White-lipped python

Scientific name: Leiopython albertisii

Country: Papua New Guinea, Australia, Indonesia

Continent: Asia, Oceania

Diet: Small mammals, birds

Food & feeding: Carnivore

Habitats: Tropical rainforest

Conservation status: Not Threatened

Relatives: Amethystine python, green tree python

Description: This is a medium, slender species of python, which grows to an average size of about 2 m. The body is a golden coppery colour and the head is black. Pythons are not venomous, they kill by constricting (squeezing) the prey until it can no longer breathe. Like all snakes, they swallow the prey whole, head first. The python's top and bottom jaws are attached to each other with stretchy ligaments, which let the snake swallow animals wider than itself. A snake does not chew its food; its meals are digested by very strong acids in the its stomach.

Lifestyle: This species is primarily terrestrial (ground-dwelling) and lives in the monsoon rainforests of Southern New Guinea and nearby islands. It is normally found in swampy habitats and is often seen swimming.

Family & friends: Females are good mothers, guarding and incubating the eggs until they hatch.

Keeping in touch: White-lipped pythons hiss more than most pythons, especially when they are disturbed. A male has short spurs that stick out of the underside of his body that he uses to rub a female with prior to mating.

Growing up: Females usually breed annually, sometimes twice a year, when they lay 8-15 eggs in a clutch. As with other pythons, the eggs stick together in a heap. This is an adaptation that reduces their total exposed surface area and so helps prevent them from drying out. The female incubates the eggs by coiling around them with her head resting on top. After about two months, the 20-25 cm hatchlings emerge and are immediately able to feed themselves.

Conservation news: They are not designated as an endangered species in the wild, but as with many tropical reptiles, their habitat is particularly fragile and could easily be destroyed.

At Bristol Zoo Gardens we have successfully bred this python for many years.

The white-lipped python belongs to a family of snakes that include the largest on earth. In fact the reticulated python holds the record as the longest snake in the world; specimens have been found that are around 10 m long and weighed in at 140 kg.