Pythons can be difficult to find and watch long enough to learn their habits. They are found in rain forests, grasslands and savannas, woodlands, swamps, rocky outcrops, desert sand hills, and shrub lands, depending on the species. Pythons may be active day or night, depending on species, habitat, and when prey is most active.

Most pythons seek shelter in tree branches or hollows, among reeds, in rocky outcrops, or in abandoned mammal burrows. Two exceptions are the woma and the black-headed python, the only pythons known to create their own burrow by digging with the head and scooping out the dirt by curving their neck. Their jaws are countersunk, lower jaw fitting inside the upper jaw, which keeps dirt out of the snake’s mouth.

Like most snakes, pythons don’t chase after their prey. Instead, they are ambush hunters. They use both sight and smell to locate prey. Pythons also have an additional advantage: most have special temperature-sensitive "pits,” or holes, along their jaws that can sense the heat of a nearby animal. This helps them find warm-blooded prey even in the dark or among dense foliage.

The python is a constrictor. It grabs its prey with its teeth, then quickly wraps coils of its body around the prey and squeezes. The python doesn’t actually crush the prey and break its bones, though. Instead, it squeezes tightly so that the prey animal can’t breathe; each time its prey exhales, the constrictor tightens its coils to take up space, causing suffocation. The python can also feel the prey’s heart beating, so when it stops, the snake knows it is safe to release its coils and begin to eat.

The snake then begins the leisurely process of unfolding its jaw and swallowing the prey whole, usually head first. The skull’s joints are able to flex and fold along with its extremely pliable skin to maximize the mouth space, allowing very large food items to pass through its esophagus. This is accomplished with rhythmic muscular contractions that pull the prey down the snake’s throat and into its stomach. How does the snake breathe while its mouth is full? It has a special tube in the bottom of its mouth that stays open to one side to take in air.

If this all sounds grotesque, think about the feeding behavior of a pride of lions—the python’s method is much less messy! Constrictors are able to minimize the stress of their prey and injury to themselves by using this fast and efficient method.

Depending on the size of the snake, pythons may eat rodents, birds, lizards, and mammals like monkeys, wallabies, pigs, or antelope. One rock python was even found to have a small leopard in its stomach! Once the meal is consumed, pythons look for a warm place to rest while their food is digested.

Arboreal pythons have unusually longer teeth than their ground-dwelling kin. This may help them penetrate through the feathers of birds. Their tail is also extremely prehensile, allowing these snakes to launch three quarters or more of their body at prey during a strike.

At the San Diego Zoo, our pythons are offered thawed rodents and rabbits.