Burmese Python

Burmese Pythons are snakes with dark-colored skin, that average about 12 feet in length but the largest python found was 18 feet and 10 inches in length. Burmese pythons natural habitats are located in Southern- and Southeast Asia, including Eastern India, Nepal, western Bhutan, southeastern Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, northern continental Malaysia, far southern China Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi,Yunnan, Hong Kong, southern Sulawesi, Bali, Sumbawa, and in Indonesia on Java. However now it has become an invasive species in the US because of pet owners just abandoning their Burmese pythons after they either grew too large or they grew tired of them, another possibility is the destruction of breeding centers from hurricanes. The snakes thrived in the Everglades easily eating anything that they could get their mouths around including ALLIGATORpeople.

A new study about Burmese pythons looks into their genetics to look for an answer to their unique genes that separate them from other vertebrates. Their ability to expand their organs and heighten their metabolism in order to digest a meal much larger than themselves fueled this study. The researchers said that the python and cobra best represented the extreme genetic evolution that snakes went through, their differences despite being very similar species signifies that snakes are a very unique animal that always yields amazement.  In addition to changes to individual genes and their expression, researchers also found that the extreme characteristics in snakes could also be linked to duplication or losses in families of genes. This study may even have the possibility to shed light onto how genetics evolve in humans. Who knows maybe one day we will turn into snake like creatures. Nevertheless snakes are awesome animals that can amaze you with their competitive eating like abilities. 

Some Random Facts About Burmese Pythons in Florida:

•  National Park has been the site of suspected releases of these exotic pets. The National Park Service reported the removal of 311 Burmese pythons from the Everglades in 2008.
• Approximately 112,000 of these Asian snakes have been imported into the United States as a total since 1990.
• Other pythons have been captured in Big Cypress National Preserve and Collier Seminole State Park, north of the Everglades; areas around Miami to the northeast; Key Largo to the southeast and other lands, both public and private, throughout the region.
• A non-venomous constrictor, the Burmese python preys on native Florida species of mammals, birds and reptiles, as well as nonnative species including black rats. They have eaten Key Largo woodrats, a federally endangered species.
• There is a low risk of a human attack. Documented human attacks by pythons in the United States involve the snake's owner or immediate family.
• Pythons lay eggs, unlike boa constrictors. A female Burmese python may lay 50-100 eggs and will wrap its body around the clutch to keep it warm and to defend the eggs against predators. The female python can raise its temperature by rhythmically twitching muscles, which generates heat and helps incubate the eggs. This incubation process may last two to three months. Once the eggs are hatched, young pythons are on their own to survive.

Pythons are awesome, I hope you enjoyed this.  

Facts from  http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/python/faqs/fast-facts/