Facts About Pythons Snake

Pythons are one of the largest snakes. Unlike many other snake species, pythons don’t produce venom. They are non-venomous snakes. Pythons live in the tropical areas of Africa and Asia. They can be found in rain   forests, savannas and deserts. A lot of people keep them as pets. Pythons don’t attack humans, unless they are provoked or stressed. Facts About Pythons Snake!

Facts About Pythons Snake

The Pythonidae family, better known as just “pythons,” have some of the largest snakes in the world. They may not be as big as anacondas. But some pythons, like the reticulated python, can grow to be 30 feet long. Other species are smaller, like the anthill python, which only gets to be about 24 inches long.

Pythons not only come in a wide range of sizes, but they come in a variety of colors, too. If you thought it was hard to identify other snakes in the wild, pythons are even harder to identify.

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Pythons are egg layers

Pythons are egg layers (oviparous) rather than live-bearers (viviparous). Females of most, if not all, species coil around the eggs, and some actually brood them. Brooders select thermally stable nesting sites. Then lay their eggs and coil around them so that the eggs are in contact only with the female’s body.

When the air temperature begins to drop, she generates heat by shivering in a series of minuscule muscle contractions and thus maintains an elevated and fairly constant incubation temperature.

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Reticulated python

The reticulated python is a species of python found in Southeast Asia. They are the world’s longest snakes and longest reptiles. And among the three heaviest snakes. Like all pythons, they are nonvenomous constrictors and normally not considered dangerous to humans. However, cases of people killed (and in at least one case eaten) by reticulated pythons have been documented.

Reticulated pythons with lengths more than 6 m (19.7 ft) are rare. Though according to the Guinness Book of World Records, it is the only extant snake to regularly exceed that length. A reticulated python of the same length as a green anaconda may weigh only half as much as the bulkier anaconda. One of the largest scientifically measured specimens, from Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, was measured under anesthesia at 6.95 m (22.8 ft) and weighed 59 kg (130 lb) after not having eaten for nearly 3 months.

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Behavior

Because of their bulk, pythons move by scooting forward in a straight line. This is called “rectilinear progression” movement, according to the San Diego Zoo. Pythons stiffen their ribs for support against the ground then lift their bellies and push themselves forward. It is a slow form of movement and pythons can’t go more than 1 mph (1.6 kph).

Many species of python are excellent swimmers, while others are arboreal, according to Viernum. “They hang from branches with their prehensile tails.” You’ll find many species of pythons living in rain forests, but they can also be found in woodlands, grassy marshes, dunes, swamps, shrubs and rocky outcrops.

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Reproduction and Lifespan

Different species of pythons have different mating seasons. But no matter the species, the courting dance is usually the same. Males use their spurs to stroke the female. Pythons lay eggs, which means they’re oviparous. They also provide some care for their eggs. Unlike other species of snakes.

Moms build a nest for their eggs using soil and vegetation. Once they lay their eggs, females coil around them to keep them warm and protect them from predators. If the nest starts to get cold, mom will contract her muscles to generate heat and keep her eggs warm.

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Ambush predators

Most python species are ambush predators, in that they typically remain motionless in a camouflaged
position, and then strike suddenly at passing prey.

Pythons use their sharp, backward-curving teeth, four rows in the upper jaw, two in the lower, to grasp prey then quickly wraps its body around the victim and squeezes. The python doesn’t actually crush the prey and break its bones, though. Instead. It squeezes tightly so that the prey animal can’t breathe; each time its prey exhales, the constrictor tightens its coils to take up space, causing suffocation. The python can also feel the prey’s heart beating, so when it stops, the snake knows it is safe to release its coils and begin to eat.

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