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==Diet==
[[File:Burmese Python photographed at Bardiya National Park1.jpg|thumb|Burmese Python photographed atin Bardiya National Park1Park, Nepal]]
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 =February2016 2016| vauthors author1= 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===
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=":04"/> 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=":22">{{cite journal |vauthorsauthor1=Starck JM, 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=Pt 2 |pages=325–335 |date=January 2001 |doi=10.1242/jeb.204.2.325 |pmid=11136618 |url=https://jeb.biologists.org/content/204/2/325}}</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|urllast1=http://jebSecor |first1=S.biologistsM.org/cgi/reprint/211/24/3767?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&author1=secor&andorexacttitle=and&andorexacttitleabs=and&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT |titlejournal=Digestive physiologyJournal of theExperimental Burmese python: broad regulation of integrated performance |publisher=Jeb.biologists.orgBiology |date=2008-12-15 |doi=10.1242/jeb.023754 |access-datetitle=9Digestive Augustphysiology 2012|last1=Secorof |first1=Stephenthe M.Burmese |journal=Journalpython: broad regulation of Experimentalintegrated Biologyperformance |volume=211 |issue=24 |pages=3767–3774 |pmid=19043049 |s2cid=5545174 |doi-access=free }}</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=":04"/> 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}}
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=":04" /><ref name=":3">{{cite journal |vauthorsauthor1=Secor, SMS.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=Pt 10 |pages=1621–1630 |date=May 2003 |pmid=12682094 |doi=10.1242/jeb.00300 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Overall, the entire digestive process from food intake to defecation lasts 8–14 days.<ref name=":22"/>
==Conservation==
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