Amphibians and Reptiles

Mike Dorcas

Burmese Python
Python molarus bivittatus

Description: Burmese pythons are light colored with many dark brown blotches bordered in black down the back. Burmese pythons are commonly sold in the exotic pet trade. The captive-bred albino form is white with patterns in butterscotch yellow and burnt orange. Typically grows 18-33 ft. in length and weighs 200-300 lbs. They are constrictors.

Habitat: It lives in grasslands, swamps, marshes, rocky foothills, woodlands, jungles and river valleys, and requires a permanent water source.

Distribution: Found throughout southeast Asia including Myanmar (formerly called Burma, their namesake), Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia.

Status: This species is now fairly commonly found in the Everglades as a result of pet releases and there is evidence that they are reproducing there on their own. To combat this problem, the state of Florida recently enacted legislation that will require pet owners to register and microchip their snakes, in order to deter such releases.

Resources:

NAS Python molruus bivittatus fact sheet

Burmese Python (Wikipedia)

Gordon Rodda, USGS.

Brown treesnake
Boiga irregularis

Description: A slender snake with large eyes with vertical pupils and a broad head (much wider than the neck). It is light brownish to yellowish olive, and occasionally a shade of greenish brown; black speckling may be present. Reaches a length of 3 m but is typically only 1-2 m long.

Distribution: Native to eastern Indonesia, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, as well as the northern and eastern coasts of Australia. Accidentally introduced to Guam in the 1950s by cargo ships. It has been sighted, but is not known to be established in Hawaii, Texas, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Caroline Islands in Micronesia, other small islands in the southeast Pacific Ocean, and Diego Garcia Atoll in the Indian Ocean.

Resources:

Global Invasive Species Database

Introduced Species Summary Project

Jan Sevcik

Nile monitor
Varanus niloticus

Description: Nile monitors are dark brown-black large lizards with pale to yellow bands and spots forming broken cross bands on the body. Size ranges from 4.5-5.5 ft (1.5-1.9 m) in captivity to 7 ft (2.1 m) in the wild.

Distribution: Most of Africa, excluding the northwestern. As a result of pet releases, it has been reported from six counties (Alachua, Broward, Collier, Dade, De Soto, Lee and Orange) in Florida with a confirmed breeding population in Cape Coral, Lee County (sw Florida).

Resources:

NaturePhoto-CZ

Honolulu Zoo

Animal Planet Reptile Guide

Florida's Exotic Wildlife