Fun Python Facts For Kids

Unlike many other snake species, python snakes are non-venomous snakes found in Asia, Africa, and Australia. They are classified as Old World snakes since they are not native to North or South America.

Pythons are part of the Pythonidae family. According to the Reptile Database, the Pythonidae family contains 41 species of pythons and, despite the fact that both pythons and boas are big constrictors, they belong to different families of snakes.

Some of the world's largest snakes are included in the Pythonidae family. The most common species are the reticulated python, which can grow to be over 30 ft (9 m) in length.

There are also small python species, such as anthill pythons (Antaresia perthensis), which grow to just 2 ft (61 cm) in length and are the world's smallest python species.

For more, check out these facts on the cottonmouth snake or the olive ridley sea turtle too!

Python Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a python?

Pythons are a type of snake belonging to the family of constrictors.

What class of animal does a python belong to?

Pythons belong to the class of reptiles.

How many pythons are there in the world?

The population of pythons is estimated to be between 30,000 and 300,000.

Where does the python live?

Rain forests are home to several species of pythons, but pythons can also be found in grasslands, woodlands, swamps, rocky outcrops, dunes, and shrubs.

What is the python's habitat?

Pythons are native to the tropical south of the Sahara in Africa, but not to the extreme south-western tip of the continent (the Western Cape) or Madagascar. They can be found in Asia from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, including the Nicobar Islands, east to Indochina, southern China, Hong Kong, Hainan, Indonesia, and the Philippines Malayan region.

In the United States of America, a certain population of the Burmese python species has existed as an invasive species in the Everglades National Park since the late '90s.

Who do pythons live with?

Snakes as a species usually live on their own and so do pythons.

How long does a python live?

Pythons can live for two or three decades in captivity. Some snakes live even longer than this, and pythons live longer than most snakes.

However, since studying snakes in the wild is difficult, the natural life spans of wild pythons are unknown. The longest known life span of snakes belongs to a ball python species of constrictors. The snake was rescued by the Philadelphia Zoo in 1945 and spent 48 years there.

Also, a 43-year-old pet Burmese python died in 2009. The snake, which belonged to an enthusiast of snakes in Salt Lake City, beat the previous record for the species of snakes by ten years.

How do they reproduce?

Pythons are oviparous, or egg-laying, animals. This distinguishes them from the other family of constrictors that is boa snakes, which produce mostly live young (ovoviviparous) instead of eggs.

Female pythons normally incubate their eggs before the eggs hatch after they lay the eggs. They use their muscles and make themselves shiver which increases the body's temperature, which they use to increase the temperature of the eggs, to a certain extent helping the eggs to hatch.

The eggs must be kept at a constant temperature for healthy embryo development. Females do not feed during the incubation period and only leave their eggs to bask in the sun to increase their body temperature.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of different species of pythons is different. The conservation status of some Python snakes is mentioned below:

Sumatran short-tailed pythons (P. curtus): Near Threatened

Ball pythons (P. regius): Least Concern

Burmese pythons (P. bivittatus): Vulnerable

Myanmar short-tailed pythons (P. kyaiktiyo): Vulnerable

Python Fun Facts

What do pythons look like?

Different species have a wide range of colors and scales. Coloration can vary from elaborately patterned scales to solid brown to bright green, depending on the python's local environments and need for camouflage, but scientists have noticed several more subtle physical similarities.

Burmese pythons are tan in color with irregularly shaped dark 'giraffe' blotches on the back and sides that fit together like puzzle pieces. The spots on the back of Northern African pythons are generally connected and form a less-defined pattern.

How cute are they?

The cuteness of these snakes is really subjective. Their cuteness can range from very cute to outright scary depending on the person.

How do they communicate?

Pheromones are vital chemicals that snakes use to communicate with one another. The majority of snake-associated pheromones are lipid-based. Snakes use pheromones to communicate by gathering, leaving, or analyzing them. Snakes may communicate a range of things such as their gender, age, and reproductive status with other snakes in their environment in this way.

How big is a python?

The most common species are reticulated pythons, which can grow to be over 30 ft (9 m) in length. These can be 10 times as large as water snakes. There are also small species, such as anthill pythons (Antaresia perthensis), which grow to just 2 ft (61 cm) in length and are the world's smallest species of pythons.

How fast can a python move?

They can only travel at a pace of around 1 mph (1.6 kmph) on open land. They don't need to move quickly because they don't rely on speed to catch their prey.

How much does a python weigh?

The weight of pythons can range from 5-200 lb (2.5-90 kg).

What are their male and female names of the species?

They do not have a distinct name for the male and female types of the species.

What would you call a baby python?

A baby python may be referred to as a newborn python.

What do they eat?

They usually prey on rats, insects, lizards, and mammals such as monkeys, wallabies, pigs, and antelopes, depending on their size. A tiny leopard was once discovered in the intestine of a rock python, this was a remarkable example of a python's prey!

Are they poisonous?

No, they are not poisonous.

Would they make a good pet?

They make great pets for snake lovers but they require a lot of attention and care.

Did you know...

Squeezing their prey until they stop breathing is how they kill them and they will swallow the prey whole after it has been killed. All of the prey is digested except for any fur and feathers of the prey. The python's poop contains any undigested content.

The amount of time required for digestion is determined by the size of the prey. After consuming a large prey, the snake will not require to eat for weeks or months. They can often eat just four or five times a year.

Different types of python

There are nearly 41 species of python, some prominent ones are the Sumatran short-tailed Python (P. curtus), the ball python (P. regius), the Burmese python (P. bivittatus), and Myanmar short-tailed pythons (P. kyaiktiyo).

Are pythons endangered?

They are not endangered but some species, such as the Burmese python, have a conservation status of Vulnerable.

Can pythons swim?

They are excellent swimmers. They can stay in water for up to 30 minutes but prefer to lay on the land.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other reptiles including the sand lizard, or the bog turtle.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our python coloring pages.