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Which is considered one of the largest in the world. In 2005, the reptile of this species was recognized as the heaviest in the world. With a length of 8.2 m, it weighed 183 kg.

Appearance

This type of reptile got its name due to the color, reminiscent of the color of a tiger. The length of the tiger python reaches 8 m, and sometimes more. The body of this snake is olive or yellowish brown in color, on which large dark brown spots are scattered. On the head of the tiger python, you can see a dark arrow-shaped spot. Among them, there are albinos - individuals that do not have protective pigmentation. In nature, the albino tiger python is very rare, since the lack of a protective color dooms it to death in early childhood. However, due to their unusually beautiful appearance, such individuals are very popular among snake lovers. Therefore, they began to artificially withdraw.

Habitat

The tiger python lives in the vast Southeast and in particular, it is distributed in countries such as Pakistan, China, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal. As a rule, representatives of this species can be found in swamps, sparse forests, as well as on rocky foothills and fields.

Lifestyle

The tiger python is a sedentary reptile that prefers to hunt at night. Said snake attacks prey from an ambush, then bites it and suffocates it with its body. The food for tiger pythons is rodents, various birds, monkeys and small ungulates. There are even cases when individuals of this species attacked jackals, leopards, wild boars and crocodiles. Most often, tiger pythons can be found near water bodies, because they feel good in the water. They can swim and dive. Also, these snakes can climb trees. Their life expectancy is 20-25 years.

In nature, there are 3 subspecies of tiger pythons:

Indian python.
Burmese python.
Ceylon tiger python.

The largest of these is the Burmese, or dark tiger python. Its length varies between 6 and 8 meters (maximum 9.15 m) and its weight is about 70 kg. In addition, it has the darkest color, which is clearly visible in the photo of the python. At the same time, it has many color variations. This subspecies is often kept in terrariums.

Less large is the Indian, which is also called the light tiger python. Its length is 6 m. It has a lighter color. This subspecies is included in the Red Book. Due to hunting, its population is constantly decreasing. The skin of these snakes is used to make wallets, boots, belts, etc. The Ceylon subspecies is considered the smallest among tiger pythons. Its length rarely exceeds 3 m. Outwardly, it strongly resembles an Indian python. Ceylon can be distinguished by the reddish color of the head.

It turns out that the cat is not the best hunter for domestic rodents. You need to feed her every day, and there is a lot of wool from her. Whether it's a dark tiger python (lat. Python bivittatus) ! It does not make noise, does not litter and feeds itself. And if there is nothing to eat - it does not matter! Starve for a week or two and then hunt.

flickr/patmanzzz-against SOPA/PIPA

In any case, this is the opinion of the inhabitants of Southeast Asia, who often keep these snakes as pets. The nature of the dark tiger pythons is relatively calm, so they do not cause much trouble. Although adults can also attack a person, this is rather an exception to the rule. In addition, there is another use for especially large specimens: clothes and shoes are made from their skin, and meat is eaten. All round good python!

It is found in eastern India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and southern China. It is not found in Borneo and Sumatra, but it is in Sulawesi, Java and some other small islands of Indonesia.

At one time, it was popular in the United States to keep pythons as pets. However, when the "favorite" reached a large size, he was released into the wild. So the dark tiger python took root in the Everglades National Park (Florida, USA), where it began to compete for the title of dominant predator with local alligators and destroy rare species of animals and birds.

Pythons prefer tropical rainforests, rocky foothills, swamps, river valleys, and open meadow jungles. They love water, dive and swim well, so they always settle next to permanent water bodies. Young snakes enjoy climbing trees, but with age they get rid of this habit.

Pythons feed on various rodents (including porcupines), civets, waterfowl and chicken birds, monitor lizards, and pigeons. Sometimes they attack pets. Particularly large specimens from time to time feast on small deer, pigs, goats, leopards and jackals. They attack prey from ambush. They grab with their teeth and strangle with the rings of their body.

The body length of the dark tiger python can exceed eight meters, but 5-meter snakes with a weight of about 70 kg are much more common. The largest python had a body length of 9.15 m, and the heaviest weighed 183 kg with a body length of 8.2 m. It is curious that the name of the heavyweight was "Baby".

In the cold season, pythons can fall into a kind of “hibernation”: they hide in caves, burrows or empty tree trunks and starve for a long time, waiting for warmth. During this period, their reproductive organs are actively preparing for the breeding season, which begins in early spring.

From the moment of mating to the laying of eggs, it takes from 60 to 155 days. The clutch is usually 12-36 eggs - their number depends on the state of health and the capabilities of the female. The expectant mother wraps the masonry around and warms it due to muscle contractions. Young snakes hatch from eggs at 55-85 days. Interestingly, very often fully formed cubs are in no hurry to leave the cozy egg and sit inside for a few more days. They begin to eat only after the first molt.

The lifespan of dark tiger pythons in captivity is 25 years. So think before you get yourself such a kind of "rat catcher".

How often do Burmese pythons eat? and got the best answer

Answer from ***T@tyan@***[guru]

Interestingly, with such an "uncomfortable" diet, the python digests its food quickly enough. Otherwise, having in the digestive tract, for example, a swallowed calf, the snake naturally becomes extremely clumsy and can easily become someone's prey.

Answer from Victoria[guru]
He often preys on animals that come to drink. In addition to ungulates, monkeys and rodents, it attacks small crocodiles, monitor lizards, agamas and other reptiles
Burmese pythons - one of the largest snakes in the world - reach eight meters in length and weigh up to 180 kilograms. As a rule, these snakes avoid people. They are considered quite dangerous, as they can, curling around a person, easily crush him to death.
More recently, there was news that in the United States a python, which was trying to digest a two-meter alligator, was torn in half. Today it became known to the new episode of the Burmese python, in which a suspicious bulge was found on the body. In the US state of Florida, a Burmese python with a suspicious bulge in its abdomen was X-rayed, which showed that the reptile had devoured a Siamese cat. Last Sunday, the Rodriguez family discovered a 3.5-meter python near the forest of their home in Miami. A large bulge was observed in the digestive tract of the snake. Since the family had recently lost their one-year-old Siamese cat named Frances, the Rodrigues suspected the worst. “I'm sure he has a cat inside,” said Andres, one of his sons. His mother, Elidia, was also suspicious, but she said she needed to be sure. “I still want to know for sure that in the belly of the snake and it is he,” said the lady. The found python was taken to the reserve, where he was given an X-ray examination, which determined that the python had actually eaten the Elsiamese cat. “The X-ray showed that the bulge in the capiton’s stomach is the cat he ate,” said veterinarian William Chavez.

Answer from Cover Vladimir[guru]
Three subspecies of these reptiles are known: this is the Indian light tiger python Python molurus molurus, a snake of medium size, usually does not exceed 4 meters, but six-meter specimens are also known. Distributed in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh. The coloration of this subspecies is lighter than the other two. Due to the intensive development of natural habitats, the range of the Indian python has sharply decreased. Currently, pythons are found in protected areas and national parks in the south and southeast of India. The Indian light tiger python is protected by law, is included in the national and international Red Books, and in the first appendix of the CITES lists. It is bred in captivity, but is extremely rare in amateur terrariums.
Ceylon tiger python - Python m. pimbura is the smallest of the tiger pythons. Usually its length does not exceed 2 - 3 meters. Outwardly, it looks like a light tiger python, with which it was previously combined into one subspecies. It differs from the Indian python in addition to size, in the shape of the head. Python m. pimbura is an endemic of the island of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), inhabiting the few forests and jungles that have survived in their original form. It is included in the national and international Red Books, and in the second appendix of the CITES lists. Due to its small size, for terrarium lovers, it is a desirable species for keeping, but it is quite expensive and rare, bred in captivity.
And finally the Dark Tiger Python - P. m. bivittatus is the largest, brightest and most common python in this group in zoo and terrarium collections. It is colored darker than other subspecies (hence the name), inhabits mountain rainforests (it is called the "mountain Burmese python") of southern China, Vietnam, Cambodia, northern Thailand, Laos, Burma. In the mountains it rises up to 1800 m above sea level. It reaches a length of up to 7 m, but in a terrarium it is usually about 4-5 m, and some of its morphs are even less. P.m. bivittatus is included in the second appendix of the CITES lists. At present, there are quite a lot of morphs and color variations of this python in the world.
They feed young pythons 1 time in 7-10 days, adults 1 time in 10-20 days, with food objects of the same size: mice, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, birds. Usually pythons are not picky eaters and will absorb any food that is suitable for them in size, although sometimes there are exceptions that specialize in one food preference, for example, a bird, so when purchasing an animal, you need to ask about its taste preferences. Sometimes pythons of adolescence and adult animals can refuse food and starve for 1-6 months without compromising health. This is due to the imitation of natural seasonality, wintering, skin change, sexual behavior, etc.

Answer from Igor pavlov[guru]
Burmese pythons can only feed a few times a year, digesting their prey without a trace. According to a study by biologist Robert K. Pope of Indiana University South Bend and his colleague Jean-Hervé Lignot of the University of Louis Pasteur, the secret to this natural "talent" - in a special type of cells, previously unknown to science.
The digestive features of Burmese pythons are truly amazing. These animals manage to absorb food weighing twice their weight in one sitting. In addition, food occurs in them quite rarely.
Interestingly, with such an "uncomfortable" diet, the python digests its food quickly enough. Otherwise, having in the digestive tract, for example, a swallowed calf, the snake naturally becomes extremely clumsy and can easily become someone's prey.
The mechanical basis of this process lies in the ability of the python's internal organs to stretch. But for a long time it was not clear how digestion occurs - after all, the Burmese python somehow digests food completely (with the exception, perhaps, of feathers and down).
As Pope and Linho found, this digestion is provided by a special type of cell, which they called trap cells. These cells are shaped like depressions in the walls of the intestine. During digestion, they come into contact with food, and the microvilli of neighboring cells “catch” its particles, placing them inside the trap cell.
In these cells, particles of bone tissue accumulate, which then undergo further splitting.
According to Pope, the main "task" of the trap cells is to help absorb as much calcium as possible.
Researchers claim that cells of this type are not found in other living beings.!!!

How often do Burmese pythons eat? and got the best answer

Abstract on the topic:

Plan:

1 Description
- 1.1 Appearance
- 1.2 Spreading
- 1.3 Lifestyle
- 1.4 Nutrition
- 1.5 Breeding
2 Conservation status
3 Significance for a person
4 Content in captivity
5 Invasive view

Introduction

Or burmese python(lat. Python molurus bivittatus) is one of the subspecies of the tiger python.

1. Description

1.1. Appearance

The dark tiger python is the largest of the subspecies of the tiger python. It can reach a length of 8 m or more, but usually there are individuals about 5-5.5 m long and weighing about 70 kg. The record copy reached a length of 9.15 m. This subspecies also included the heaviest snake kept in captivity - a tiger python named "Baby" (Eng. Baby), who lived in the Snake Safari Park in Illinois (USA) and in 2005 weighed 183 kg with a length of 8.2 m. Females are usually larger and more massive than males.

Different from light tiger python ( Python molurus molurus) with the following features:

the absence of light "eyes" in the centers of the spots located on the sides of the body;
a well-defined diamond-shaped spot on the head;
usually darker in color, which is dominated by dark brown, olive-brown, brownish tones.

1.2. Spreading

The most widespread subspecies of the tiger python. Lives in Burma, East India, Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, southern China (including Hainan Island), Malaysia, Indochina. Absent in Borneo and Sumatra, but found in Java, Sulawesi and some small islands of Indonesia.

The dark tiger python was unintentionally introduced in the state of Florida (USA).

1.3. Lifestyle

Tiger pythons live in tropical rain forests, jungles with open glades, swamps, rocky foothills, river valleys. They prefer to settle near permanent water bodies. Pythons swim and dive well, they are able to stay under water for up to half an hour. Young individuals climb trees well, but adult pythons, due to their large mass, prefer to lead a mostly terrestrial lifestyle. Sometimes pythons are found near human settlements, where they are attracted by the abundance of synanthropic rodents.

Pythons are active mainly at night.

In the northern part of its range, the dark tiger python may be dormant during several cold months of the year. At the same time, snakes are inactive, stop feeding and hide in empty tree trunks, burrows or caves. This kind of hibernation helps to prepare the reproductive organs (both males and females) for the upcoming breeding season.

1.4. Nutrition

Tiger pythons, like all snakes, are predators and feed on various mammals and birds. Various rodents (including porcupines), monkeys, civets, waterfowl and chicken birds, pigeons, and sometimes large lizards (for example, monitor lizards) become prey for pythons. They can attack pets and birds. Large individuals are capable of killing and swallowing such prey as young or small deer, goats and pigs. There are cases of attacks of large pythons on leopards and jackals.

The animals that serve as their food are detected by pythons mainly by smell and by thermal radiation with the help of thermolocator pits located on the upper labials. They hunt from ambush. The prey is seized with teeth and killed by strangulation in the body rings. Pythons are able to swallow very large prey, but they can also starve for a long time.

1.5. reproduction

Tiger pythons can mate in early spring (March-April). Both the male and the female have small claws on the sides of the anus - the so-called anal spurs (rudiments of the hind limbs). The male has larger anal spurs; when mating, he scratches the female with them and rubs against her body. Copulation continues for several hours. In June, 60-155 days after mating, females lay eggs. The clutch size of the tiger python is on average 12-36 eggs, but much larger clutches are also known. The number of eggs laid depends on the size and health of the female. The female stays next to the clutch for 55-85 days, curled around it. Female pythons are able to independently warm the masonry, raising the temperature inside the rings of their body by several degrees due to muscle contractions. The young hatch in August. Baby pythons often stay inside the eggs for some time. Young snakes begin to feed after the first molt.

2. Conservation status

The dark tiger python is listed in Appendix II of the CITES Convention on International Trade.

3. Significance for a person

In Southeast Asia, tiger python meat is eaten by the local population. Various items of clothing and footwear are made from the skin of large pythons.

Locals often keep tiger pythons in their homes for superstitious reasons, as well as to get rid of rats and mice.

Beautiful coloration, relatively calm and non-aggressive nature made the dark tiger python one of the most popular snakes kept in captivity. They are kept in many zoos and circuses. Despite its large size, this python can often be seen in terrariums by exotic animal lovers.

4. Captivity

Dark tiger python in terrarium

For the maintenance of tiger pythons, spacious terrariums horizontal type with good ventilation. As bedding use sawdust, synthetic mats or paper. Mandatory large swimming pool in which the python could bathe. This is especially important for the correct molting of the snake. To give animals the opportunity to climb, you can install thick and strong snags, tree branches in the terrarium, or attach shelves to the walls of the terrarium. Plants are not placed in terrariums with pythons, as large heavy snakes quickly break them. Temperature in a warm corner of the terrarium during the day - up to 30-32°C, at night - 24-26°C. To maintain the desired temperature, special thermal cords and thermal mats. To maintain high humidity, the terrarium and the snake are regularly sprayed with warm water.

Albino dark tiger python

fed tiger pythons, depending on the size of fodder rodents (mice, hamsters, rats), rabbits, guinea pigs, quails, chickens, adults sometimes pigs. Cases of attacks of pythons on leopards and jackals are known. Young snakes are fed once a week, adults - no more than once every 8-10 days. It is important not to overfeed pythons, as they can eat a lot and rarely refuse food, but they are prone to obesity and often this leads to death of the animal.

Tiger pythons breed well in captivity. Through breeding, it was possible to bring out and fix several color morphs of the tiger python, of which albino pythons are especially popular with terrariumists. In captivity, hybrids of the dark tiger python with reticulated ( Python reticulatus), royal ( Python regius) and hieroglyphic ( python sebae) pythons.

These snakes are characterized by rapid growth rates, and often reach a length of more than 2 m at the age of one year if they are properly cared for and well fed. At the age of 2.5-4 years, they become sexually mature (although a case of a 1.5-year-old female is known to be pregnant), but continue to grow slowly throughout their lives. The maximum life span of a tiger python in captivity is 25 years.

Despite their usually peaceful behavior and calm nature, even tiger pythons kept in captivity for a long time, if not properly handled, can pose a certain danger to humans. The bites of small pythons are very painful, and a large snake can seriously injure or even kill a person by suffocating them in the rings of the body. Most often, the python attacks the owner when the second one forgets to wash his hands after a rabbit or other food animal, and since the sense of smell in pythons is very well developed, the snake “attacks” the hand without hesitation.

5. Invasive look

Distribution of the tiger python in the United States

Alligator catching a tiger python

The popularity of the dark tiger python as a pet in the US has led to some unusual and rather serious problems. People who were fed up with their pythons and those who were unable to keep snakes that had grown too big got rid of them by releasing them into the wild. This problem has become especially large in the state of Florida, where a large number of pythons released by former owners settled in the Everglades National Park. Thanks to the warm and humid climate of the southern state, they took root well there, began to multiply and became a harmful invasive species. In the Everglades, tiger pythons compete with Mississippi alligators for a dominant predator niche, with the pythons sometimes attacking and eating alligators, and sometimes the other way around. As tiger pythons feed on rare and endangered birds and alligators, these snakes pose a new threat to the national park's fragile ecosystem.