The largest snakes: the tiger python

The tiger python is a non-venomous snake, which is considered to be one of the largest in the world. In 2005, a reptile of this species was recognized as the heaviest in the world. At a length of 8.2 m, it weighed 183 kg.

Appearance

The name of this species of reptiles was due to the color reminiscent of the color of the tiger. The length of the tiger python reaches 8 m, and sometimes more. The body of this snake is colored olive or yellowish-brown, on which large dark brown spots are scattered. On the head of the tiger python you can see a dark arrow-shaped spot. Among them there are albinos - individuals that do not have protective pigmentation. In nature, the brindle python-albino is very rare, since the absence of protective coloring dooms him to death already in early childhood. Nevertheless, because of the unusually beautiful appearance, such individuals are very popular among snake lovers. Therefore, they began to artificially withdraw.

Habitat

The tiger python lives in the open spaces of Southeast and South Asia. In particular, it is common in countries such as Pakistan, China, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal. As a rule, representatives of this species can be found in bogs, sparse forests, as well as on stony foothills and fields.

Lifestyle

The tiger python is a sedentary reptile that prefers to hunt at night. This snake attacks prey from an ambush, then bites it and strangles it with its body. Food for tiger pythons are rodents, various birds, monkeys and small ungulates. There are even cases when individuals of this species attacked jackals, leopards, wild boars and crocodiles. Most often tiger pythons can be found near water bodies, because they feel good in the water. They know how to swim and dive. Also these snakes can climb trees. Their life expectancy is 20-25 years.

In nature, there are 3 subspecies of tiger pythons:

• Indian python.
• Burmese Python.
• The Ceylon Tiger Python.

The largest of these is the Burmese, or the dark tiger python. Its length varies between 6 and 8 meters (maximum - 9.15 m), and the weight is about 70 kg. In addition, it has the darkest coloration, which can be seen clearly in the python's photo. At the same time, it has many color variations. This subspecies is often kept in terrariums.

The smaller is the Indian, which is also called the light tiger python. Its length is 6 m. It has a lighter color. This subspecies is included in the Red Book. Because of hunting, its population is constantly decreasing. The skin of these snakes is used to make wallets, shoes, belts, etc. The Ceylon subspecies is considered the smallest among the tiger pythons. Its length rarely exceeds 3 m. Outwardly it strongly resembles an Indian python. Ceylon can be distinguished from the reddish color of the head.

The content of pythons requires the creation of certain conditions, in particular, a specially equipped terrarium equipped with additional heating is needed. If not handled, tiger pythons become dangerous.