Python

Family Pythonidae

Reptile

Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re talking about pythons. Pythons are Old World constrictor snakes. They natively live throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Australia. Of course there are always exceptions in the animal world, and there is a snake with the common name “python” found in Central America. The Mexican burrowing python is called “python”, but isn’t classified in the same family as true pythons. The Burmese python is also found living in the Florida everglades, but they aren’t natively from this part of the world. There are currently just over 40 described living python species, and they are often confused with boas, the other well-known constrictors; but there’s a clear cut difference between these two groups which we’ll be discussing towards the end of this video.

Pythons live in a variety of habitats including rainforests, grasslands, scrublands, and more. Some species are arboreal, meaning they live in trees; others take to the ground and rest in dense vegetation, hollow logs, and burrows. These burrows are usually left behind by other animals, such as rabbits, but some python species actually dig their own burrows! Wherever they live, however, pythons don’t move very fast. Often they are targeted on roadways and run over by cars. They can also fall victim to predators including birds, large frogs, hyenas, leopards, large insects and spiders, and other snakes - sometimes including each other!

Pythons are non-venomous. To subdue prey these snakes constrict. Pythons will place themselves in areas where prey animals - such as possums, sun bears, bats, bandicoots, monkeys, monitor lizards, antelope, rats, and birds - are frequently found. They are ambush hunters. Many python species have heat sensing pits along their lips which help them identify warm blooded animals; though some species, like the black headed python, lack these pits because they focus more on cold blooded prey.

No matter the prey, once discovered, a python will grab it with its sharp, curved teeth which help to hold the animal in place. This gives the python time to coil around its prey. Many people think that this constricting behavior is intended to break bones, but this isn’t really the case. The constriction may be either to asphyxiate, or to cut off blood circulation to the brain. The python is able to tell when it’s safe to let go because it can feel the heartbeat of its prey… or… well… lack thereof.

Pythons hold the title of the longest living snakes. The reticulated python has been recorded at more than 33 feet (10 meters) in length. But not all pythons are giants. The smallest python, the anthill python, only reaches 2 feet (61 centimeters) in length. These snakes also stand out because they have functional two lungs. Most other snakes only use their right lung to breath while their left lung is vestigial. Oh, and speaking of vestigial things, pythons have vestigial limbs near their cloacas. These are called spurs and they’re larger in males.

Pythons are believed to live about three decades in the wild. Female pythons put a lot of effort into raising their young. The breeding season depends on the python species, and sometimes females are found with multiple males around, though it’s unknown whether they fight over the lady’s affections. A python mom will lay anywhere from fewer than ten to more than 100 eggs, and it’s here that pythons differ from boas.

Nearly all boas give birth to live young while pythons lay eggs. The mother python will actually coil around her eggs during the six to ten weeks they take to incubate. During this time she’ll keep them warm by “shivering,” and even though she’s an ectotherm, she'll be able to raise the temperature of her nest by a couple degrees! Once the eggs hatch, however, the young are on their own. The nesting process takes a lot of energy, so the female may not reproduce again for up to three years!

For more facts on pythons check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.