# Carpet Pythons (*Morelia*)

Carpet pythons are beautiful snakes with colorful patterns. They can be found in trees and on the ground, and they love to bask in the sun. These snakes are great climbers and can grow quite long!

- **Category:** [Reptiles](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/reptile)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 2/5 · Low
- **Habitat:** Forests
- **Also known as:** Carpet Snake, carpet python

![Carpet Pythons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Python_Australia_Zoo.JPG&width=800)

Photo: Benchill, CC BY 3.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Python_Australia_Zoo.JPG)

## Appearance

The Carpet Python has an intricate, variable pattern of blotches, bands, and stripes resembling an oriental carpet. Its coloration ranges widely, from olive green to brown, reddish-brown, or black, often marked with cream, yellow, or gold. These patterns make it visually distinct.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Reptilia
- **Order:** Squamata
- **Family:** Pythonidae
- **Genus:** Morelia

## Interesting facts

- After a big meal, they can go months without eating again!
- Carpet pythons possess over 100 sharp, backward-pointing teeth!
- These amazing snakes can grow longer than an adult person is tall!
- They get their name from their amazing, carpet-like skin patterns!

## Special abilities

- **Heat Vision:** Carpet Pythons have special heat-sensing pits on their lips that let them 'see' warm-blooded prey in complete darkness.
- **Power Squeeze:** Carpet Pythons can coil tightly around prey, using powerful muscles to constrict and suffocate it quickly.
- **Egg Warmer:** Female Carpet Pythons coil around their eggs and shiver, generating body heat to keep their clutch warm.

## Measurements & details

- **Length:** 200-400 cm
- **Weight:** 5-15 kg
- **Lifespan:** 15-25 years
- **Speed:** 1.6 km/h
- **Swim Speed:** 1.5 km/h
- **Clutch Size:** 7-54
- **Incubation:** 50-70 days

## Diet & Feeding

Carpet pythons are expert hunters, eating birds, small mammals, and other reptiles.

- **Age differences:** Young pythons eat smaller prey like lizards and frogs, while adults hunt larger mammals and birds.
- **Primary Foods:** Rodents, Birds, Bats, Lizards, Possums
- **Foraging Method:** Ambush

## Ecological connections

- **Hunts:** [Black Rat](https://www.snappit.app/explore/black-rat) (*Rattus rattus*) — A common food source, especially in human-modified areas.
- **Hunts:** Common Brushtail Possum (*Trichosurus vulpecula*) — Often preyed upon by pythons in their arboreal habitat.
- **Eaten by:** Wedge-tailed Eagle (*Aquila audax*) — Large eagles can snatch young carpet pythons from the ground.
- **Eaten by:** Lace Monitor (*Varanus varius*) — Lace monitors are known predators of snake eggs and juveniles.

## Traits

- [Solitary](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/solitary): Solitary animals live alone for most of their lives, only interacting with others for mating or parental care.
- [Arboreal](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/arboreal): Arboreal animals live primarily in trees, utilizing them for shelter, food, and protection from predators.
- [Camouflaged](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/camouflaged): Camouflaged describes organisms that possess coloring or patterns that allow them to blend into their environment.
- [Colorful](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/colorful): Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.
- [Forest](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/forest): Forest habitats are terrestrial environments dominated by dense tree cover, supporting a high diversity of plant and animal life.
- [Carnivorous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/carnivorous): This trait identifies organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of animal tissue.

## Collections

- [Reptiles](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/reptiles)

## Safety

**Danger:** 2/5 · Low

Always watch snakes from a distance and never try to touch them.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Carpet Pythons?

Compare the full body pattern, build, head markings and tail. Color can shift with age and lighting. Rules of thumb about triangular heads or round pupils aren't a reliable way to tell whether a snake is venomous. Snake Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How long is Carpet Pythons?

200-400 cm

### How much does Carpet Pythons weigh?

5-15 kg

### How long does Carpet Pythons live?

15-25 years

### How fast can Carpet Pythons move?

1.6 km/h

### What does Carpet Pythons eat?

Carpet pythons are expert hunters, eating birds, small mammals, and other reptiles.

### How fast can Carpet Pythons swim?

1.5 km/h

### Where is Carpet Pythons usually found?

Forests

## More Reptiles

- [Pond Slider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/pond-slider) (*Trachemys scripta*)
- [Western Fence Lizard](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-fence-lizard) (*Sceloporus occidentalis*)
- [Common Five-lined Skink](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-five-lined-skink) (*Plestiodon fasciatus*)
- [Desert Spiny Lizard](https://www.snappit.app/explore/desert-spiny-lizard) (*Sceloporus magister*)

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Source: [Carpet Pythons: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/carpet-pythons)