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==Description==
The Burmese python is a dark-colored non-venomous snake with many brown blotches bordered by black down the back.
In the wild, Burmese pythons typically grow to {{cvt|5|m}},<ref name="Smith" /><ref name="Campden"/> while specimens of more than {{cvt|7|m}} are unconfirmed.<ref name="Barker2012">{{cite journal |author1=Barker, D.G. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Barten, S.L. |author3=Ehrsam, J.P. |author4=Daddono, L. |title=The corrected lengths of two well-known giant pythons and the establishment of a new maximum length record for Burmese Pythons, ''Python bivittatus'' |journal=Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society|volume=47|issue=1|pages=1–6|date=2012|url=http://www.vpi.com/sites/default/files/Barker-et-al_CorrectPythonLengths_2.pdf|access-date=2020-03-02}}</ref> This species is [[sexually dimorphic]] in size; females average only slightly longer, but are considerably heavier and bulkier than the males. For example, length-weight comparisons in captive Burmese pythons for individual females have shown: at {{cvt|3.47|m|ftin}} length, a specimen weighed {{cvt|29|kg|lb}}, a specimen of just over {{cvt|4|m}} weighed {{cvt|36|kg|lb}}, a specimen of {{cvt|4.5|m}} weighed {{cvt|40|kg|lb}}, and a specimen of {{cvt|5|m}} weighed {{cvt|75|kg|lb}}. In comparison, length-weight comparisons for males found: a specimen of {{cvt|2.8|m}} weighed {{cvt|12|kg|lb}}, {{cvt|2.97|m}} weighed {{cvt|14.5|kg|lb}}, a specimen of {{cvt|3|m}} weighed {{cvt|7|kg|lb}}, and a specimen of {{cvt|3.05|m}} weighed {{cvt|18.5|kg|lb}}.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Van Mierop, L.H. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Barnard, S.M. |year=1976 |title=Observations on the reproduction of ''Python molurus bivittatus'' (Reptilia, Serpentes, Boidae) |journal=Journal of Herpetology |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=333–340 |doi=10.2307/1563071 |jstor=1563071}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Barker, D.G. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Murphy J.B. |author3=Smith, K.W. |year=1979 |title=Social behavior in a captive group of Indian pythons, ''Python molurus'' (Serpentes, Boidae) with formation of a linear social hierarchy |journal=Copeia |volume=1979 |issue=3 |pages=466–471 |doi=10.2307/1443224 |jstor=1443224}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Marcellini, D.L. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Peters, A. |year=1982 |title=Preliminary observations on endogeneous heat production after feeding in ''Python molurus'' |journal=Journal of Herpetology |volume=16 |issue=1|pages=92–95 |doi=10.2307/1563914|jstor=1563914}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Jacobson, E.R. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Homer, B. |author3=Adams, W. |year=1991 |title=Endocarditis and congestive heart failure in a Burmese python (''Python molurus bivittatus'') |journal=Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine |volume=22 |pages=245–248}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Groot, T.V. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Bruins, E. |author3=Breeuwer, J.A. |title=Molecular genetic evidence for parthenogenesis in the Burmese python, ''Python molurus bivittatus'' | journal = Heredity |volume=90 |issue=2 |pages=130–135 |date=2003 |pmid=12634818 |doi=10.1038/sj.hdy.6800210 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In general, individuals over {{cvt|5|m}} are rare.<ref name="SaintGirons">{{Cite journal |author=Saint Girons, H. |year=1972 |title=Les serpents du Cambodge |journal=Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle |series=Série A |pages=40–41}}</ref> The record for maximum length of Burmese pythons is {{cvt|5.79|m|ftin}} and was caught 10 July 2023 in South Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve.<ref>{{Cite web|title=A record-breaking Burmese python — as long as a giraffe is tall — caught in Florida|url=https://www.npr.org/2023/07/13/1187497592/record-breaking-burmese-python-longest-florida|website=NPR|last=Jones|first=Dustin|date=13 July 2023|access-date=14 July 2023}}</ref> Widely published data of specimens reported to have been several feet longer are not verified.<ref name="Barker2012"/> At her death, a Burmese named "Baby" was the heaviest snake recorded in the world at the time at {{cvt|182.8|kg|lb}},<ref name=Barker2012/> much heavier than any wild snake ever measured.<ref name="Riv00">{{cite thesis |author=Rivas, J.A. |year=2000 |title=The life history of the green anaconda (''Eunectes murinus''), with emphasis on its reproductive Biology |degree=[[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] |publisher=[[University of Tennessee]] |url=http://www.anacondas.org/diss/disser.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202240/http://www.anacondas.org/diss/disser.pdf
===Diseases===
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==Diet==
Like all snakes, the Burmese python is [[Carnivore|carnivorous]]. Its diet consists primarily of birds and mammals, but also includes amphibians and reptiles. It is a sit-and-wait predator, meaning it spends most of its time staying relatively still, waiting for prey to approach, then striking rapidly.<ref name=":04">{{cite journal |vauthors=Secor SM, Diamond J |title=Adaptive responses to feeding in Burmese pythons: pay before pumping |journal=The Journal of Experimental Biology |volume=198 |issue=Pt 6 |pages=1313–1325 |date=June 1995 |doi=10.1242/jeb.198.6.1313 |pmid=7782719 |url=https://jeb.biologists.org/content/198/6/1313 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The snake grabs a prey animal with its sharp teeth, then wraps its body around the animal to kill it through [[constriction]].<ref>{{Cite web| date =February 2016| vauthors = Szalay J |title=Python Facts |website=livescience.com |url=https://www.livescience.com/53785-python-facts.html|access-date=2021-03-17}}</ref> The python then swallows its prey whole. It is often found near human habitation due to the presence of rats, mice, and other [[vermin]] as a food source. However, its equal affinity for domesticated birds and mammals means it is often treated as a pest. In captivity, its diet consists primarily of commercially available appropriately sized rats, graduating to larger prey such as rabbits and [[poultry]] as it grows. As an invasive species in Florida, Burmese pythons primarily eat a variety of small mammals including foxes, rabbits, and raccoons. Due to their high predation levels, they have been implicated in the decline and even disappearance of many mammal species.<ref name=":52"/><ref name=":13"/> In their invasive range, pythons also eat birds and occasionally other reptiles. Exceptionally large pythons may even require larger food items such as pigs or goats, and are known to have attacked and eaten [[alligator]]s and adult [[deer]] in Florida.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/photo-in-the-news-python-bursts-after-eating-gator-update/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021124327/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/photo-in-the-news-python-bursts-after-eating-gator-update/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 21, 2018|title=Photo in the News: Python Bursts After Eating Gator (Update)|date=5 September 2006|website=National Geographic News|access-date=8 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/Large-Python-Captured-Killed-After-Devouring-Adult-Deer-132922183.html |title=Large Python Captured, Killed After Devouring Adult Deer | KSEE 24 News - Central Valley's News Station: Fresno-Visalia - News, Sports, Weather | Local News |publisher=Ksee24.com |date=2011-10-31 |access-date=9 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120731060837/http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/Large-Python-Captured-Killed-After-Devouring-Adult-Deer-132922183.html |archive-date=2012-07-31}}</ref>
===Digestion===
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