Editing Burmese python (section)

==In captivity==
[[Image:Reptilia audience members handling burmese python dsc 0083.jpg|thumb|left|Audience volunteers holding an adult Burmese python]]
[[File:Burmesepython-tobudobutsuen-2012.ogv|thumb|An [[amelanistic]] Burmese python at a zoo in Japan]]
Burmese pythons are often sold as pets, and are made popular by their attractive coloration and apparently easy-going nature. However, they have a rapid growth rate, and can exceed {{cvt|2.1|m|ftin}} in length in a year if power fed. However this may cause health issues in the future. By age four, they will have reached their adult size, though they continue growing very slowly throughout their lives, which may exceed 20 years.

Although the species has a reputation for docility, they are very powerful animals – capable of inflicting severe bites and even killing by constriction.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Python Kills Careless Student Zookeeper in Caracas|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2622427/Python-kills-careless-student-zookeeper-in-Caracas.html|date=2008-08-26|work=The Telegraph|agency=AP|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2622427/Python-kills-careless-student-zookeeper-in-Caracas.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2019-02-18|location=London|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors=Chiszar D, Smith HM, Petkus A, Doughery J |date=1993|title=A Fatal Attack on a Teenage Boy by a Captive Burmese Python (''Python molurus bivittatus'') in Colorado|journal=The Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society|publisher=Chicago Herpetological Society|volume=28|issue=#12|page=261 |url=http://www.chicagoherp.org/bulletin/28(12).pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218202006/http://chicagoherp.org/bulletin/28(12).pdf |archive-date=2019-02-18|issn=0009-3564}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.anapsid.org/coloburm.html |title=The Keeping of Large Pythons: Realities and Responsibilities|vauthors=Kaplan M|date=1994 |website=www.anapsid.org|series=Herp Care Collection|access-date=2019-02-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/python-caused-death-in-ontario-home-in-1992-case-1.1328205 |title=Python Caused Death in Ontario Home in 1992 Case|date=2013-04-13|work=CBC News|access-date=2019-02-17|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Commission|agency=Canadian Press|department=Toronto News|location=Toronto|issn=0708-9392}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/python-linked-deaths-raise-questions-over-exotic-animal-laws-1.1349119|title=Python-linked Deaths Raise Questions over Exotic Animal Laws|vauthors=Davison J|date=2013-08-07|work=CBC News|access-date=2019-02-17 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |department=News|location=Toronto|issn=0708-9392}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/748680/pages/nevilles-p1-normal.gif |title=Dr. D. H. Evans, Coroner of Ontario, "Inquest into the Death of Mark Nevilles: Verdict of Coroner's Jury" (Brampton, Ontario: June 1992)|website=documentcloud.org|access-date=8 April 2019}}</ref> They also consume large amounts of food, and due to their size, require large, often custom-built, secure enclosures. As a result, some are released into the wild, and become invasive species that devastate the environment. For this reason, some jurisdictions (including Florida, due to the python invasion in the Everglades<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Burrage G |title=New law makes Burmese python illegal in Florida |url=http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/state/new-law-makes-burmese-python-illegal-in-florida |date=30 June 2010 |website=Abcactionnews.com |access-date=9 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501023817/http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/state/new-law-makes-burmese-python-illegal-in-florida |archive-date=2013-05-01}}</ref>) have placed restrictions on the keeping of Burmese pythons as pets. Violators could be imprisoned for more than seven years or fined $500,000 if convicted.

Burmese pythons are opportunistic feeders;<ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Orzechowski SC, Romagosa CM, Frederick PC |date=2019-07-01|title=Invasive Burmese pythons (''Python bivittatus'') are novel nest predators in wading bird colonies of the Florida Everglades|journal=Biological Invasions|volume=21|issue=7|pages=2333–2344|doi=10.1007/s10530-019-01979-x|s2cid=102350541|doi-access=free|bibcode=2019BiInv..21.2333O }}</ref> they eat almost any time food is offered, and often act hungry even when they have recently eaten. As a result, they are often overfed, causing [[obesity]]-related problems to be common in captive Burmese pythons.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Like the much smaller [[ball python]], Burmese pythons are known to be easygoing or timid creatures, which means that if cared for properly, they can easily adjust to living near humans.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gbif.org/species/144100053|title=''Python bivittatus'' (Kuhl, 1820)|website=www.gbif.org |access-date=8 April 2019|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022073544/https://www.gbif.org/species/144100053}}</ref>

===Handling===
Although pythons are typically afraid of people due to their great stature, and generally avoid them, special care is still required when handling them. Given their adult strength, multiple handlers (up to one person per meter of snake) are usually recommended.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.anapsid.org/handling.html|title=Playing with the Big Boys: Handling Large Constrictors|website=www.anapsid.org|access-date=8 September 2017}}</ref> Some jurisdictions require owners to hold special licenses, and as with any wild animal being kept in captivity, treating them with the respect an animal of this size commands is important.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://aldf.org/focus_area/captive-animals/|title=Captive Animals - Most states have no laws governing captive wild animals.|website=Animal Legal Defense Fund|access-date=8 April 2019}}</ref>

===Variations===
[[Image:Caramel burmese python.JPG|thumb|Caramel Burmese python]]
The Burmese python is frequently captive-bred for color, pattern, and more recently, size. Its [[amelanistic]] form is especially popular and is the most widely available morph. This morph is white with patterns in butterscotch yellow and burnt orange. Also, "labyrinth" specimens with maze-like patterns, khaki-colored "green", and "granite" with many small angular spots are available. Breeders have recently begun working with an island lineage of Burmese pythons. Early reports indicate that these [[dwarf Burmese python]]s have slightly different coloring and pattern from their mainland relatives and do not grow much over {{cvt|2.1|m|ftin}} in length. One of the most sought-after of these variations is the [[leucistic]] Burmese. This particular variety is very rare, being entirely bright white with no pattern and blue eyes, and has only in 2008/2009 been reproduced in captivity as the [[homozygous]] form (referred to as "super" by reptile keepers) of the co-dominant [[hypomelanistic]] trait. The caramel Burmese python has a caramel-colored pattern with "milk-chocolate" eyes.