Common Names
Description
Adults usually reach 4.5 to 7 feet in length, with females usually larger than males. The color pattern can vary from tan and black to bright yellow and jet black. All specimens have white bellies. These snakes are semi-arboreal and their natural habitat is monsoon jungle. Captive specimens have lived for 20-30 years and feed readily on mice, sometimes taking rats.
Range
The type locality given is "Ravenshoe, on the Atheron Tableland, north Queensland.
Habitat
Occurs in a wide variety of habitats, from the rainforests of northeastern Queensland (
Morelia spilota cheynei) through the River Red Gum/Riverbox woodlands of the Murray and Darling Rivers (
Morelia spilota metcalfei), to the arid, tree-less islands of Nuyts Archipelago off the South Australian west coast (
Morelia spilota imbricata). Often found near human habitation where they perform a useful service by eating rats and other vermin.
Morelia spilota spilota is even know to occur in areas that receive snowfall. Diamond pythons are tree snakes, they do not completely rely on trees, however, and are capable of moving around elsewhere.
Related Links
