Carpet Python (Morelia spilota)

Carpet Python at Walkabout Creek, Brisbane Forest Park.

Image by ozwildlife - Some rights reserved.

Carpet Python close-up of head. Alma Park Zoo..

Image by ozwildlife - Some rights reserved.

Carpet Python close-up of head, Brisbane Forest Park, Queensland.

Image by ozwildlife - Some rights reserved.

Carpet Python at Brisbane Forest Park. The one in the photo is about 2.5m long.

Image by ozwildlife - Some rights reserved.

Carpet Python in Pandanus tree. Noosa Heads National Park, Queensland. Note the ocean in the background.

Image by ozwildlife - Some rights reserved.

Carpet python on bush track, South Stradbroke Island. This one was about 2m long.

Image by ozwildlife - Some rights reserved.

Carpet python on bush track, South Stradbroke Island

Image by ozwildlife - Some rights reserved.

CARPET PYTHON FACTS

Description
The Carpet Python or Diamond Python is a large snake. The colour and pattern vary greatly. Eastern populations are pale or dark brown to olive-green, with irregular dark-edged cream to pale yellowish blotches. Other populations can be grey or reddish with darker blotches Mainly nocturnal species, but is often seen basking during the day.

Other Names
Carpet Snake

Size
Up to 4m (though usually less than 2.5m).

Habitat
Floodplains, rainforests to open woodlands and rocky mountain ranges. Found in undergrowth, tree branches. Hides among leaf litter in tree hollows, logs and rocky crevices.

Food
Smaller animals such as rats, possums and birds. Smaller snakes prefer lizards.

Breeding
Female lays between 10 and 50 eggs in late spring or early summer. The female incubate the eggs for 10-15 weeks.

Range
Carpet Pythons are found in heavily timbered areas from Western Australia through top of Northern Territory, through to the eastern states.

distribution map showing range of Morelia spilota in Australia

distribution map showing range of Morelia spilota in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Notes
Combat can occur between males in spring. During combat, bodies are intertwined with heads raised more than a metre of the ground.

They are not venomous, although can give a painful bite.

Classification

Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata (Serpentes)
Family:	Pythonidae
Genus:	Morelia
Species:	spilota
Common Name:	Carpet Python

Relatives in same Genus
  Amythystine Python (M. amethistina)
  Centralian Carpet Python (M. bredli)
  Jungle Carpet python (M. spilota cheynei)
  Southwestern Carpet Python (M. spilota imbricata)
  Coastal Carpet Python (M. spilota mcdowelli)
  Inland Carpet Python (M. spilota metcalfei)
  Diamond Python (M. spilota spilota)
  Northwestern Carpet Python (M. spilota variegata)
  Green Python (M. viridis)