Who knew you might encounter royalty at an Aquarium.
Royal Pythons are found within Central and Western Africa. They inhabit forests and are equally comfortable on the ground or in trees. These Pythons are active during dawn and dusk and hide away during the day.
Royal Pythons are also known as Ball Pythons due to them rolling into a ball in defence. This species of Python grows to an average length of 4 foot (1.2 m), with the females being the large of the two. Some specimens have been known to reach more than 5 foot (1.5m) in length.
Royal Pythons have a distinctive head, slender neck and a wide body. The body colour is black with yellow, gold or brown markings. The patterns may be banded, broken or reduced in some specimens and some may have a dorsal stripe.
Pythons are not poisonous. Instead, they kill their prey by encircling it and tightening their coils to cause suffocation. Their brown and black markings help them camouflage on the forest floor as they wait to ambush their prey. Although strong hunters humans are their main threat as they are hunted for their skin and they are also considered a delicacy by some tribes.
Type
Reptile: Non-venomous constrictor snake
What do they eat?
Lizards, birds, rodents and other small mammals
Size
Max 120cm
Water Type
Land
Where are we?
West and Central Africa
