The Reticulate Python

The "reticulated" net-like patterning
 that gives the reticulated python 
its name.

      If you were to put your finger over the line that represents the equator on a world globe and then spin the globe with your other hand, eventually your finger would cover the islands of Borneo and Sumatra and the long pencil of land known as the Malay Peninsula. These faraway lands are the home of the largest snake in the world‚ the reticulate python. Pythons are to be found in almost every part of these regions: in the dense jungles and even in the cities, villages, and rubber plantations. In the tropical forests, brightly colored parakeets swoop from branch to branch and monkeys chatter a warning as leopards stalk their prey. Through the tangled web of leaves and vines, where a man must cut his way with a knife, this huge snake moves in search of food.

       When an animal, such as a pig or small deer, comes close enough, the python quickly grasps it with its teeth, wraps several coils of its body around the victim, and squeezes it. This squeezing process is called constriction, and snakes that kill their prey in this way are called constrictors. People often have the idea that the python crushes the bones in the body of the animal it intends to eat. This is not so, since there is no need for the large snake to squeeze that hard. The python simply tightens its coils until the animal can no longer breathe and is suffocated.

       To many people it seems miraculous that the python can swallow an animal that is so much larger around than it is, and they look at the huge snake as if it were unique among animals for this reason. But if they were to observe the snakes living right in their own area, they would see that even a small one, like the common water snake, can swallow a large frog, thus doing the same thing as the python only on a smaller scale. Most snakes are able to swallow animals larger around than they are because their lower jawbone can spread apart and their skin stretches almost like elastic. It takes about three or four days for a snake to digest a large animal, and during this period the snake is inactive.

       The female reticulate python lays anywhere from fifty to one hundred tough, leathery eggs. Each one is about four inches long and oval in shape. As soon as the last one is laid, the female gathers them together by encircling them in the coils of her body. During the two months before the eggs hatch, the female remains in this position, protecting and incubating them. When the young snakes hatch, they are about two or two and one-half feet long. The female abandons them as soon as they hatch, for they are perfectly able to take care of themselves. The small pythons grow rapidly, and by the end of the fourth year they will probably be about twelve feet long. Some may finally reach a length of thirty feet, although the average is fifteen to twenty.

       The word reticulate in the name of this python comes from the Latin word reticulatus, which means network and describes the snake's bright pattern. In temperament the reticulate python is sluggish, usually making little or no attempt to escape when captured. In Siam, these snakes often live near villages and towns, and once a python was killed in the palace of the King of Siam. It was found just to have made a meal of one of the royal Siamese cats, which was recognized by the bell still around its neck.

After reading about pythons, learn even more from the following links:

• 5 Most Dangerous Constrictors
• Largest python in America at Knoxville Zoo

Craft a pretend python to have adventures with:

• Easy to make paper python with moving mouth
• How to make paper snake: python craft for summer fun
• Learn how to make a paper mosaic snake and see the giant banana python that I was too afraid to touch! Help, mother!