Over these are metal bars for riders to hold on to and to give support to the under straps. Also, the cars have been fitted with wheels that allow a smoother ride.
FACTS & FIGURES
Opening date: April 12, 1981
Type / model: steel double-loop Corkscrew roller coaster
Manufacturer: Vekoma
Lift/launch system: chain lift
Height: 29.00 m
Drop: 22 m
Length: 750.00 m
Speed: 75 km/h
Inversions: 4
Duration: 120 seconds
Capacity: 1400 riders per hour
G-force: 0 - 3.5
Trains: 2 trains with 7 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 28 riders per train.
[ Source: Wikipedia - Python (Efteling) ]
Chesterfield Canal, Shireoaks
The historic narrowboat Python, now owned and operated by the Chesterfield Canal Trust, was built in 1929 for Fellows, Morton & Clayton Ltd by W J Yarwoods & Son of Northwich and was fitted out at Uxbridge. Commissioned in February 1930, her fleet number was 249 and her registration number was UXB 572. She was built on the same works number as her sister boat Panther, which is now owned by the Coventry Canal Society. Python also used to be the motor to the butty Fazeley, which is now fully restored. Of coppered steel construction, she was originally built as a 70' vessel with a Josher bow* and fitted with a Bolinder 5 hp engine. Python was used as a carrier in the Fellows Morton & Clayton fleet until 1949 when she was sold to the British Transport Commission (later to become British Waterways Board) and passed into the South Eastern Division carrying fleet. In 1960 she was given a major overhaul and fitted with a new engine, and in 1974 became part of British Waterways' maintenance fleet when she was subsequently shortened to 53' in 1982 and her cabin rebuilt to the current format of rear engine room, crew cabin and forward store. But with the introduction of more modern, purpose built vessels she was soon to become redundant and fell into disuse for a number of years. After a lengthy period of neglect Python was handed over to the Chesterfield Canal Trust in 2009 who have a team of volunteers dedicated to ensuring her care and maintenance as a promotional vessel for the work of the Trust. Python is currently decked out as a tug and repainted in British Waterways' blue and yellow colours. She is also registered on the National Historic Ships register.
Josher Bow
A distinctive bow design named after Joshua Fellows of Fellows, Morton & Clayton. The long, slender bow with its double curvature became a specified company style, almost a trademark. Some replica narrowboat designs incorporate false rivets to simulate the construction method used on the original vessels.
Python reticulatus, also known as the (Asiatic) reticulated python is a species of python found in Southeast Asia. Adults can grow to over 8.7 m (28 feet) in length] but normally grow to an average of 3-6 m (10–20 feet). They are the world's longest snakes and longest reptile, but are not the most heavily built. Like all pythons, they are nonvenomous constrictors and normally not considered dangerous to humans. Although large specimens are powerful enough to kill an adult human, attacks are only occasionally reported.
An excellent swimmer, Python reticulatus has been reported far out at sea and has colonized many small islands within its range. The specific name is Latinmeaning net-like, or reticulated, and is a reference to the complex color pattern.
অজগর বা পাইথন পৃথিবীর অন্যতম বৃহত্তম সাপ। অজগরকে ময়াল নামেও ডাকা হয়। এরা বিষহীন আদিম সাপ। এদের পিছনের পা-এর চিহ্ন পুরো বিলুপ্ত হয়নি।এরা শিকারকে জোরে পেঁচিয়ে/পরিবেষ্টন (constrict) করে এরা তার দম বন্ধ করে। তার পর মাথার দিক থেকে আস্ত গিলে খায়।এদের অবলোহিত(তাপ) রশ্মি দেখার বিশেষ তাপদৃষ্টি(infrared vision) ইন্দ্রিয় আছে (যে ক্ষমতা কিছু বোড়াদেরও আছে কিন্তু গঠন ও বিবর্তন ভিন্ন পথের)।
অজগরের উপরের ঠোঁট বরাবর এই ইন্দ্রিয় অবস্থিত।
অজগর গোত্রের তিনটি প্রজাতি বাংলাদেশে আছে। নিরীহ স্বভাবের এই সাপটি এক সময় বাংলাদেশের সর্বত্র ছিল। বর্তমানে অজগর আছে শালবন, সিলেট, চট্টগ্রাম ও পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রামের বনাঞ্চল এবং সুন্দরবনে। অজগরের শরীর খুর ভারী,১০০ কেজি পর্যন্ত ওজন হয়ে থাকে। এটি সাধারণত ১৫ থেকে ২০ ফুট লম্বা হয়। মাথা বল্লমের মত, লেজ খাটো, সমস্ত দেহ নরম মসৃণ আঁইশে মোড়া। গায়ের উপরে ও পাশে হলুদ বা গাঢ় বাদামী রংএর অনেক ছোপ আছে। পেটের দিক হালকা রংএর। অজগরের অবসারণী ছিদ্রের পাশে ক্ষয়িষ্ণু পায়ের স্মৃতিস্বরূপ একটি করে নখরাকৃতি "স্পার" আছে। এগুলি পুরুষ সাপে লম্বা হয়। অজগরের নাসারন্ধ্রের পাশে একটি চিড়ের ন্যায় তির্যক ছিদ্র থাকে। এদেরকে বলা হয় সংবেদী গর্ত (Sensory-pit), যা দেহের বাইরের তাপ সম্পর্কে সম্যক তথ্য সরবরাহ উপযোগী। অজগর খুর আলসে প্রকৃতির। গাছ বেয়ে উপরে উঠতে ও লেজ দিয়ে গাছের ডাল ধরে ঝুলে থাকতে অজগর খুব পছন্দ করে। খাদ্যবস্তু(শিকার)ধরার জন্য সুবিধাজনক স্থানে ঘাপটি মেরে বসে থাকে। সাধারনত যে সব জায়গায় বিভিন্ন বন্যপ্রাণি পানি খেতে আসে সেসব জায়গায় অজগর খুব সাবধানে মরার মত পড়ে থাকে বা লুকিয়ে থাকে। শিকার (খাদ্যবস্তু) সামনে আসা মাত্র প্রথমে কামড়ে ধরে এবং সংগে সংগে অজগরের দেহ দিয়ে খাদ্যবস্তুকে এমনভাবে প্যাঁচিয়ে ধরে যাতে দম বন্ধ হয়ে মারা যায়, অত:পর সানন্দে আহার করে। অজগর ছোট ইদুর থেকে বাঘ, শালিক থেকে ময়ুর পর্যন্ত সব পশুপাখি খাদ্য হিসেবে গ্রহণ করে। বড় ধরনের শিকার করতে পারলে একই জায়গায় ৬/৭ দিন মরার মত পড়ে থাকে। অজগর নিশাচর প্রাণি। দিনের বেলা ঘুমায়, শীতের সময় দিনের বেলায় রোদে গা মেলিয়ে আরাম করে। অজগর পোষা যায়। আদর পেলে অজগর যথেষ্ট পোষ মানে। অজগর পোষতে খুব বেশী খাদ্যের প্রয়োজন হয় না। যে কোন বন্যপ্রাণি পোষতে বন বিভাগের লাইসেন্স (পজেশন সার্টিফিকেট) প্রয়োজন হয়। মার্চ থেকে জুনের মধ্যে কোন গর্ত, গুহা বা গাছের বড় ফোকরের মধ্যে ৫০ থেকে ১০০টি ডিম পাড়ে এবং স্ত্রী অজগর সেগুলিকে বেষ্টন করে থাকে সব সময়। এ অবস্থা চলতে থাকে ৬০ থেকে ৭৫ দিন পর্যন্ত। উল্লেখ্য যে, স্ত্রী অজগর এ সময় সম্পূর্ন অভুক্ত থাকে। জন্মের সময় বাচ্চার দৈর্ঘ্য ৫০ থেকে ৬০ সেন্টিমিটার পর্যন্ত হয়ে থাকে। ব্যপকহারে এবং অপরিকল্পিতভাবে গাছ কাটার ফলে অজগর বাংলাদেশে কমে গেছে। বিভিন্ন উপজাতীয়রা অজগর সাপ খুব মজা করে খায়। তাছাড়া চামড়ার লোভেও অজগর নিধন হচ্ছে ব্যপকভাবে।
Indian python, also known as black-tailed python and Indian rock python is a large nonvenomous python. The species is limited to Southern Asia. It is generally lighter colored than the Burmese python and reaches usually over 9 feet in length.
Lethargic and slow moving even in its native habitat, they exhibit timidity and rarely try to attack even when attacked. They are very good swimmers and are quite at home in water.
These snakes are carnivore animals and they feed on mammals, birds and reptiles indiscriminately, but seem to prefer mammals. After a heavy meal, an individual may fast for weeks, the longest recorded duration being 2 years!
Hope you enjoyed!
Pix.by.PegiSue
Taken at:
SDZ Safari Park
Burmese python - NONVENOMOUS
NONNATIVE - Constrictor
Officer Dave Weis with Burmese python caught off Alligator Alley FWC photo by David Bingham
My two big burmese pythons shortly before I took them to my brother to take care of...last time I saw them alive. I was in the Navy at the time and was getting deployed and he agreed to watch them while I was gone, it didn't work out very well.
A little about the two snakes, the larger one I bought from a pet store very cheap since they got it from someone who caught it 'wild' in San Diego and it had bit several store employees. It was already eight feet long at this time so it was leaving 1/4inch teeth embedded when it was pried off. I took it home and it took about a year to get it tame enough to hold safely as long as it was nowhere near it's cage. I used to leave it in the living room where it would crawl under the cushions on the back of the couch leading to a scaley surprise when one sat down. It never once tried to bite me or anyone else while out of the cage, while in it's cage however it was mean and nasty, trying to bite even through the screen on the side.
The smaller snake was only a year old when I took this photo and was already eight feet long. I found they will eat far more than once a week or so, like every day. Both of them ate five pigeons and many rats a week and got testy if I slacked off on that routine.
The Burmese python (Python bivittatus) is one of the largest species of snakes. It is native to a large area of Southeast Asia and is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Until 2009, it was considered a subspecies of the Indian python, but is now recognized as a distinct species. It is an invasive species in Florida as a result of the pet trade.
The Burmese python is a dark-colored non-venomous snake with many brown blotches bordered by black down the back. In the wild, Burmese pythons typically grow to 5 m (16 ft), while specimens of more than 7 m (23 ft) are unconfirmed. This species is sexually dimorphic in size; females average only slightly longer, but are considerably heavier and bulkier than the males. For example, length-weight comparisons in captive Burmese pythons for individual females have shown: at 3.47 m (11 ft 5 in) length, a specimen weighed 29 kg (64 lb), a specimen of just over 4 m (13 ft) weighed 36 kg (79 lb), a specimen of 4.5 m (15 ft) weighed 40 kg (88 lb), and a specimen of 5 m (16 ft) weighed 75 kg (165 lb). In comparison, length-weight comparisons for males found: a specimen of 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) weighed 12 kg (26 lb), 2.97 m (9 ft 9 in) weighed 14.5 kg (32 lb), a specimen of 3 m (9.8 ft) weighed 7 kg (15 lb), and a specimen of 3.05 m (10.0 ft) weighed 18.5 kg (41 lb). In general, individuals over 5 m (16 ft) are rare. The record for maximum length of a Burmese python is 5.79 m (19 ft 0 in) and was caught 10 July 2023 in South Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve. Widely published data of specimens reported to have been several feet longer are not verified. At her death, a Burmese named "Baby" was the heaviest snake recorded in the world at the time at 182.8 kg (403 lb), much heavier than any wild snake ever measured. Her length was measured at 5.74 m (18 ft 10 in) circa 1999. The minimum size for adults is 2.35 m (7 ft 9 in). Dwarf forms occur in Java, Bali, and Sulawesi, with an average length of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in Bali, and a maximum of 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) on Sulawesi. Wild individuals average 3.7 m (12 ft) long, but have been known to reach 5.79 m (19 ft 0 in).
In both their native and invasive range they suffer from Raillietiella orientalis (a pentastome parasitic disease).
The Burmese python occurs throughout Southern and Southeast Asia, including eastern India, southeastern Nepal, western Bhutan, southeastern Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, northern continental Malaysia, and southern China in Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, and Yunnan. It also occurs in Hong Kong, and in Indonesia on Java, southern Sulawesi, Bali, and Sumbawa. It has also been reported in Kinmen.
It is an excellent swimmer and needs a permanent source of water. It lives in grasslands, marshes, swamps, rocky foothills, woodlands, river valleys, and jungles with open clearings. It is a good climber and has a prehensile tail. It can stay in water for 30 minutes but mostly stays on land.
Python invasion has been particularly extensive, notably across South Florida, where a large number of pythons can now be found in the Florida Everglades. Between 1996 and 2006, the Burmese python gained popularity in the pet trade, with more than 90,000 snakes imported into the U.S. The current number of Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades may have reached a minimum viable population and become an invasive species. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 was deemed responsible for the destruction of a python-breeding facility and zoo, and these escaped snakes spread and populated areas into the Everglades. More than 1,330 have been captured in the Everglades. A genetic study in 2017 revealed that the python population is composed of hybrids between the Burmese python and Indian python. The species also displays cytonuclear discordance which has made phylogenetic studies of its origin more complicated.
By 2007, the Burmese python was found in northern Florida and in the coastal areas of the Florida Panhandle. The importation of Burmese pythons was banned in the United States in January 2012 by the U.S. Department of the Interior. A 2012 report stated, "in areas where the snakes are well established, foxes, and rabbits have disappeared. Sightings of raccoons are down by 99.3%, opossums by 98.9%, and white-tailed deer by 94.1%." Road surveys between 2003 and 2011 indicated an 87.3% decrease in bobcat populations, and in some areas rabbits have not been detected at all. Experimental efforts to reintroduce rabbit populations to areas where rabbits have been eliminated have mostly failed "due to high (77% of mortalities) rates of predation by pythons." Bird and coyote populations may be threatened, as well as the already-rare Florida panther. In addition to this correlational relationship, the pythons have also been experimentally shown to decrease marsh rabbit populations, further suggesting they are responsible for many of the recorded mammal declines. They may also outcompete native predators for food.
For example, Burmese pythons also compete with the native American alligator, and numerous instances of alligators and pythons attacking—and in some cases, preying on—each other have been reported and recorded.
By 2011, researchers identified up to 25 species of birds from nine avian orders in the digestive tract remains of 85 Burmese pythons found in Everglades National Park. Native bird populations are suffering a negative impact from the introduction of the Burmese python in Florida; among these bird species, the wood stork is of specific concern, now listed as federally endangered.
Numerous efforts have been made to eliminate the Burmese python population in the last decade. Understanding the preferred habitat of the species is needed to narrow down the python hunt. Burmese pythons have been found to select broad-leafed and low-flooded habitats. Broad-leafed habitats comprise cypress, overstory, and coniferous forest. Though aquatic marsh environments would be a great source for prey, the pythons seem to prioritize environments allowing for morphological and behavioral camouflage to be protected from predators. Also, the Burmese pythons in Florida have been found to prefer elevated habitats, since this provides the optimal conditions for nesting. In addition to elevated habitats, edge habitats are common places where Burmese pythons are found for thermoregulation, nesting, and hunting purposes.
One of the Burmese python eradication movements with the biggest influence was the 2013 Florida Python Challenge. This was a month-long contest wherein a total of 68 pythons were removed. The contest offered incentives such as prizes for longest and greatest number of captured pythons. The purpose of the challenge was to raise awareness about the invasive species, increase participation from the public and agency cooperation, and to remove as many pythons as possible from the Florida Everglades. The challenge has run a few times again since then and is now an annual event over the duration of ten days. Recently, in 2023, it resulted in 209 pythons removed by 1,050 participants.
A study from 2017 introduced a new method for identifying the presence of Burmese pythons in southern Florida; this method involves the screening of mosquito blood. Since the introduction of the Burmese python in Florida, mosquito communities use the pythons as hosts even though they are recently introduced.
Invasive Burmese pythons also face certain physiological changes. Unlike their native South Asian counterparts who spend long periods fasting due to seasonal variation in prey availability, pythons in Florida feed year-round due to the constant availability of food. They are also vulnerable to cold stress, with winter freezes resulting in mortality rates of up to 90%. Genomic data suggests natural selection on these populations favors increased thermal tolerance as a result of these high-mortality freezes.
They have carried Raillietiella orientalis, a pentastome parasitic disease, with them from Southeast Asia. Other reptiles in Florida have become infested, and the parasite appears to have become endemic.
In April 2019, researchers captured and killed a large Burmese python in Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve. It was more than 5.2 m (17 ft) long, weighed 64 kg (140 lb), and contained 73 developing eggs. In December 2021, a Burmese python was captured in Florida that weighed 98 kg (215 lb) and had a length of 5.5 m (18 ft); it contained a record 122 developing eggs. In July 2023, local hunters captured and killed a 5.8 m (19 ft) long Burmese python that weighed 57 kg (125 lb) in Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve.
Burmese pythons are mainly nocturnal rainforest dwellers. When young, they are equally at home on the ground and in trees, but as they gain girth, they tend to restrict most of their movements to the ground. They are also excellent swimmers, being able to stay submerged for up to half an hour. Burmese pythons spend the majority of their time hidden in the underbrush. In the northern parts of its range, the Burmese python may brumate for some months during the cold season in a hollow tree, a hole in the riverbank, or under rocks. Brumation is biologically distinct from hibernation. While the behavior has similar benefits, allowing organisms to endure the winter without moving, it also involves the preparation of both male and female reproductive organs for the upcoming breeding season. The Florida population also goes through brumation.
They tend to be solitary and are usually found in pairs only when mating. Burmese pythons breed in the early spring, with females laying clutches of 12–36 eggs in March or April. They remain with the eggs until they hatch, wrapping around them and twitching their muscles in such a way as to raise the ambient temperature around the eggs by several degrees. Once the hatchlings use their egg tooth to cut their way out of their eggs, no further maternal care is given. The newly hatched babies often remain inside their eggs until they are ready to complete their first shedding of skin, after which they hunt for their first meal.