INDIAN PYTHONS: CHARACTERISTICS, BEHAVIOR AND REPRODUCTION

INDIAN PYTHONS

two Indian pythons

Indian pythons (Python molurus) are also known as black-tailed pythons, Indian rock pythons, and Asian rock python. Native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Indian subcontinent, and a few places in Southeast Asia and China, they are among the largest snakes in world even though they are smaller than their very close relatives Burmese pythons. Indian pythons are generally lighter colored than Burmese pythons and reach lengths of three meters m (9 feet 10 inches. Like all pythons, they are nonvenomous. Their average lifespan in captivity is 15.8 years.

Indian pythons ranges from the Indus Valley in Pakistan in the west to Myanmar in west. You can find them as far north as the Himalayas foodhills in Nepal and China and as far south as Sri Lanka. Until 2009, Burmese pythons were considered a subspecies of the Indian python, but they are now recognized as a distinct species. [Source: Jesse Padgett, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Indian 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, who prefer moist, meadow environments.

Indian pythons are not considered endangered but they are regarded as troublesome and dangerous invasive species. On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List they are listed as Lower Risk — Near Threatened. 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 I. [Source: Jesse Padgett, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

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. Indian pythons are one of the python species that have invaded Florida although not as much so as Burmese pythons. They are also invasive species in other places.

Indian Python Characteristics

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

Indian pythons are non-poisonous, primitive snakes. Those that occur in India typically grows to 3 meters (9 feet 10 inches). A 1990 study in Keoladeo National Park revealed that 25 percent of of the python population there was 2.7 to 3.3 meters (8 feet 10 inches to 10 feet 10 inches) long. Two individuals even measured nearly 3.6 meters (11 feet 10 inches). Because of confusion with the Burmese pythons, exaggerations, and stretched skins in the past, the maximum length of Indian pythons is difficult to ascertain with certainty. The longest scientifically measured specimen, collected in Pakistan, was 4.6 meters (15 fwt 1 inch) long and weighed 52 kilograms (114 pounds 10 ounces). Indian pythons found in In Pakistan generally reach lengths between 2.4–3.0 meters (7 feet 10 inches and 9 feet 10 inches).

Indian pythons are heterothermic (having a body temperature that fluctuates with the surrounding environment). Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Females are larger than males. 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) /=]

Indian pythons hides are marked with a rectangular mosaic type pattern that runs the full length of the animal. Their markings are light brown and tan rectangles placed over a typically cream background. They only have a partial arrow-shaped marking on the top of the head. Each scale is a single color. There are lip dimples in both their upper and lower lip, which are sensitive infrared sensors.

Indian pythons and Burmese 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]

Indian Python Behavior and Senses

Indian pythons are terricolous (live on the ground) and hibernate (the state that some animals enter during winter in which normal physiological processes are significantly reduced, thus lowering the animal’s energy requirements). They sense using vision, infrared light and heat, touch and chemicals usually detected with smelling or smelling-like senses. [Source: Jesse Padgett, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Indian 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. Indian pythons are primarily found on the ground, but sometimes climb trees. They are good swimmers and are quite at home in water. They are often found in or near water and can stay submerged without breathing for up to 30 minutes at a time if necessary but usually prefer to stay near a bank.

Indian pythons are lethargic and slow moving. They are timid and rarely try to attack even when attacked. Locomotion is usually with the body moving in a straight line, by "walking on its ribs". During colder months, starting in October and ending in February, Indian pythons lay low and may briefly hibernate until temperature rises again. As is the case with all snakes, chemoreception is important for finding prey and perceiving the environment. Indian 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. /=\

Indian Python Prey and Hunting Behavior

Indian 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 Indian 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. Indian pythons employ ambush tactics and stalk prey as well as scavenge on carrion.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.

After locating prey, Indian 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.

Indian pythons kill prey by biting and constricting until the prey suffocates or dies from their blood being unable to flow. Prey items are swallowed whole head first. To accomplish the feat of swallowing the prey, Indian pythons dislocates 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.

After a heavy meal, Indian 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.

Indian Python Mating, Reproduction and Offspring

Indian pythons are oviparous, meaning that young are hatched from eggs. Up to 100 eggs can be laid, with the average number being 40. 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) /=]

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 later, 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 mother to leave the eggs during incubation but once the the eggs hatch she quickly departs and young have to fend for themselves.

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