OLIVE PYTHON (Liasis olivaceus)

The Olive Python is one of the more popular larger pythons. The Olive Python is a usually a uniform fawn to dark olive-brown colour above, with a white or cream-colored belly. Unless it is in the case of the Albino Olive Python which lack pigment.

Average length is about 2 1/2m (8 ft) with a maximum of about 4m (13 ft). It does not grow as long as the Amethystine Python but is one of Australia’s heaviest snakes.

This very large, robust snake is found in the coastal regions and inland areas of north-western Western Australia eastwards to western Queensland. It lives in all kinds of forest habitats, from rainforest to savannah woodlands, but prefers rocky hills and gorges, especially those close to watercourses.

Hunting mainly by night, it eats small mammals, birds and reptiles.

The usual clutch size is about 15 to 18 eggs, but snakes in captivity have been known to lay as many as 24 eggs. Hatching occurs in 71 days, with the young measuring 375 mm (nearly 15 in). By the time they are a year old, they may be nearly 2 m long (6 ft).