Description
The jungle carpet python is a vividly coloured python that at its most striking is brilliant yellow and black, although it can be tan and black. Its underbelly is usually white. The snakes grow 1.5m – 2.1m long. The jungle carpet python is non-venomous to humans. Jungle carpet pythons have become popular pets due to their stunning colouration, but in the wild their numbers are decreasing due to the destruction of their habitat.
Habitat
Lush tropical and subtropical forests near waterways and creeks. They are found in a very small range near waterways running off the Atherton Tableland and the south-eastern part of the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland.
Diet
Like all other pythons, this species is carnivorous and kills by constriction. It preys on small mammals, birds, frogs and lizards.
Reproduction
The jungle carpet python lays a clutch of eggs (anywhere between 10-25 eggs) which the female incubates by coiling around them and shivering her muscles to keep them warm. The eggs hatch after approximately 50 days.
