About Python Snakes

Pythons are sometimes adopted as pets.

Python is a name commonly used to denote nonpoisonous members of the boa constrictor and python family of snakes. Pythons are common as pets because they are not poisonous and pose a smaller health hazard to their human owners. Pythons in the wild can grow to be very large, however, and their strength and ability to crush prey makes them dangerous animals.

Geography

Pythons are native to Africa, Asia, Australia and various islands in the Pacific, where they live primarily in humid tropical areas. Although pythons are native to these specific areas of the world, they have been introduced to North and South America and Europe as pets, and can be found in many countries. Pythons live in warm areas because, like other reptiles, they require external heat to regulate their body temperature.

Types

Python is a term used to refer to a large group of snakes, which includes boa constrictors, ball pythons, green tree pythons and other snake species that are classified as constrictors. A constrictor is a specific type of nonvenomous snake that kills its prey by wrapping itself around the prey animal and squeezing until the animal is crushed or suffocated. Pythons have few natural enemies; smaller python species are more likely to be attacked and eaten by a crocodile or alligator than larger species.

Hunting

Pythons hunt by ambushing and constricting their prey before eating the animal whole. The ambush is helped by the python's ability to smell prey animals with its forked tongue; additionally, pythons are able to strike and wrap their bodies around prey very quickly, which prevents the animal from fighting back or injuring the python. Once the animal has been eaten, the digestive process begins. Pythons digest slowly enough that they may only need to eat a few times each year.

Habitat

Pythons live in tropical and subtropical areas of the world, which are warm and humid. These areas also have populations of animals that pythons hunt, which include small mammals such as rodents. Large pythons have been known to eat pigs or goats on occasion. In captivity, pythons are normally kept in temperature-controlled glass terrariums, which give them space to move around but also provide them with branches or other items to sit on and coil around.

Considerations

Individuals who have pythons as pets should take care not to allow them to escape or release them into the wild. In addition to posing a threat to the pets of neighbors or dying in a hostile environment, pythons that are released into certain areas can become an invasive species and a nuisance. Florida has had a spike the the population of ball pythons, which are not native to the area, and the snakes are causing damage to the delicate ecosystem of Florida's wetlands and forests.

References

• Python Snakes
• National Geographic: Burmese Python
• San Diego Zoo: Python

Resources

• Kid Zone: Snake Facts - Pythons