Carpet pythons are found in Australia and nearby country, Papua New Guinea. Its habitat is diverse such that they can dwell in the rainforest, the savannas as well as slopes with rocks. These snakes are carnivages and eat rodents, lizards and birds. This snake will live for more than two decades.
4 Carpet Python Amazing Facts
- They are predators of rabbits, mice, birds and marsupials.
- Hatchling carpet pythons got the name because its scales have a pattern that resembles a woven carpet.
- They can crawl up trees and get about on the ground.
- This snake is, in some cases, kept as a pet.
Where to Find Them
Carpet pythons are versatile and they exist in he various regions such as the rainforest regions some exist in the woodland regions, grasslands or in rocky terrains. These birds can inhabit hot and dry country lands, steppes, semi-deserts to even reasonably wet regions in Australia, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the northern Solomon Islands.
I can find them hanging in trees, fences, and sometimes in houses because carpet pythons are good climbers. These are mobil snakes that traverse their environment and also prey at the forest floor level.
These snakes are most common during spring and summer. But, they are less active in the cooler months of autumn.” The carpet pythons have to undergo brumation if they are from a place that undergoes very cold temperature in the winter season.
Types of Carpet Pythons
These four types of carpet pythons fall under Pythonidae family. If you are keen on the scale colors then identification of each of these snakes is quite easy. One of the strategies for proper identification is location. Carpet python is found in different areas of Australia and Papua New Guinea.
- Morelia spilota cheynei – At least this species must be the best-known Python since it has black bands of scales along the bright yellow ground. They get up to about eight feet long and can be found in a rainforest environment in the north east of Queensland.
- Southern Carpet Python (Morelia spilota imbricata) – This python is spread in the southern region of west Australia and the eastern area of south Australia. It attains an adult size of seven and a half feet. At its own scale, it is mostly dark brown or olive with black blotches on the body part.
- Diamond Python – The Morelia spilota spilota is found in the eastern region of New South Wales and New Guinea. It has black scaly skin with a yellow or white small shaped diamond like pattern. Average length is about seven feet and they are not aggressive. This snake is a popular pet.
- Morelia spilota variegata – Darwin Carpet Python – This python species inhabits a place in the northern quadrant of western Australia. It averages around the length of five and a half feet. There colors are a combination of the dark brown and the light brown.
Scientific Name
The scientific name of the python jungle carpet which can be found in the following picture is Morelia spilota. The word Morelia is its genus while word spilota is Greek meaning spotted. For patterns and colours of this snake. This animal is in the Pythonidae family and in the classification, class Reptilia.
History and Evolution
Astoundingly, pythons and the rest of the jungle carpet python snakes were once wearing legs and they are resembled the lizard and other water-dwelling reptiles. At some point it must have been adaptive to sleek on the ground and their legs became more and more unnecessary and well, gone, vestigial, or useless.
Once subgrouped with the boas, recent research has indicated that pythons and boas are two different species. Similar structures are examples of analogous structures in various parts of the globe, while monkeys developed in different fashion in Africa and South America, but were related.
Pythons are great swimmers and have been seen to swim in seas; which also means early ancestors probably swam far and settled there. Here, the variants of the pythons which exist are different from those of the pythons that exist on other parts of the world.
Population And Conservation Status
It is unclear how many carpet pythons are in the wild. Referring to the IUCN Red List this species is stated to be of Least Concern. It is believed that habitat loss is the cause for decrease in population.
How to Identify Them: Appearance and Description
The common varieties of this snake species are the jungle carpet python. It is not very hard to identify a jungle carpet python because it has a series of black blotches over a bright yellow scales. Although it measures about 8 feet as an average length this snake may extend to about 12 feet in size. Moreover, they can be comprised of up to 33 pounds.
How to identify a jungle carpet python:
- Black wide regular bands of scales on a bright yellow substrate base very much like a designed rug.
- A pit on each side of its head in order to assist them in detecting the presence of warm-blooded animals.
- A cream or white underbelly.
How Dangerous Are They?
Carpet pythons are also considered to be docile animals. This is partly why they are favorite pets.
About this snake there is some interesting facts to remember: it is not a venomous snake. They use their pits on their head to guide them when hunting for their prey. These pits to feel warm-blooded prey in the environment of their habitation. When it comes to small animals the snake coil itself around the prey and constrict it until it dies.
However, even though these snakes are not aggressive at all, they will still use their fangs to bite. If the snake feels threatened or provoked it is highly likely that it will bite. Thus, you can get a very steep price to pay if you have to sneak up on it. It has also well developed sharp teeth which jut backwards to hold its prey in position while swallowing.
First aid treatment of an injury from a carpet python is washing the injured area with hot water and soap. Then take a towel and wipe your skin then cover the injured part with adhesive tape. If the pain is still felt, then the person should attend a healthcare provider.
Behavior and Humans
Carpet pythons are non-aggressive snakes and as a rule are not hostile at all. They are one of the favourite pets of snake lovers and could be purchased at a moderate cost. They are not poisonous or likely to attack when threatened.
On occasion some of these snakes can easily enter some of the suburban houses. This can be in a search for rodents or in search of a shade where to lay. While this may be the situation sometimes these snakes are not really classified as pests.
