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Giant constrictor

Burmese python

Python bivittatus

Kept the same way as the green anaconda and reticulated python, so they share one kit: the same heat, light, and humidity, sized to the animal.

See the gear

We are still putting together the setup for a Burmese python. Ask us and we will help you choose, or start with the gear below.

Photograph of a Burmese python
Photograph by Tigerpython, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Care sheet

What it needs

We have taken these figures from published sources and are still checking them against our own experience. Treat them as a guide, and ask us before you buy.

Basking surface
32 to 34°C Measured on the surface the animal lies on, not in the air.
Daytime air
27 to 31°C The cool end, away from the lamp.
Night air
24 to 27°C
UV index at the basking spot
0.6 to 1.4 Zones 1 to 2. Crepuscular or shade dweller, thermal conformer
Humidity
50 to 60%
Daylight hours
13 h in summer, 11 h in winter
Where it lives
Rocks, crevices, or burrows, Grassland or savanna
Adult length
300 to 500 cm
How it lives
Terrestrial
Typical captive life
20 years
Longest recorded life
34 years A record from the literature, not what to expect. Most animals live well short of it.

Our reading of the literature, not veterinary advice. Animals vary, and so do rooms, so take these figures, and any setup the builder puts together, as a starting point, and ask a reptile vet about your own animal. Where the figures come from.

From the catalogue

Gear that may suit a Burmese python

Matched to its size and care by the catalogue, not yet checked by us. Ask before you buy.

Same care group

Kept the same way

Where it comes from

SE Nepal, India (Assam, Tripura, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh [A. Captain, pers. Comm.], Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland), S Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam (Hoa Binh), S China (S Yunnan east to Fujian, incl. Hainan and Hong Kong; Sichuan, Guangxi, Guangdong), Indonesia (Java, Bali, Sulawesi). Introduced to Florida (USA) progschai: Sulawesi;

Breeding: GROOT et al. (2003) and KUHN & SCHMIDT (2003) presented evidence that this species may be parthenogenetic.

Where the figures come from