#pythons

[teleos]

terminal mlem. i'm sorry. we have no cure

[hisssyfitsss]

Samira 🤍

[black-salt-cage]

ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚

[antiqueanimals]

Drawing Animals. Written and illustrated by Maurice Wilson. Published in 1964.

Internet Archive

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

What does it mean when heat pits are ‘in the scales’ vs between them? Is the scale a part of it? Do they shed the scale that has the heat pit or is it just sort of surrounding it?

Great questions.

In boas, heat pits are situated between the scales; there's just a gap between the scales on the lips and that's where the heat pits are.

But in pythons, they're set into the scales - the entire heat pit organ is encased by the scale on the outside and there's no gaps between the scales to make room.

When pythons shed, the upper layer of the lining of the heat pit is shed as well. You can see it on complete sheds - they look like thin, crinkly circles near the lips.

[snototter]

A pair of black-headed pythons (Aspidites melanocephalus) mating in Kimberly, Western Australia

by Melissa Bruton

[rebeccathenaturalist]

For those unaware, Burmese pythons have been a seriously destructive invasive species in the Florida Everglades for the past three decades thanks to a hurricane destroying a breeding facility. Other than the occasional big, old alligator, nothing eats them--but they eat everything. In some places, mammal species have been reduced to a tiny percentage of their former numbers--or have been extirpated entirely.

Because these snakes are so good at hiding, and they often populate the more remote areas of the Everglades, it's incredibly difficult to track them or determine how many of them are hiding there, though their impact is certainly obvious. Even people who spend time hunting the pythons only bring back a tiny fraction of the population; over 17,000 have been killed since 2000, and yet numbers are robust enough that native species have been eaten nearly to complete extermination. Both amateur and professional hunters are allowed to hunt Burmese pythons year-round anywhere on private land and in many public lands as well.

It was totally by accident that researchers came across a way to find these elusive animals. Opossums that had been fitted with radio collars for a separate study became victims of pythons, and the transmitters showed exactly where the snakes went after feeding. While some very large snakes were able to pass the collars when defecating, others retained them in their digestive systems. And as it turns out, the opossums were the perfect size for large female pythons mature enough to lay plenty of eggs. Every female removed from the ecosystem meant that many fewer being born in the future, putting at least a small dent in the population of invasive pythons.

Now there are plans to fit opossums and other mammals with simple tracking collars that are more likely to stay in a python's system even after digestion. Quicker response will mean more of them can be captured and euthanized. While it's not going to be the solution that gets rid of all of the Burmese pythons in Florida, every tool we have in controlling their numbers is a step forward.

[noodle8]

Some character doodles for my custom fallout thing!!

[smol-lizord]

Cinnamon looked back at me and really gave me the “ma is this really for me??” face when I showed her the new enclosure we got her 🥺

[littledisgustingart]

Made a sticker set with sum pythons!!

[mahnisreptiles]

Meet Juniper 🌿💚

[teleos]

i have never in my life been able to get my eye makeup this good. also i don't wear eye makeup but still

[hisssyfitsss]

Tina ❤️🧡🤍

[black-salt-cage]

ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚

[antiqueanimals]

Tales of a Naturalist. Written by Pytor Manteufel. Illustrated by Georgy Nikolsky. English translation c. 1989.

via

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

if youre willing to (and it would be fun) would you list some behavioral differences you notice among short-tails, balls/royals, and other common pythons? id love to hear how they compare, esp since you said your experience with short tails is different than the common idea theyre bitey/aggressive.

Sure thing, this is a fun question! I love pythons, what an awesome family.

Ball pythons:

My goodness, the most docile, sweet-natured snakes in the world. With most ball pythons, they will not even try to bite you for anything in this world.

They hide their faces when they feel scared.

Love to climb! I don't know a bp who won't take advantage of climbing branches.

Burrowing can be either an individual preference or a sign something's up with husbandry. Some bps just like to burrow, and with some it's a sign that their humidity is too low or heat is too high.

Fussy eaters. If anything's up with their husbandry, they often won't eat.

Short-tailed pythons:

Their fuse is a lot longer than people assume it is, and they're good communicators. Hobie's taken one shot at me so far, and it was this morning after he dumped most of his water (from his huge giant water bowl) in his substrate and burrowed down in a wet patch. I didn't trust him (given his background) to be great at knowing he should move to a dry area, so I had to dig him out to replace the substrate. After waking him up, digging him out, and replacing substrate, he snapped at me once, and only after hissing, tail-wagging, and even bluff-striking. From his perspective, he'd exhausted all his options and he'd made himself perfectly clear!

They can and will strike sideways. This throws a lot of people off because most snakes just won't do that.

They're very still snakes and can move fast, so a lot of people get startled by how they move.

They'll huff and sigh to tell you how they're feeling.

Brilliant eaters.

They love water and burrowing. As my Hobie example proves, this can sometimes combine to make Problems.

Antaresia pythons:

Temperament can be a mixed bag as babies but adults are usually calm and sweet.

They'll rear up when they're upset, like colubrids!

Good eaters generally but they can be fussy, especially with babies. Sometimes you'll have to scent their food with lizard scent to get them interested.

Adore climbing and hanging from branches!

They'll burrow occasionally for fun.

Carpet pythons:

Temperament can vary between species, the more arboreal ones are a bit more defensive. Like short-tails, they have a bad reputation but a lot of them are super easy to handle.

Despite that reputation, they're also really good communicators. They'll rear up, open their mouths, and give you every indication they can think of that they're about to bite you before they do it.

These snakes would live on their climbing branches and perches!

Food-motivated to the extent that I honestly wouldn't even try to handle one after dark.

I just love pythons. They're such a fun, diverse group of snakes to work with!