Burmese Python: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Skinks, Geckos and Snakes · day 5 of 7

Five facts

1. One of the largest snakes on Earth: wild Burmese pythons usually reach about 5 m. The longest confirmed one measured 5.79 m.
2. A mother coils around her 12 to 36 eggs and shivers her muscles, warming the eggs by several degrees until they hatch.
3. It usually eats every month or two, but can go 18 months without food. After a big meal, its heart grows heavier by 40%.
4. Young pythons climb trees as easily as they crawl. Heavier adults keep mostly to the ground, and can stay underwater for half an hour.
5. Burmese pythons now live wild in Florida's Everglades, far from Asia. In 2024 their number was estimated at between 30,000 and 300,000.

The quiz

1. How long do wild Burmese pythons usually grow?

• About 1 m
• About 12 m
• About 5 m (correct)
• About 20 m

In the wild they typically grow to about 5 m.

2. How does a mother python keep her eggs warm?

• She shivers her muscles around them (correct)
• She buries them in hot sand
• She lays them in the sun
• She covers them with leaves

She wraps around the eggs and twitches her muscles to raise the temperature.

3. What happens to a python's heart after a big meal?

• It stops for a day
• It moves to its tail
• It shrinks by half
• It gets 40% heavier (correct)

A main chamber of the heart grows 40% in mass to power digestion.

4. How long can a Burmese python stay underwater?

• About 30 seconds
• Up to half an hour (correct)
• A whole week
• It cannot swim

It swims very well and can hold its breath under the water for as long as half an hour.

5. Where in the United States do Burmese pythons now live wild?

• Alaska
• The Rocky Mountains
• Florida's Everglades (correct)
• New York City

Tens of thousands or more now live in the Florida Everglades.

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