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Green Burmese Python
Python bivittatus "Green"
The Green Burmese python represents a magnificent recessive color mutation, exhibiting a solid, uniform olive-green body without any typical dark blotches.
Class:Squamata
Order:Squamata
Family:Pythonidae
Genus:Python
Species:Python bivittatus "Green"
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
50 - 70 %
Day temperature
24 - 35 °C
Night temperature
24 - 27 °C
Adult size
500 cm
UVB
Low
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Python bivittatus is native to the vast tropical regions of South and Southeast Asia, including India, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and southern China. It lives in diverse humid biotopes, such as tropical rainforests, freshwater marshes, alluvial grasslands, and wooded areas near permanent water sources. It is a highly semi-aquatic species that spends long hours soaking, but also shows excellent climbing skills, especially during its juvenile stage.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Taxonomically, it belongs to the family Pythonidae and the genus Python. The 'Green' variant (also known as the green or patternless morph) is a recessive genetic mutation that alters the snake's pigmentation. This mutation eliminates the normal pattern of dark brown blotches, replacing it with a solid, uniform coloration. It is one of the most famous and historically established color morphs in the global reptile-keeping hobby.
Behavior and Habits: This reptile exhibits crepuscular and nocturnal habits. While generally docile and tolerant of handling when raised with regular human contact from a young age, its massive adult size requires substantial experience and careful management by the keeper. It spends most of the day resting in secure hides or submerged in water, becoming active at night to hunt for prey using its heat-sensitive loreal pits.
Morphology: The morphology of this species is characterized by an extremely heavy, muscular, and thick body. The 'Green' morph features a uniform olive-green to greenish-brown dorsal coloration without any blotched pattern, which fades into a golden-yellow hue on the flanks, while the head retains a pale orange-yellow coloration. Adult males average 3-4 meters in length, while females can easily exceed 4.5-5 meters, weighing over 60 kg.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Requires an exceptionally large enclosure for adult specimens, ideally a dedicated room or a heavy-duty enclosure measuring at least 250x120x100 cm for males, and even larger for females. The structure must be extremely secure and equipped with heavy locks to prevent escapes. The best substrates are cypress mulch or coconut fiber. A large water pool big enough to accommodate the fully submerged snake is mandatory.
Lighting and Heating: UVB lighting is not strictly required for survival, but a low-output lamp is recommended to maintain natural circadian rhythms. Heating must be provided via radiant heat panels or guarded ceramic heaters to prevent burns. The daily thermal gradient should range from 26-28°C on the cool side to 32-34°C at the hot spot. Nighttime temperatures can be allowed to drop to around 22-24°C.
Humidity and Hydration: Relative humidity must be kept between 60% and 75% under normal conditions, increasing to 80% during the shedding cycle (ecdysis) to ensure the snake sheds its skin in a single, complete piece. This humidity level is achieved by regular misting of the substrate or using an ultrasonic humidifier. The large water tub is essential for both oral hydration and helping the snake loosen its old skin during soaking.
Feeding and Supplementation: It is a strictly carnivorous constrictor. Juveniles feed on mice and rats of appropriate sizes, while adults require large prey items such as jumbo rats, rabbits, chickens, and guinea pigs. Feeding frequency ranges from once a week for juveniles to once every 2-3 weeks for adults. No vitamin supplementation is necessary if the prey items are healthy, whole animals.
Compatibility: This species is strictly solitary and must be housed individually throughout its life, with cohabitation restricted only to brief breeding trials. Due to the extreme physical strength of adult specimens, enclosure maintenance and handling should always be performed by at least two capable, trained adults to ensure the safety of both the keeper and the snake.
Health and Common Diseases: Common captive health issues include infectious stomatitis (mouth rot), respiratory infections due to low temperatures, and skin dermatitis from wet, dirty substrate. Obesity is another major health risk caused by overfeeding, which can seriously compromise the reptile's internal organs. Keepers must regularly monitor the snake's shed cycles and waste elimination.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Python bivittatus is native to the vast tropical regions of South and Southeast Asia, including India, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and southern China. It lives in diverse humid biotopes, such as tropical rainforests, freshwater marshes, alluvial grasslands, and wooded areas near permanent water sources. It is a highly semi-aquatic species that spends long hours soaking, but also shows excellent climbing skills, especially during its juvenile stage.
Origin
Selective breeding and cultivarsSouth and Southeast AsiaEast Asia
Reptile profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 500 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 500 cm. The ReptTraits v1.2 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 500 cm for this species, recorded as total length (TL). These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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