Burmese Python

Overview

The Burmese python is one of the largest snakes in the world ¹³. Hatchlings are about 22 inches long ¹², but adults commonly reach 10 to 16 feet ³. Females grow larger than males: PetMD gives an average of 13 to 18 feet for females and 8 to 14 feet for males ¹. A 17- to 18-foot snake can weigh more than 200 pounds ¹².

Burmese pythons are often gentle as adults ¹², but their size changes everything about keeping them. PetMD does not recommend them for beginner or intermediate keepers ¹, and LafeberVet notes that giant snakes like the Burmese are not for casual hobbyists ⁴. They typically live 20 to 25 years in human care ³, so this is a decades-long commitment ¹².

Novel Fauna classifies the Burmese python as a large constrictor, our high-risk class. Read the safety section before you bring one home.

Natural history

Burmese pythons range across southern China and Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and parts of Indonesia ³. They live in rainforests and are often found near water or wetlands, but also use grasslands, swamps, marshes and rocky foothills ³. Young pythons are excellent climbers, and the species swims well ¹².

They prey on mammals, birds and reptiles, swallowing them whole, and may go days or weeks between meals ³. Like all pythons they kill by constriction and have no fangs, just many backward-curving teeth ³. Outside their native range, they have become invasive in southern Florida, where they threaten native wildlife ¹³.

Safety: a high-risk large constrictor

• Never work alone with a big python. PetMD and LafeberVet both recommend one handler for every 3 to 4 feet of snake ¹⁴. Many giant snakes need two or more people for feeding, cleaning and handling ¹.
• Never drape a constrictor around your neck ⁴.
• Don't smell like food. Wash your hands before handling so you don't carry the scent of rodents or rabbits ⁴.
• Feed defensively. Once the snake passes 6 feet, keep prey within reach, feed one snake per enclosure at a time, and use a snake hook, shield or board when removing uneaten prey ¹.
• Keep children and pets away. Burmese pythons can be docile, but their adult size makes them dangerous around small pets and small children ⁵. Their power should never be underestimated: they can cause severe injury if not handled properly and respected ².
• Lock the enclosure. It must be escape-proof and child-resistant ², with a locking sliding or hinged front or lid ¹.

Enclosure

• Hatchlings. A 55-gallon tank houses a hatchling comfortably. A 20-gallon tank is outgrown within a month or two ².
• Growing snakes. PetMD's rule of thumb is a perimeter at least one and a half times the snake's length. A 75-gallon enclosure suits a 6- to 8-foot snake ¹.
• Adults. Adult females need at least 72 × 36 inches, and up to 96 inches long for extra-large snakes ¹. Chicago Exotics suggests at least 4 × 8 feet for a 200-pound snake. Floor space matters more than height ².
• Build. Use an enclosure designed for giant snakes, such as molded plastic or fiberglass with a locking glass front, or a custom-built cage ¹².
• Hides and water. Provide a hide box big enough for the snake ², and fresh water daily. A soaking-sized bowl is ideal, though big adults may need to be soaked in a secure bathtub that you disinfect afterwards ².

Temperature & lighting

Heat about a third of the enclosure floor so the snake can thermoregulate ¹. Use several digital thermometers, ideally with low-temperature alarms ¹², and put every heat source on a thermostat ¹. Guard bulbs and heating elements so the snake can't touch them. Hot rocks can burn snakes that coil around them ¹.

Provide a 10- to 12-hour light cycle with the same period of darkness. Lights left on all the time stress snakes ².

Humidity

Keep relative humidity around 50 to 60%. Good humidity supports hydration and healthy skin, and matters most during shedding ².

Substrate

Keep it simple and easy to clean, because big pythons produce large amounts of waste ¹². Chicago Exotics suggests thickly layered newspaper or reptile carpet, and some keepers of very large snakes line floors and lower walls with linoleum ². Chicago Exotics advises against cedar and pine, which contain harmful oils, and against bark products that stay wet and grow mold. If you use a bark product, choose aspen and change it at least weekly ².

Diet & supplementation

Whole prey supplies complete nutrition, so supplements aren't needed. Line up a permanent supply of appropriately sized prey before you buy ¹.

• Hatchlings. Start on just-weaned mice, then adult mice ¹.
• Up to 4 feet. One or two mice every 3 to 4 days. At 4 feet, switch to medium and then larger rats ¹.
• Growing snakes. One or two prey items every 5 to 7 days. By 6 to 7 feet, move on to rabbits of about 3 pounds and size up as the snake grows ¹.
• Adults. PetMD suggests one or two rabbits every ten or so days from three years old, adjusted to body condition ¹. Larger snakes eat less often than smaller ones ⁴.
• Pre-killed only. Live prey can bite and seriously injure a snake ¹⁵. Thaw frozen prey slowly ¹.
• Avoid obesity. Pythons that are fed weekly but never hunt can become obese, with fat infiltrating the liver and kidneys ⁵. Cut back as growth slows ¹. PetMD advises using fowl only as a last resort, for a python that is reluctant to feed or needs to gain weight ¹.

Handling & temperament

Hatchlings can be defensive and nippy, but regular gentle handling usually calms them ¹². Most Burmese become placid adults, which is why they are popular, but some stay bad-tempered however much they are handled ¹. Choose your snake carefully if temperament matters to you ¹. Wash your hands after handling or feeding: reptiles and frozen feeder rodents can carry Salmonella ¹⁰.

Health

Common issues

• Respiratory disease, such as pneumonia. Most cases trace back to inadequate heat ¹. Watch for wheezing, an elevated head and discharge from the mouth ¹².
• Inclusion body disease (IBD), a serious reptarenavirus infection of pythons and boas ⁶. It is fatal to Burmese pythons, can take months to show and doesn't need snake-to-snake contact to spread ². Never house a boa in the same enclosure as a Burmese python ¹.
• Blister disease and scale rot, usually from poor hygiene ¹.
• Snake mites and internal parasites. Get a fecal exam at least yearly ².
• Burns from unguarded heat sources ¹.
• Obesity ⁵.

When to see a vet

Quarantine a new python for three to six months before it joins other snakes ². Report loss of appetite, regurgitation, odd body postures or "star-gazing" to your vet immediately ². Contact a vet straight away if you see a foamy discharge from the mouth ¹. Open-mouth breathing or an unresponsive snake is an emergency ¹¹.

Breeding overview

Breeding giant snakes multiplies every safety and housing problem above, and Novel Fauna does not recommend it for private keepers.

In zoo care, Burmese pythons mature at four to five years. Males breed at 7 to 9 feet and females at 9 feet or more ³. They breed in early spring, and an average clutch is 30 to 60 eggs ³. Unusually for snakes, the female coils around her eggs and warms them by twitching her muscles ³.

Genetics & morphs

Burmese pythons have fewer color morphs than ball pythons ¹. Established varieties include albino, green or patternless, labyrinth and granite ¹. There is also a dwarf form that usually stays around 5 to 7 feet ¹.

Legal & ethics

• U.S. federal law. The Burmese python has been listed as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act since March 23, 2012 ⁷. Importing it into the United States is prohibited ⁸. In 2017 a federal appeals court ruled that the Lacey Act does not ban moving listed species between states within the continental U.S. ⁸. Shipments between the continental U.S. and Hawaii, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico or U.S. possessions are still prohibited ⁸. Many states and cities set their own rules, so check before you buy or move one.
• CITES. Python bivittatus is listed on CITES Appendix II ⁹.
• Never release a python. Burmese pythons released or escaped in southern Florida now prey on native wildlife there ¹³.

Sources

1. Burmese Python · PetMD
2. Burmese Python Care · Chicago Exotics Animal Hospital
3. Burmese python · Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
4. Basic Information Sheet: Boas and Pythons · LafeberVet
5. Snakes · VCA Animal Hospitals
6. Common Diseases of Pet Snakes · VCA Animal Hospitals
7. Summary of Species Currently Listed as Injurious Wildlife under (18 U.S.C. 42) Lacey Act · U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
8. Implementation of the D.C. Circuit Court Decision in USARK v. Zinke · U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
9. CITES listing: Python bivittatus · Species+ (UNEP-WCMC and CITES Secretariat)
10. Salmonella, Feeder Rodents, and Pet Reptiles and Amphibians · U.S. Food and Drug Administration
11. When Should My Reptile See a Veterinarian? · Tree of Life Exotic Pet Medical Center

Last reviewed 2026-10-24 by Novel Fauna. This guide is general husbandry information, not veterinary advice. When an animal is sick, see a veterinarian experienced with exotic animals.

Revision history

1. 2026-10-24 Library complete: 20 more cited guides (70 total), Invertebrates group, care targets migration 0020, source title fixes 5cf06a2

Evidence grades: Novel Fauna editorial: source classification, not yet expert-reviewed, 2026-10-25. What the grades mean.

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