Reticulated Python

Ambush Hunters

This large python inhabits wetlands, rainforests and grassland forests. It utilizes the waterways in the habitat range to its advantage by submerging in the water and ambushing its prey. The python employs this same ambush technique when hiding in or under brush.

Oviparous

The python family is oviparous, which means they lay eggs. The female coils over the eggs to incubate them with muscle contractions called “shivering thermogenesis.” However, this incubation is where any maternal care ends. Once the young hatch, they are on their own for food and survival. Young pythons are subject to numerous predators including eagles, herons and small mammals.

Smelly Tongue

This species lacks good eyesight and relies on vibrations from the ground and its surroundings which it can detect with its lower jaws. It has an acute sense of smell through the use of its forked tongue. After retracting the tongue, scent particles from the air are transferred to the vomeronasal organ on the roof of the mouth to produce directional smell.

 

To learn more, download the Reticulated Python fact sheet.