[[File:MNP Python at Moyer.jpg|thumb|Swallowing a [[chital]] in [[Mudumalai National Park]]]]
Like all snakes, Indian pythons are strict carnivores and feed on mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians<ref>{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Python_molurus/ {{bare| URLtitle=Python molurus (Indian Python) inline|date website=March[[Animal Diversity Web]] 2023}}</ref> indiscriminately, but seem to prefer mammals. Roused to activity on sighting prey, the snake advances with a quivering tail and lunges with an open mouth. Live prey is constricted and killed. One or two coils are used to hold it in a tight grip. The prey, unable to breathe, succumbs and is subsequently swallowed head first. After a heavy meal, they are disinclined to move. If forced to, hard parts of the meal may tear through the body. Therefore, if disturbed, some specimens disgorge their meal to escape from potential predators. After a heavy meal, an individual may fast for weeks, the longest recorded duration being 2 years. The python can swallow prey bigger than its diameter because the jaw bones are not connected. Moreover, prey cannot escape from its mouth because of the arrangement of the teeth (which are reverse saw-like).{{cn|date=November 2021}}
