A non-venomous snake with an olive tint and a white belly, the olive python can reach a length of 13 feet. Native to Northern Australia, this ground-dwelling python lives in rocky terrain close to water supplies.
Due to the snake’s size, care requirements, and aggressive eating behavior, olive pythons are suggested as pets for more experienced enthusiasts. These pythons require a specially made enclosure with a well-maintained heating system that is cleaned frequently.
Review of the Olive Python
| Common name | Olive python |
| Scientific name | Liasis olivaceus |
| natural setting | amid Northern Australia, on rocky terrain, amid grasslands, farms, and shrubland close to sources of water |
| Adult size | 8–13 feet |
| Average lifespan | 20–30 years |
| Diet | Rodents, birds, bats, small mammals, and other reptiles |
| Housing | a modestly decorated, at least 8 x 4 x 3 foot vivarium with a gradient temperature range of 77 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. |
| level of experience | expert to advanced level reptile keepers |
Origin
Native to Northern and Western Australia, especially Western Queensland, is the olive python (Liasis olivaceus). The pythons are typically discovered hidden in cracks, logs, or caves close to water sources in rocky, arid terrain, agriculture, grassland, and shrubland.
The Pilbara (Liasis olivaceus barroni), a subspecies of the olive python, gets its name from the Pilbara region where it now only inhabits due to poor reproductive rates and a drop in prey.
Manifestation and conduct
The olive python is a snake that ranges in color from olive green to chocolate brown. Its body is unusually smooth due to the abundance of microscopic dorsal scales on its body. The python’s lips are gently flecked with gray and pale brown, and its belly is cream or white.
Many times, people mistakenly kill olive pythons for the poisonous king brown snake.
Only marginally longer than their male counterparts, female olive pythons share the same colour.
Size and Duration
The olive python, which may reach lengths of up to 13 feet but typically only reaches 8 feet, is the third-largest snake in Australia. The body of this python is leaner than that of many other snakes of the same length.
Although the average reptile longevity is between 20 and 30 years, and some olive pythons have lived for 12 years in captivity, the exact lifespan of olive pythons is unknown. To ensure the snake’s longevity, feed it a nutritious meal and maintain a clean environment for it.
As it matures, the python sheds, usually once every four to eight weeks. Keep the olive python’s tank tidy and provide fresh water to promote an easy, healthy shed.
Temperament
However, these snakes are aggressive and opportunistic feeders that can misinterpret anything that enters the tank for food. Olive pythons are curious, relaxed, and friendly when kept in captivity. Adults are less likely to bite than children.
These snakes prefer the colder temps of the night to explore alone. The olive python spends the day hiding in cracks and waits by the water to attack prey that comes to drink.
The olive python hides underwater when it is stressed out by loud noises and kids in the house. When threatened, olive pythons bite with a painful but non-venomous bite.
Olive Python abodes
The captive environment for an olive python should be uncomplicated and devoid of any sharp things that could hurt the snake.
To house this enormous snake, a specially constructed vivarium is typically necessary. For the snake to consume, bathe, and swim in, the enclosure should have a sizable water source.
Case dimensions
Olive pythons require a sizable enclosure that measures at least 8 x 4 x 3 feet, but preferably more. To give this snake the freedom to roam, the enclosure should be broad and long. Include logs or branches in the enclosure because the python occasionally enjoys climbing.
Smaller vivariums with lots of hiding places, measuring around 4 x 2 x 2 feet, are preferred by young olive pythons.
Lighting
Olive pythons only move at night. Place the snake’s habitat in a location that receives some sunlight each day, or add UVA and UVB to simulate a natural cycle of day and night.
Thermodynamics and Humidity
Olive pythons in the wild keep warm by lying on sunny rocks. Monitor a temperature gradient and add a heat source to the snake’s enclosure.
Using subsurface heating cables or pads and spot bulbs that are out of the snake’s reach, create a temperature gradient throughout the enclosure. The warmer side of the cage should remain at 95°F, while the cooler side should be set to 77°F.
Use top-notch thermostats to keep an eye on the enclosure’s temperature.
At night, lower the enclosure’s general temperature to 70°F. With 14 hours of daily heat in the summer and 9 hours in the winter, adjust the daytime heating hours in accordance with the season.
Substance and Adornment
Olive pythons may adapt to various substrate types. Because it is simple to clean, hobbyists frequently use newspaper or butcher paper in the snake habitat. Use additional substrates to create a more natural environment in the vivarium, such as gravel, aspen snake bedding, cork bark, synthetic grass, or coconut fiber.
Add enough substrate to cover the enclosure’s whole floor, at least 3 inches thick. Simple pebbles and logs should be placed in the vivarium for the python to climb and hide beneath. Don’t put anything sharp or dangerous in the enclosure where the snake is.
Set up a spill-proof water source with fresh, clean water that is big enough for the olive python to submerge in the enclosure. Make sure the dish is put in a place where the snake can get to it easily.
Cleaning
Once a month, give the enclosure a thorough cleaning. Spot clean the vivarium whenever the olive python makes a mess. Use F10 or another disinfectant safe for reptiles to clean. Replace the newspaper when it becomes soiled, spot-clean the natural substrate, and completely replace the substrate every two months.
During deep cleanings, the python should be taken out of the enclosure.
More: Spider Ball Python, Axanthic Ball Python
Care for Olive Python
When handled properly from an early age, olive pythons are placid pets and are most suitable for intermediate and experienced hobbyists. Because of their size and ferocious eating habits, these snakes require specialist care.
Water and Food
Being opportunistic eaters, olive pythons will try to devour everything that would fit in their mouths. Every two to three weeks, feed fully defrosted birds, rats, quail, and frogs to adult olive pythons.
Any food offered to the snake shouldn’t exceed its circumference at its widest point. Until they are big enough to enjoy a more varied diet, give young olive pythons one or two pinky mice or baby rats once or twice a week.
Live food should not be given to captive olive pythons since the struggle for the prey in a small enclosure could cause harm to the snake. To stop the snake from biting your hand, use tongs to place food in the enclosure.
Fill the python’s water bowl with fresh water at all times. It is well known that olive pythons urinate in water.
Handling
When the olive python is young, handle it frequently to accustom it to human contact. Be careful since the juvenile may bite before it becomes accustomed to handled by humans. The olive python may relish the attention once it is accustomed to handling.
To prevent the snake from mistaking the introduction of your hand into its enclosure as incoming food, first raise the snake out of the enclosure using a hook.
Avoid letting the snake go after handling it because it could be challenging to get it back and it might hurt itself or get stuck in tight places.
Avoid handling the snake right before it feeds, for up to 72 hours following a meal, and throughout its shedding cycle.
Typical Health Problems
Watch for non-obvious symptoms that point to a health issue in olive pythons, and seek veterinary care if any of the following problems arise:
- Skin conditions Reduce the snakes’ efficient shedding capacity. Skin that has shed in parts or patches of dry, flaky skin that are linked to the body are visible symptoms.
- Mouth infections – These conditions result in swollen mouths, bleeding gums, and difficulty opening the snake’s mouth. Appetite loss, pus coming from the nose or mouth, and visible, dead tissue in the mouth are all signs of mouth infections.
- Internal parasites: These organisms enlarge within and can spread to other snakes by feces. Lethargy, weight loss, problems becoming pregnant, and partial paralysis are symptoms.
- Eye diseases – Affect one or both eyes, and are indicated by swelling in the eyes, blurry vision, and growths around the eyes.
- Infections in the lungs can lead to breathing issues such wheezing, nasal discharge, lethargy, and appetite loss.
- neurological conditions – Lead to the snake’s clumsy movements, convulsions, and trembling.
Quarantine
To stop any contagious infections from infecting other reptiles already residing in the residence, a new reptile must be quarantined. A new snake should typically be quarantined for at least six months to check for illness and disease.
To stop the spread of airborne infections, keep the olive python in quarantine in a separate room with no shared airspace with the established reptiles.
To prevent the spread of disease, only handle the quarantined reptile after all interaction with the non-quarantined animals, and change your clothing and sanitize your hands between species.
Breeding
Natural breeding in olive pythons lasts from the middle of May to mid-July. In captivity, the female python should be placed in the male’s enclosure in May and removed in the middle of July.
After mating, the female becomes extremely active and looks for a place to lay her eggs throughout the 81–85 day gestation phase.
The female lays a clutch of 12 to 40 eggs once she has located a secluded area. After roughly 50 days of incubation, the eggs hatch.
Place the hatchlings in small, independent containers set to 82°F, along with newspaper, a small water bowl, and a cave or other hiding place. Place the juveniles in larger enclosures after they are fully mature.
How to Choose and Purchase an Olive Python
Reputable pet shops and breeders charge between $500 and $5,000 for an olive python. A specific authorization is required to own a snake because it is a vulnerable species.
Always go with captive-bred olive pythons because the stress of captivity can lead wild-caught pythons to pass away. Reptiles taken from the wild may potentially have ailments that the new owner is unaware of.
Watch for obvious health issues including hazy vision, lethargy, an inability to eat, and swelling when purchasing an olive python.
