Reticulated Python

With colossal length and size, believe it or not, the reticulated python snake is one of the least dangerous of all snakes. This reptile is non venomous and considered to be one of the most loved snake among pet lovers. With a recorded length of almost 30 feet, this reptile is considered to be one of the longest snakes of the world.

Scientifically known as the python reticulatus, it got its name from its netlike or reticulated skin color pattern. This species of python is mostly found in Southeast Asian countries.

A close up view of the Reticulated Python in Cebu Zoo.

Best known to be very good swimmers, these snakes are often reported to be seen on sea and other bodies of water where they transfer from one island to another to find a new habitat or colony. Reticulated pythons love to live in rain forests, wetlands or woody areas near a lake or a river.

Small species of these snakes usually eat rats and other small birds. The larger ones have been reported to eat and swallow mammals such as wild pigs, monkeys, large fouls, dogs and cats. Reticulated pythons are ambush predators; they wait on an area for a prey within its attack range, when an unlucky visitor is on its ambush area, it coils it until it dies via constriction. They often swallow their meal whole and can even swallow up to one fourth of its length and as much as their body weight and uses their body acid to digest their food.

A female reticulated python can lay as much as 80 eggs in one nest with an incubation period of nearly three months. Newly hatched can measure up to 2 feet in length.

The actual photo of a Reticulated Python in Cebu Zoo.