This python uses its massive fangs to hang-on to struggling prey until it can coil fully around it.
Description: This python is dark brown with pale brown blotches. It has a triangular head and skinny neck. Each scale has a ridge along its middle which gives it a rough, sandpaper-like feel and its common name of the Rough-scaled Python.
Diet: Rough-scaled Pythons are carnivores and eat small mammals and birds. Like other pythons, this non-venomous snake kills its prey by constriction.
In the wild: The Rough-scaled Python is one of the rarest snakes in Australia. Very little is known about their habits in the wild. We know it is important for their eggs to be kept at a constant 30°C and in 100% humidity.
Saving wildlife together: In January 2008, Perth Zoo successfully hatched seven Rough-scaled Pythons, a first in Western Australia. Perth Zoo is part of a national population management and research program for this species.
Did you Know?
The Rough-Scaled Python has exceptionally long teeth in relation to its body size. It is thought this adaptation allows the snake to have a better grip of its furred or feathered prey until it has been immobilised in the python’s coils.