BURMESE PYTHONS: CHARACTERISTICS, SIZE, BEHAVIOR, PREY, REPRODUCTION

BURMESE PYTHONS

Burmese python

Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) make up one of the largest species of snakes. They are native to Southeast Asia and can live to be 25 years old. Sometimes kept as pets, they reach lengths of 6.5 meters (21 feet) and achieve the thickness of a telephone poll. Burmese pythons are known to feed on almost any living creatures. They have been observed eating full-grown deer and crocodilians.

Until 2009, Burmese pythons were considered a subspecies of the Indian python, but they are now recognized as a distinct species and are larger than Indian pythons. Burmese pythons range from Myanmar eastward across southern Asia through southern China and Indonesia. Burmese pythons are found in easterm India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia Laos and a large swath of southern China but not the Malaysian peninsula. In Indonesia the reside on Java, Bali, Sumbawa and southwest Sulawesi but not Sumatra and Borneo and islands in eastern Indonesia. There are so many introduced ones in the Florida Everglades they have annual roundups to try and get rid of them. Indian pythons live mainly on the Indian subcontinent.[Source: Jesse Padgett, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Burmese pythons are found in a variety of habitats including rainforests, river valleys, woodlands, scrublands, grassy marshes, and semi rocky foothills. They are usually found in habitats with areas that can provide sufficient cover. They are usually found in areas adjacent to rivers and other water bodies and appear to prefer very damp terrain. Indian pythons usually prefer drier, more arid environment than Burmese pythons, which prefer moist, meadow environments.

Burmese pythons are considered threatened in their native regions and are regarded as troublesome and dangerous invasive species outside their native areas. On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List they have been listed as Vulnerable since 2012, as the wild population is estimated to have declined by at least 30 percent between 2000 and 2010. On the US Federal List they are classified as Endangered. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they are in Appendix II, which lists species not necessarily threatened with extinction now but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled.

Indian pythons are threatened by habitat loss and exploited in the pet trade. Their skin is highly valued in the fashion industry for its exotic look. In its native range it is also hunted as a source of food. Burmese pythons are the main python species that have invaded Florida. They have wiped out the rabbit population in the Everglades, as well as almost all of the raccoons, opossums, and bobcats there. They are also invasive species in other places.

Burmese Python Size

range of the Indian python (red); range of the Burmese python (green); overlap (yellow)

Burmese pythons sometimes reach lengths of five meters (16 feet), with specimens of more than seven meters (23 feet) reported but unconfirmed. The average length of wild individuals is 3.7 meters (12 feet) long, and not but have been known to reach 5.79 meters (19 feet 0 inches). There have been a reports of individuals weighing as much as 137 kilograms (302 pounds) and reaching a length of 7.6 meters (24.93 feet). [Source: Wikipedia. Animal Diversity Web (ADW)]

Females are longer, and significantly heavier and bulkier than the males. One survey measured a female that was 3.47 meters (11 feet 5 inches) long and weighed 29 kilograms (64 pounds) and another female that was 5 meters (16 feet) long and weighed 75 kilograms (165 pounds). In comparison, one male three meters (9.8 feet) and weighed 7 kilograms (15 pounds), and another male 3.05 meters (10.0 feet) and weighed 18.5 kilograms (41 pounds).

The record length of a Burmese python is 5.79 meters (19 feet) for a snake caught in July 2023 in South Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve. Reports of individuals several feet longer have not been verified. At her death in 1999, a Burmese python named "Baby" was the heaviest snake recorded in the world at the time. She weighed at 182.8 kilograms (403 pounds) and was 5.74 meters (18 feet 10 inches) in length. The minimum size for adults is 2.35 meters (7 feet 9 inches). Dwarf forms occur in Java, Bali, and Sulawesi average two meters (6 feet 7 inches) in Bali, and reach 2.5 meters (8 feet 2 inches) on Sulawesi.

Burmese Python Characteristics

Burmese pythons are heterothermic (having a body temperature that fluctuates with the surrounding environment) and their average basal metabolic rate is 1.2661 watts. Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Females are larger than males. There are also anatomical differences, Males have larger cloacal spurs, or vestigial limbs, than do females. The cloacal spurs are two projections, one on either side of the anal vent, that are thought to be extensions of posterior limbs.[Source: Jesse Padgett, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Burmese pythons can appear yellow when they are albino, which results in yellow and white tones instead of the typical brown ones and is often intentionally done by breeders in the pet trade

Burmese pythons are well camouflaged in the wild with patterns of interlocking, dark brown splotches on a buff or gray background. The coloration varies from area to area but the “arrowhead” markings on the top of the head are always present. For the most part the hide Burmese pythons is marked with a rectangular mosaic type pattern that runs the full length of the animal. They are more darkly colored than Indian pythonss, with shades of brown and dark cream rectangles laid over a black background. The arrow-shaped marking the top of the head begins the pattern.

Burmese pythons and Indian pythons differ in the following ways: Indian pythons have: 1) light "eyes" in the centers of spots located on the sides of the trunk; 2) reddish or pinkish color of light stripes on the sides of the head; and 3) a diamond-shaped spot on the head blurred in the front part usually lighter in color, dominated by brown, reddish-brown, yellowish-brown and grayish-brown tones. [Source: Wikipedia]

Burmese Python Behavior and Senses

Burmese pythons are terricolous (live on the ground), mainly nocturnal and traditionally have been rainforest dwellers. During colder months, starting in October and ending in February, Burmese pythons in the northern parts of their range, may engage in hibernation-like brumation in a hollow tree, a hole in the riverbank, or under rocks. Brumation has similar benefits as hibernation — allowing animals to endure the winter without moving — but is different: it also involves the preparation of both male and female reproductive organs for the upcoming breeding season.

Burmese pythons are primarily found on the ground, but sometimes climb trees. They spend the majority of their time hidden in the underbrush. Juveniles are equally at home in trees as there on the ground and they get bigger they they have are harder time climbing trees are tend to restrict most of their activity to the ground. They are good swimmers, are often found in or near water and can stay submerged without breathing for up to thirty minutes at a time. [Source: Jesse Padgett, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Burmese pythons are solitary animals. Mating is the only time that these snakes come together and they commonly only do so in pairs. They tend to stick to one area, generally only moving when food is scarce or when threatened. Burmese pythons sense using vision, infrared light and heat, touch and chemicals usually detected with smelling or smelling-like senses. As is the case with all snakes, chemoreception is important for finding prey and perceiving the environment. Burmese pythons have sensing pits on their head that allow them to detect prey that that are warmer than the surrounding environment. They have poor eyesight. /=\

Burmese Python Prey

Burmese python versus and alligator in Florida

Burmese pythons are primarily carnivores (eat meat or animal parts) and mostly eat terrestrial vertebrates such as birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles. They also eat carrion and eggs and may play an important role in limiting populations of prey, especially rodents that may be pests. [Source: Jesse Padgett, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

The diet of Burmese pythons consists mostly of live prey, with rodents and other mammals being their primary food sources. Birds, amphibians, and reptiles make up a relatively small portion of their diet. Burmese pythons employ ambush tactics and stalk prey as well as scavenge on carrion. In China, Burmese pythons feed on all kinds of small-sized animals such as rabbits, pheasants, squirrels, birds, lizards, domestic animals, dcuks and chickens. They can eat a lot at one time and can eat as much as twice of their own weight. But after they are full, they can eat anything or even move much for days. [Source: Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences, kepu.net.cn]

Burmese pythons are often found near human habitation due to the presence of rats, mice, and other vermin they pursue as prey. They also like domesticated birds and mammals, including pets, and thus are often regarded as pests.The invasive Burmese pythons in Florida primarily eat mammals such as foxes, rabbits, and raccoons. Their high predation levels have led to the decline and even disappearance of many mammal species. Very large pythons eat relatively large animals such as pigs and goats. Ones in Florida have attacked and eaten alligators and adult deer.

A study published in the Journal of Reptiles & Amphibians in October 2024 revealed that Burmese pythons are capable of consuming larger prey than scientists had previously thought. The study, carried out by biologists Ian Bartoszek and Ian Easterling of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida and Dr. Bruce Jayne of the University of Cincinnati showed that the snakes have a bigger gape, which is the size that they can stretch their jaws open.[Source: WFLA, October 25, 2024]

Prior studies found the largest gape diameter to be 22 centimeters (8.7 inches), while the study mentioned above reported a maximal gape of 26 centimeters (10.2 inches). The measurements equate to a circumference of 81 centimeters (32 inches). The python’s wide jaws and elastic skin allow these snakes to consume prey six times larger than other snake species, the Conservancy said. The scientists studied three adult female Burmese pythons. One ingested a 35-kilogram (77-pound) white-tailed deer. The deer was 70 percent of the snake’s mass.

Burmese Python Hunting

Burmese pythons are mostly sit-and-wait predators. They spend most of its time staying relatively motionless, waiting for prey to pass their way, and then striking rapidly. The snake grabs prey with its sharp teeth, then wraps its body around the animal and kills it by constriction. To compensate for their poor eyesight they rely on their highly developed sense of smell to locate and pursue prey. They also use their heat pits on their upper lips to sense the warmth of nearby prey. When stalking prey they first locate it by scent or by sensing the body heat of the prey with their heat pits, and then following their scent or heat trail.

After locating prey, Burmese pythons advance with a quivering tail. When stalking prey they first locate it by scent or by sensing the body heat of the prey with their heat pits, and then following their scent or heat trail. When prey is within range the snake lunges with an open mouth. Live prey is constricted. One or two coils are used to hold it in a tight grip.

Burmese python prey suffocates or dies from their blood being unable to flow to their heart and brain. To accomplish the feat of swallowing their prey whole, head first, Burmese pythons dislocate their jaw and stretch their highly elastic skin around the prey. This allows these snakes to swallow food items many times larger than their own heads. These python can swallow such big prey because their jaw bones are not connected. Moreover, prey cannot escape from its mouth because of the arrangement of the teeth. which are reversed and saw-like.

Burmese Python Digestion

After a heavy meal, Burmese pythons don't want to move. If forced to, bones and hard parts of the meal may tear through the body. Therefore, if disturbed, some specimens disgorge their meal to escape from potential predators. After a heavy meal, an individual may fast for weeks, with the longest recorded duration being two years.

Because Burmese pythons typically feed once every one or two months and consume large prey their digestive physiology has been carefully studied. Digestive organs normally require a lot of energy and Burmese pythons are able to “downregulate” them during fasting periods when they are not in use to conserve energy. A fasting python has a reduced stomach volume and acidity, reduced intestinal mass, and a 'normal' heart volume. [Source: Wikipedia]

After ingesting prey, the entire digestive system undergoes a massive re-modelling, with rapid hypertrophy of the intestines, production of stomach acid, and a 40 percent increase in mass of the ventricle of the heart to fuel the digestive process. During digestion, the snake's oxygen consumption also rises significantly to 17 to 40 times its resting rate. This dramatic increase is a result of energy invested in restarting to the digestive process, system, empowering the stomach and small intestine and producing hydrochloric acid to aid digestion in the stomach. Hydrochloric acid production required a lot of energy and the acid is important in digesting whole prey items that include bones and hair and because the python does not use its teeth to chewing or tear up prey into smaller pieces. After food has been ingested, Burmese pythons produce large amounts of acid to to turn the food into a semi-liquid that can be passed through to the small intestine and be fully digested.

The energy cost is highest in the first few days after eating when these regenerative processes are at their highest level. This means Burmese pythons rely on existing food energy storage to digest a new meal. Overall, the entire digestive process from food intake to defecation lasts eight to 14 days.

Burmese Python Mating, Reproduction and Offspring

Burmese pythons are oviparous, meaning that young are hatched from eggs. They breed in the early spring, with females laying clutches of 12–36 eggs in March or April. The incubation period ranges from two to three months.Females and males reach sexual or reproductive maturity at two to three years given the weigh enough. Young are precocial when they hatch. They become independent soon after hatching. [Source: Jesse Padgett, Animal Diversity Web (ADW); Wikipedia /=]

During courtship, the male wraps his body around the female and repeatedly flicks his tongue across her head and body. Once they align their cloacas, the male uses his vestigial legs to massage the female and stimulate her. Copulation ensues, with the female raising her tail to allow the male to insert one hemipenis (he has two) into the female's cloaca. This process lasts between five and 30 minutes.

About three to four months after copulation, the female lays her eggs, each weighing as much as 207 grams (7.3 ounces), often in in a tree hollow or burrow in the ground. At this time the female generally coils around the eggs for incubation. During the incubation period, the female doesn't eat or drink. She can raise her body temperature several centigrade higher than her normal body temperature to produce heat to keep the eggs warm. She can also regulate the temperature of the eggs by trembling her muscles to generate heat. These muscular contractions or "shivers" raise their body temperatures slightly higher than the surrounding air temperature. It is very uncommon for a female to leave the eggs during incubation but once the eggs hatch she quickly departs and young have to fend for themselves. Hatchlings use their egg tooth to cut their way out of their eggs. They often remain inside their eggs until they are ready to complete their first shedding of skin, after which they hunt for their first meal. [Source: Wikipedia]

Burmese python females are able to reproduce asexually when in captivity. Offspring are clones of their mother and reproduction appears to be by a parthenogenetic mechanism that involves a modification of the meiotic process by which a type of cell division takes place that creates reproductive cells, or gametes, by reducing the number of chromosomes in a cell by half. .

Burmese Python Eats Bigger Reticulated Python

In 2020, a Burmese python was observed attacking and swallowing a reticulated python — regarded as the longest snake in the world. Researchers in India took pictures of the event beginning with the moment the Burmese python began feasting on the reticulated python from the tail up, while it was still alive. It took about two hours for the snake to be completely consumed, scientists reported in a research note published August 20, 2024 in the journal Reptiles and Amphibians. "It was a really unusual situation to find two pythons in the same area," study co-author Ashikur Rahman Shome, a wildlife ecologist at Dhaka University in Bangladesh, told Live Science. [Source:James Bonthron, Live Science, August 31, 2024]

James Bonthron wrote in Live Science: When the scientists arrived, the 10-foot-long (3 meters) Burmese python was coiled around the slightly larger reticulated python's tail. The latter tried to fight back by constricting the Burmese python, but it eventually loosened its grip and was swallowed from the tail end up. The reticulated python was larger than the Burmese, but the exact length was not taken, Shome said.

The event took place on the Akiz Wildlife Farm in Bangladesh's Chittagong Division. This area is one of the few places where the ranges of Burmese and reticulated pythons overlap. The two snake species prey on similar animals, such as mammals, birds and lizards. It's not completely clear why the reticulated python was eaten, but given the better food options at the site, it might just have been a territorial dispute that ended up with one eating the other as an easy way to end the fight: "There are a number of chickens at the site. They make a better meal," Shome said. "To the best of our knowledge, this observation represents the first documented predation of M. reticulatus by P. bivittatus," the team wrote in the paper.

Burmese python swallowing a reticulated python, picture by Adnan Azad

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last updated February 2025