Perfect Python Parenting

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Reptile: is a lung breathing, egg laying animal that is covered by scales or horny plates... more

turtle

Pythons are reptiles, along with other snakes, lizards, turtles, tortoises, crocodiles and alligators.

Pythons are a type of snake. Snakes are reptiles, along with lizards, turtles, tortoises, crocodiles, and alligators. Like most snakes, pythons are not venomous. If you’ve ever seen a snake, you might think it looks like a slimy worm. Pythons and other snakes actually have skin that is covered in scales and is usually very dry, soft, and smooth.

There are about 30 species of python, and they are found in some of the tropical areas around the world. Though they are mainly in Africa, Asia, and Australia, some species of python have spread to the United States and now call Florida home. Depending on the species, pythons can be found under or above ground, in trees, or in the water.

Pythons are very similar to another type of snake, called boas. While boas give birth to live young and pythons lay eggs, these two groups of snakes are known as the biggest snakes in the world. Some boas can weigh up to 227 kilograms (500 pounds), which is more than the total mass of three average adult humans. Pythons range in adult size from 60 centimeters (2 feet) to 10 meters (33 feet) in total length. That’s right—some can be almost as long as a school bus!

schoolbus

Some adult pythons can get to be almost as long as a school bus!


Additional images via Wikimedia Commons. Boa constrictor by Esteban Alzate.

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Bibliographic details:

  • Article: Python tales
  • Author(s): Zachary Stahlschmidt
  • Publisher: Arizona State University School of Life Sciences Ask A Biologist
  • Site name: ASU - Ask A Biologist
  • Date published: February 20, 2012
  • Date accessed: March 25, 2024
  • Link: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/python-tales

APA Style

Zachary Stahlschmidt. (2012, February 20). Python tales. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved March 25, 2024 from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/python-tales

American Psychological Association. For more info, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/

Chicago Manual of Style

Zachary Stahlschmidt. "Python tales". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 20 February, 2012. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/python-tales

MLA 2017 Style

Zachary Stahlschmidt. "Python tales". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 20 Feb 2012. ASU - Ask A Biologist, Web. 25 Mar 2024. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/python-tales

Modern Language Association, 7th Ed. For more info, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/
Boa constrictor

Pythons are very similar to another type of snake, called boas. This is a boa constrictor. 

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