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{{Short description|Species of large, nonvenomous snake}}
{{excessive citations|date=August 2025}}
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{{Speciesbox
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[[Image:NAS Static US SF FLGVWDMZ014485631722126.png|thumb|United States range in 2007]]
[[Image:Burmese_python_%286887388927%29.jpg|thumb|A captured Burmese python in the Florida Everglades]]
Python invasion has been particularly extensive, notably across [[South Florida]], where a large number of pythons can now be found in the Florida [[Everglades]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Top 10 Invasive Species |date=2010 |magazine=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1958657_1958656_1958659,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206203125/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1958657_1958656_1958659,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 6, 2010 |access-date=27 April 2010}}</ref>{{r|invspinfo}} Between 1996 and 2006, the Burmese python gained popularity in the pet trade, with more than 90,000 snakes imported into the U.S.<ref name="Walters-2016" /> The current number of Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades may have reached a [[minimum viable population]] and become an [[invasive species]]. [[Hurricane Andrew]] in 1992 was deemed responsible for the destruction of a python-breeding facility and zoo, and these escaped snakes spread and populated areas into the Everglades.<ref>{{cite web |title=Democrats Hold Hearing on Administration's Plan to Constrict Snakes in the Everglades - House Committee on Natural Resources |date=2010 |url=http://naturalresources.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=177795 |publisher=Naturalresources.house.gov |access-date=9 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916202100/http://naturalresources.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=177795 |archive-date=16 September 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> A genetic study in 2017 revealed that the python population is composed of hybrids between the Burmese python and Indian python. The species also displays [[cytonuclear discordance]] which has made phylogenetic studies of its origin more complicated.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hunter|first1=M.E. |last2=Johnson|first2=N.A. |last3=Smith |first3=B.J. |last4=Davis|first4=M.C. |last5=Butterfield|first5=John S.S. |last6=Snow|first6=R.W. |last7=Hart|first7=K.M. |date=2017 |title=Cytonuclear discordance in the Florida Everglades invasive Burmese python (''Python bivittatus'') population reveals possible hybridization with the Indian python (''P. molurus'') |journal=Ecology and Evolution |volume=8 |issue=17 |pages=9034–9047 |doi=10.1002/ece3.4423 |pmid=30271564 |pmc=6157680}}</ref> As of 2024, the population in the Florida Everglades was estimated anywhere between 30,000
By 2007, the Burmese python was found in northern Florida and in the coastal areas of the [[Florida Panhandle]]. The importation of Burmese pythons was banned in the United States in January 2012 by the [[U.S. Department of the Interior]].<ref name="U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2012">{{cite press release |title=Salazar Announces Ban on Importation and Interstate Transportation of Four Giant Snakes that Threaten Everglades |url=https://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Salazar-Announces-Ban-on-Importation-and-Interstate-Transportation-of-Four-Giant-Snakes-that-Threaten-Everglades |website=doi.gov |access-date=April 26, 2022 |date=2012}}</ref> A 2012 report stated, "in areas where the snakes are well established, foxes, and rabbits have disappeared. Sightings of [[raccoon]]s are down by 99.3%, [[opossum]]s by 98.9%, and [[white-tailed deer]] by 94.1%."<ref name="Adams">{{cite news |author=Adams, G. |date=2012 |title=Pythons are squeezing the life out of the Everglades, scientists warn |___location=London |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/pythons-are-squeezing-the-life-out-of-the-everglades-scientists-warn-6297653.html}}</ref> Road surveys between 2003 and 2011 indicated an 87.3% decrease in bobcat populations, and in some areas rabbits have not been detected at all.<ref>{{Cite journal|author1=Dorcas, M.E. |author2= Willson, J.D. |author3=Reed, R.N. |author4=Snow, R.W. |author5=Rochford, M.R. |author6=Miller, M.A. |author7=Meshaka, W.E. |author8=Andreadis, P.T. |author9=Mazzotti, F.J. |author10=Romagosa, C.M.|author11=Hart, K.M. |date=2012 |title=Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=109 |issue=7 |pages=2418–2422 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1115226109 |pmc=3289325 |pmid=22308381 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2012PNAS..109.2418D}}</ref> Experimental efforts to reintroduce rabbit populations to areas where rabbits have been eliminated have mostly failed "due to high (77% of mortalities) rates of predation by pythons."<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Willson, J. |date=2017|title=Indirect effects of invasive Burmese pythons on ecosystems in southern Florida |journal=Journal of Applied Ecology |volume=54|issue=4|pages=1251–1258 |doi=10.1111/1365-2664.12844 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2017JApEc..54.1251W}}</ref> Bird and [[coyote]] populations may be threatened, as well as the already-rare [[Florida panther]].<ref name="Adams" /> In addition to this correlational relationship, the pythons have also been experimentally shown to decrease marsh rabbit populations, further suggesting they are responsible for many of the recorded mammal declines. They may also outcompete native predators for food.<ref name="McCleery-2015">{{cite journal |author1=McCleery, R.A. |author2=Sovie, A. |author3=Reed, R.N. |author4=Cunningham, M.W. |author5=Hunter, M.E. |author6=Hart, K.M. |title=Marsh rabbit mortalities tie pythons to the precipitous decline of mammals in the Everglades |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume=282 |issue=1805 |page=20150120 |date=2015 |pmid=25788598 |pmc=4389622 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2015.0120|bibcode=2015RSPSB.282....7M }}</ref>
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===Digestion===
The digestive response of Burmese pythons to such large prey has made them a model species for digestive physiology. Its sit-and-wait hunting style is characterized by long fasting periods in between meals, with Burmese pythons typically feeding every month or two, but sometimes fasting for as long as 18 months.<ref name="Diamond, J.-1995"/> As digestive tissues are energetically costly to maintain, they are downregulated during fasting periods to conserve energy when they are not in use.<ref name="Beese, K.-2001">{{cite journal |author1=Starck, J.M. |author2=Beese, K. |title=Structural flexibility of the intestine of Burmese python in response to feeding |journal=The Journal of Experimental Biology |volume=204 |issue=2 |pages=325–335 |date=2001 |doi=10.1242/jeb.204.2.325 |pmid=11136618 |bibcode=2001JExpB.204..325S |url=https://jeb.biologists.org/content/204/2/325|url-access=subscription }}</ref> A fasting python has a reduced stomach volume and acidity, reduced intestinal mass, and a 'normal' heart volume. After ingesting prey, the entire digestive system undergoes a massive re-modelling, with rapid hypertrophy of the intestines, production of stomach acid, and a 40% increase in mass of the ventricle of the heart to fuel the digestive process.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Secor |first1=S.M. |journal=Journal of Experimental Biology |date=2008 |doi=10.1242/jeb.023754 |title=Digestive physiology of the Burmese python: broad regulation of integrated performance |volume=211 |issue=24 |pages=3767–3774 |pmid=19043049 |s2cid=5545174 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2008JExpB.211.3767S }}</ref> During digestion, the snake's oxygen consumption rises drastically as well, increasing with meal size by 17 to 40 times its resting rate.<ref name="Diamond, J.-1995"/> This dramatic increase is a result of the energetic cost of restarting many aspects of the digestive system, from rebuilding the stomach and small intestine to producing [[hydrochloric acid]] to be secreted in the stomach. Hydrochloric acid production is a significant component of the energetic cost of digestion, as digesting whole prey items requires the animal to be broken down without the use of teeth, either for chewing or tearing into smaller pieces. To compensate, once food has been ingested, Burmese pythons begin producing large amounts of acid to make the stomach acidic enough to turn the food into a semi-liquid that can be passed through to the small intestine and undergo the rest of the digestive process.{{cn|date=June 2024}}
The energy cost is highest in the first few days after eating when these regenerative processes are most active, meaning Burmese pythons rely on existing food energy storage to digest a new meal.<ref name="Diamond, J.-1995" /><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Secor, S.M. |title=Gastric function and its contribution to the postprandial metabolic response of the Burmese python Python molurus |journal=The Journal of Experimental Biology |volume=206 |issue=10 |pages=1621–1630 |date=2003 |pmid=12682094 |doi=10.1242/jeb.00300 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2003JExpB.206.1621S }}</ref> Overall, the entire digestive process from food intake to defecation lasts 8–14 days.<ref name="Beese, K.-2001"/>
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===Handling===
Although pythons are typically afraid of people due to their great stature, and generally avoid them, special care is still required when handling them. Given their adult strength, multiple handlers (up to one person per meter of snake) are usually recommended.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.anapsid.org/handling.html|title=Playing with the Big Boys: Handling Large Constrictors|website=www.anapsid.org|access-date=8 September 2017}}</ref> Some jurisdictions require owners to hold special licenses, and as with any wild animal being kept in captivity, treating them with the respect an animal of this size commands is important.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://aldf.org/focus_area/captive-animals/|title=Captive Animals - Most states have no laws governing captive wild animals.|website=[[Animal Legal Defense Fund]]|access-date=8 April 2019}}</ref>
===Variations===
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== See also ==
* [[Inclusion body disease]], a viral disease affecting pythons
* [[Burmese pythons in Florida]]
* [[Florida Python Challenge]]
== References ==
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[[Category:Reptiles as pets]]
[[Category:Apex predators]]
[[Category:Everglades]]
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