Reproduction

Breeding takes place from September to November.

The female will lay a clutch of between 1 and 11 eggs within a burrow or between rocks. Older pythons tend to produce larger clutches.

She then wraps around the eggs and incubates them for the next two months. To assist with this the eggs are slightly adhesive to keep them together.

At hatching a royal python will measure 30cm (12in) long. They are independent as soon as they are born and can feed for themselves.

Sexual maturity is reached between 3 and 4 years old.

Royal pythons have a slow rate of reproduction with adults breeding once every three to four years.

Behavior

Most of their activity occurs between dawn and dusk. During the day they will retreat to a burrow under the ground.

Their eyes are well adapted to low light levels helping them to find their food at night.

During the warm season of the year these animals will aestivate underground in their burrow. This is a period of inactivity.

Every 6 to 8 weeks they shed their old skin which helps to heal it.

These animals are successful swimmers which helps them to move around. They are also successful climbers though much of their time is spent on the ground.

Predators and Threats

Natural predators of the royal python include cats, larger snakes such as the black cobra and birds of prey.

Royal pythons are also known as ball pythons. This name comes from their defensive habitat of rolling in a ball with their head protected in the center when they are threatened.

The royal python is among the most commonly collected species of python for the international pet trade. They are also collected for food and leather by the local people. Both of these collections have a significant impact on their population.

Large amounts of these animals are bred in captivity but as yet this has not seen any significant decrease to the poaching.

Bush fires have also been recorded to reduce the population of royal pythons.

These pythons assist humans by reducing populations of rats and mice in the environment.

Quick facts

The regius portion of their scientific name means 'of royalty.'

Royal python is thought to be a reference to African rulers who previously wore live pythons as jewelry.