View source for Pythonidae

{{Short description|Family of snakes}}
{{distinguish|text=[[Pythonides]], a genus of butterflies}} {{redir-dist|Pythons|the Pythons}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Pythonidae
| image = Python molurus molurus 2.jpg
| image_caption = [[Indian python]] (''Python molurus'')
| taxon = Pythonidae
| authority = [[Leopold Fitzinger|Fitzinger]], 1826
| synonyms = * Pythonoidia - Fitzinger, 1826
* Pythonoidei – Eichwald, 1831
* Holodonta – Müller, 1832
* Pythonina – Bonaparte, 1840
* Pythophes – Fitzinger, 1843
* Pythoniens – A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1844
* Holodontes – A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1844
* Pythonides – A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1844
* Pythones – Cope, 1861
* Pythonidae – Cope, 1864
* Peropodes – Meyer, 1874
* Chondropythonina – Boulenger, 1879
* Pythoninae – Boulenger, 1890
* Pythonini – Underwood & Stimson, 1990
* Moreliini – Underwood & Stimson, 1990<ref name="McD99">{{cite book|last1=McDiarmid|first1=Roy W. |last2=Campbell|first2=Jonathan A. |last3=Touré|first3=T'Shaka A. |title=Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GQOuswEACAAJ|volume=1|year=1999|publisher=Herpetologists' League|isbn=978-1-893777-01-9}}</ref>
}}{{More citations needed|date=November 2022}}
[[File:LRMEXPORT 187433861073166 20200523 062423632a.jpg|alt=pythons|thumb|Indian python (''[[Python molurus]]'')]]
The '''Pythonidae''', commonly known as '''pythons''', are a [[Family (biology)|family]] of [[Venomous snake|nonvenomous]] <!-- (though see the section "Toxins" below) --> [[snake]]s found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world. Ten [[Genus|genera]] and 39 [[species]] are currently recognized. Being naturally non-venomous, pythons must constrict their prey to induce cardiac arrest prior to consumption. Pythons will typically strike at and bite their prey of choice to gain hold of it; they then must use physical strength to constrict their prey, by coiling their muscular bodies around the animal, effectively suffocating it before swallowing whole. This is in stark contrast to venomous snakes such as the [[rattlesnake]], for example, which delivers a swift, venomous bite but releases, waiting as the prey succumbs to [[envenomation]] before being consumed.  Collectively, the pythons are well-documented and studied as constrictors, much like other non-venomous snakes, including the [[Boidae|boas]] and even [[kingsnakes]] of the New World.<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS |id=563893 |taxon=Pythonidae |access-date=9 December 2019}}</ref>

Pythons are indigenous to the Old World Tropics, including sub-Saharan Africa, tropical to subtropical Asia, and Australia, Pythons are ambush predators that primarily kill prey by constriction, causing cardiac arrest. Pythons are oviparous, laying eggs that females incubate until they hatch. They possess premaxillary teeth, with the exception of adults in the Australian genus ''Aspidites''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/191269/1/03_vertebrate_zoology_70_3_2020_Georgalis_et_Smith.pdf |title=Constrictores Oppel, 1811 – the available name for the taxonomic group uniting boas and pythons |access-date=2020-12-12 |archive-date=2020-12-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212102353/https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/191269/1/03_vertebrate_zoology_70_3_2020_Georgalis_et_Smith.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | pmc=5108151 | date=2016 | last1=Palci | first1=A. | last2=Lee | first2=M. S. | last3=Hutchinson | first3=M. N. | title=Patterns of postnatal ontogeny of the skull and lower jaw of snakes as revealed by micro-CT scan data and three-dimensional geometric morphometrics | journal=Journal of Anatomy | volume=229 | issue=6 | pages=723–754 | doi=10.1111/joa.12509 | pmid=27329823 }}</ref> While many species are available in the exotic pet trade, caution is needed with larger species due to potential danger. The taxonomy of pythons has evolved, and they are now known to be more closely related to sunbeam snakes and the Mexican burrowing python. {{cn|date=January 2025}}

Pythons are frequently poached for their skins, with the export market for skins from [[Southeast Asia]] estimated at a billion dollars in 2012. They are also sold and consumed as meat. They can carry diseases, such as salmonella and leptospirosis, which can be transmitted to humans. Pythons are also used in African traditional medicine to treat ailments like rheumatism and mental illnesses. Their body parts, including blood and organs, are believed to have various healing properties. In some African cultures, pythons have significant roles in folklore and mythology, often symbolizing strength or having sacred status.

==Distribution and habitat==
Pythons are found in [[sub-Saharan Africa]], [[Nepal]], [[India]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Southeast Asia]], southeastern [[Pakistan]], southern [[China]], the [[Philippines]] and [[Australia]].<ref name="McD99"/>

===Invasive populations===
Two known populations of invasive pythons exist in the Western Hemisphere. In the United States, an introduced population of [[Burmese python]]s (''Python bivittatus'') has existed as an [[invasive species]] in [[Everglades National Park]] since the late 1990s. As of January 2023, estimates place the Floridian Burmese python population at around half a million. Local bounties are awarded and scientists study dead Burmese pythons to better understand breeding cycles and trends associated with rapid population explosion. The pythons readily prey on native North American fauna in Florida, including (but not limited to) [[American alligator]]s, birds, [[bobcat]]s, [[American bullfrog]]s, [[Virginia opossum|opossum]]s, [[raccoon]]s, [[North American river otter|river otter]]s, [[white-tailed deer]], and occasionally domestic pets and livestock. They are also known to prey on other invasive and introduced animals to Florida, such as the [[green iguana]] and [[nutria]] (coypu), though not at a rate as to lower their numbers rapidly or effectively.<ref name="NGeo">{{cite web | url = http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0603_040603_invasivespecies.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040611213130/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0603_040603_invasivespecies.html | archive-date = June 11, 2004 | title = Huge, Freed Pet Pythons Invade Florida Everglades | work = National Geographic News | access-date = 16 September 2007 }}</ref>

In [[Puerto Rico]], a population of [[reticulated python]]s (''Malayopython reticulatus'') are known to be currently established, with a remarkably high rate of [[albinism]], suggesting establishment from domesticated pet stock. Records of reticulated pythons date back to as early as 2009, and the population was recognized as established by 2017.<ref name ="SerpResearch">{{cite web | url = https://serpentresearch.com/2022/08/07/malayopython-reticulatus-has-colonized-puerto-rico/ | title = Malayopython reticulatus has colonized Puerto Rico | work = Serpent Research | date = 7 August 2022 }}</ref>[[Image:Blackheaded python2.jpg|240px|thumb|[[Black-headed python]]<br />(''Aspidites melanocephalus'')]]
==Conservation==
{{Expand section|date=November 2022}}
Many species have been hunted aggressively, which has greatly reduced the population of some, such as the [[Indian python]] (''Python molurus'') and the [[ball python]] (''Python regius'').<ref>{{cite iucn |title=''Python molurus'' |name-list-style=amp |author1=Aengals, A. |author2=Das, A. |author3=Mohapatra, P. |author4=Srinivasulu, C. |author5=Srinivasulu, B. |author6=Shankar, G. |author7=Murthy, B.H.C. |year=2021 |article-number=e.T58894358A1945283 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T58894358A1945283.en |access-date=13 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite iucn |title=''Python regius'' |amends=2021 |name-list-style=amp |author1=D'Cruze, N. |author2=Wilms, T. |author3=Penner, J. |author4=Luiselli, L. |author5=Jallow, M. |author6=Segniagbeto, G. |author7=Niagate, B. |author8=Schmitz, A. |year=2022 |article-number=e.T177562A220378972 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T177562A220378972.en |access-date=13 September 2025}}</ref>

==Behavior==
{{Expand section|date=November 2022}}
[[File:Python at Nairobi National Museum, Kenya.jpg|thumb|290x290px|Common Python at Nairobi National Museum, Kenya]]
Most members of this family are [[ambush predator]]s, in that they typically remain motionless in a camouflaged position, and then strike suddenly at passing prey. Attacks on humans, although known to occur, are extremely rare.<ref name="Wang">{{cite news |last1=Wang |first1=Amy B. | name-list-style = vanc |title=An Indonesian man disappeared. Villagers found his body inside a 23-foot-long python. | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/03/29/an-indonesian-man-disappeared-villagers-found-his-body-inside-a-23-foot-long-python/ |access-date=17 June 2018 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=29 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Selk |first1=Avi | name-list-style = vanc |title=A woman went to check her corn — and was swallowed by a python |url=https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2018/06/17/woman-went-to-check-her-corn-and-was-swallowed-by-python/11946122007/#:~:text=by%20a%20python-,A%20woman%20went%20to%20check%20her%20corn,was%20swallowed%20by%20a%20python&text=For%20the%20second%20time%20in,according%20to%20the%20Jakarta%20Post.?wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1 |access-date=17 June 2018 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=16 June 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

==Feeding==
Pythons use their sharp, backward-curving teeth, four rows in the upper jaw, two in the lower, to grasp prey which is then killed by [[constriction]]; after an animal has been grasped to restrain it, the python quickly wraps a number of coils around it.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Death occurs primarily by [[cardiac arrest]].<ref name=":0">{{cite journal | last1 = Hardy | first1 = David L | name-list-style = vanc | year = 1994 | title = A re-evaluation of suffocation as the cause of death during constriction by snakes | journal = Herpetological Review | volume = 25|issue=22  | pages = 45–47 }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite journal | vauthors = Boback SM, McCann KJ, Wood KA, McNeal PM, Blankenship EL, Zwemer CF | title = Snake constriction rapidly induces circulatory arrest in rats | journal = The Journal of Experimental Biology | volume = 218 | issue = Pt 14 | pages = 2279–88 | date = July 2015 | pmid = 26202779 | doi = 10.1242/jeb.121384 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Even the larger species, such as the [[reticulated python]] (''Malayopython reticulatus''), do not crush their prey to death.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rossman |first=Sean |title=Pythons can kill a human in minutes and swallow them in an hour |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/03/30/pythons-can-kill-human-minutes-and-swallow-them-hour/99824246/ |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref>

Larger specimens usually eat animals about the size of a domestic cat, but larger food items are known; some large Asian species have been known to take down adult [[deer]], and the [[Central African rock python]] (''Python sebae'') has been known to eat [[antelope]]. The [[reticulated python]] is the only python species known to sometimes eat humans in its natural habitat in Sulawesi, Indonesia.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/python-kills-woman-indonesia-swallowed-up-to-her-shoulders-officials-say|title=Woman dies in python attack after being swallowed up to her shoulders, Indonesia officials say |author = AFP |date=16 August 2024|via=www.cbsnews.com|newspaper=CBS News}}</ref> All prey is swallowed whole, and may take several days or even weeks to fully digest.[[File:Python skull rotation.gif|alt=What a python skull looks like|A python skull|right|thumb]]

==Reproduction==
Pythons are [[oviparous]]. This sets them apart from the family [[Boidae]] (boas), most of which bear live young ([[ovoviviparous]]). After they lay their eggs, females typically incubate them until they hatch. This is achieved by causing the muscles to "shiver", which raises the temperature of the body to a certain degree, and thus that of the eggs. Keeping the eggs at a constant temperature is essential for healthy embryo development. During the incubation period, females do not eat and leave only to bask to raise their body temperature.

==Captivity==
Most species in this family are available in the exotic pet trade. However, caution must be exercised with the larger species, as they can be dangerous; rare cases of large specimens killing their owners have been documented.<ref name="Anapsid">{{cite web | url = http://www.anapsid.org/coloburm.html | title = The Keeping of Large Pythons | work = Anapsid | access-date = 16 September 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Large Constrictor Snake Attacks | url = http://m.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/wildlife/captive/constrictor-snake-attacks.pdf | website = The Humane Society of The United States | date = July 2012 | access-date = 2018-05-13 | archive-date = 2015-09-22 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150922015025/http://m.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/wildlife/captive/constrictor-snake-attacks.pdf | url-status = deviated }}</ref>

==Taxonomy==
Obsolete classification schemes—such as that of [[George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger]] (1890)—place pythons in Pythoninae, a [[subfamily]] of the boa family, [[Boidae]].<ref name="McD99"/> However, despite a superficial resemblance to boas, pythons are more closely related to the sunbeam snakes (''[[Xenopeltis]]'') and the Mexican burrowing python (''[[Loxocemus]]'').<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Pyron RA, Burbrink FT, Wiens JJ | title = A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes | journal = BMC Evolutionary Biology | volume = 13 | page = 93 | date = April 2013 | issue = 1 | pmid = 23627680 | pmc = 3682911 | doi = 10.1186/1471-2148-13-93 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2013BMCEE..13...93P }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Graham Reynolds R, Niemiller ML, Revell LJ | title = Toward a Tree-of-Life for the boas and pythons: multilocus species-level phylogeny with unprecedented taxon sampling | journal = Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume = 71 | pages = 201–13 | date = February 2014 | pmid = 24315866 | doi = 10.1016/j.ympev.2013.11.011 | bibcode = 2014MolPE..71..201G | url = http://www.rgrahamreynolds.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Reynolds_etal_2014_MPE.pdf | access-date = 2018-05-13 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151202212953/http://www.rgrahamreynolds.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Reynolds_etal_2014_MPE.pdf | archive-date = 2015-12-02 }}</ref>

===Genera===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Genus<ref name="ITIS"/>
! Taxon author<ref name="ITIS"/>
! Species<ref name="ITIS"/>
! Subsp.{{efn|Not including the [[Nominotypical subspecies|nominate subspecies]].}}<ref name="ITIS"/>
! Common name
! Geographic range<ref name="McD99"/>
|-
|''[[Antaresia]]''
|[[Wells and Wellington affair|Wells & Wellington]], 1984
| style="text-align:center;"|4
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|Children's pythons
|style="width:40%"|Australia in arid and tropical regions
|-
|''[[Apodora]]''<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kluge AG |author-link=Arnold G. Kluge |title=''Aspidites'' and the phylogeny of pythonine snakes |journal=Records of the Australian Museum, Supplement|volume=19 |page=77 |date=1993 |doi=10.3853/j.0812-7387.19.1993.52 |isbn=0-7310-1164-3 |url=https://media.australianmuseum.net.au/media/Uploads/Journals/16847/52_complete.pdf}}</ref>
|[[Arnold G. Kluge|Kluge]], 1993
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|Papuan python
|Papua New Guinea
|-
|''[[Aspidites]]''
|[[Wilhelm Peters|W. Peters]], 1877
| style="text-align:center;"|2
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|pitless pythons
|Australia, except in the southern parts of the country
|-
|''Bothrochilus''
|[[Leopold Fitzinger|Fitzinger]], 1843
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|[[Bismarck ringed python]]
|the Bismarck Archipelago
|-
|''[[Leiopython]]''
|[[Ambrosius Hubrecht|Hubrecht]], 1879
| style="text-align:center;"|3
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|white-lipped pythons
|Papua New Guinea
|-
|''[[Liasis]]''
|[[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1842
| style="text-align:center;"|3
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|water pythons
|[[Indonesia]] in the [[Lesser Sunda Islands]], east through New Guinea and northern and western Australia
|-
|''[[Malayopython]]''
|[[species:Robert Graham Reynolds|Reynolds]], 2014
| style="text-align:center;"|2
| style="text-align:center;"|3
|reticulated and Timor pythons
|from India to Timor
|-
|''[[Morelia (snake)|Morelia]]''
|Gray, 1842
| style="text-align:center;"|6
| style="text-align:center;"|7
|tree pythons
|from Indonesia in the [[Maluku Islands]], east through New Guinea, including the Bismarck Archipelago, and Australia
|-
|''[[Nyctophilopython]]''
|[[species:Graeme Francis Gow|Gow]], 1977
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|[[Oenpelli python]]
|style="width:40%"|the Northern Territory, Australia
|-
|''[[Python (genus)|Python]]''{{efn|[[Type genus]].<ref name="McD99"/>}}
|[[François Marie Daudin|Daudin]], 1803
| style="text-align:center;"|10
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|true pythons
|Africa in the tropics south of the [[Sahara|Sahara Desert]] (not including southern and extreme southwestern [[Madagascar]]), [[Bangladesh]], Pakistan, India, [[Sri Lanka]], the [[Nicobar Islands]], [[Burma]], [[Indochina]], southern China, [[Hong Kong]], [[Hainan]], the Malayan region of [[Indonesia]] and the [[Philippines]]
|-
|''[[Simalia]]''
|Gray, 1849
| style="text-align:center;"|6
| style="text-align:center;"|0
|amethystine python species complex
|found in Indonesia (Including the islands of [[Halmahera]], [[Ambon Island|Ambon]], [[Seram Island|Seram]], [[Maluku Islands|Maluku]]), the [[Northern Territory]], northeastern [[Queensland]] into the [[Torres Strait]], and [[Papua New Guinea]]
|}

==Relationship with humans==
=== Skin and meat trade ===
Trade in python skins is a lucrative business with the export market from Southeast Asia estimated at US$1 billion as of 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-20509720|title=Python skin trade worth a billion – and often illegal |last=McGrath|first=Matt |website=[[BBC News]] | name-list-style = vanc |date=2012-11-28|access-date=2019-03-14|language=en-GB}}</ref> Much of the trade is illegal, and python farming is very expensive.<ref>{{cite news | first = Victoria | last = Turk | name-list-style = vanc |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/snake-farms-could-tackle-the-billion-dollar-black-market-for-python-skin/|title=Snake Farms Could Tackle the Billion Dollar Black Market for Python Skin|date=2014-04-02|work=Motherboard|access-date=2019-03-14|language=en-us}}</ref> Pythons are poached for their meat, mostly consumed locally as [[bushmeat]], and their skin, which is sent to Europe and North America for manufacture of accessories like bags, belts and shoes.<ref name = "Jensen_2017">{{cite web|first=Timm Juul|last=Jensen|name-list-style=vanc|url=https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2017/09/05/large-snakes-are-on-the-menu-at-cameroons-nkoldongo-bushmeat-market/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108033842/https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2017/09/05/large-snakes-are-on-the-menu-at-cameroons-nkoldongo-bushmeat-market/|archive-date=January 8, 2018|title=Large snakes are on the menu at Cameroon's Nkoldongo bushmeat market|work=National Geographic Society Newsroom|date=5 September 2017|access-date=2019-03-14}}</ref>

In [[Cameroon]] bushmeat markets, the [[Central African rock python]] (''Python sebae'') is sold for meat.<ref name = "Jensen_2017" /> Hunting, killing and selling pythons is illegal in [[Cameroon]] under national wildlife law, but there is little to no enforcement.<ref name = "Jensen_2017" />

=== Pythons and human health ===
Pythons are not venomous, but like other reptiles, they can be vectors for infections that affect humans, such as [[salmonella]]. Such diseases may be transmitted to humans through excreted waste, open wounds, and contaminated water.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Potential Zoonoses/Hazards Associated with Reptiles|url=https://ras.research.cornell.edu/care/documents/OHS/zoonosis_information_sheet_reptiles.pdf|journal=Cornell Center for Animal Resources and Education}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ebani VV | title = Domestic reptiles as source of zoonotic bacteria: A mini review | journal = Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine | volume = 10 | issue = 8 | pages = 723–728 | date = August 2017 | pmid = 28942820 | doi = 10.1016/j.apjtm.2017.07.020 | doi-access = free | hdl = 11568/880208 | hdl-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Meyer Sauteur PM, Relly C, Hug M, Wittenbrink MM, Berger C | title = Risk factors for invasive reptile-associated salmonellosis in children | journal = Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases | volume = 13 | issue = 6 | pages = 419–21 | date = June 2013 | pmid = 23473215 | doi = 10.1089/vbz.2012.1133 | s2cid = 1311418 | url = https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/79426/1/Meyer_Vector-Borne_2013.pdf }}</ref>

Pythons are also integrated into some aspects of African health and belief use, often with the added risk of contacting zoonotic diseases. Python bodies and blood are used for African traditional medicines and other belief uses as well, one in-depth study of all animals used by the Yorubas of Nigeria for traditional medicine found that the African Python is used to cure rheumatism, snake poison, appeasing witches, and accident prevention.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Python habitats, diets, and invasion into new areas also impact human health and prosperity. A University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences study found that the [[Burmese python]], as an invasive species, enters new habitats and eats an increasing number of mammals, leaving limited species for mosquitoes to bite, forcing them to bite disease-carrying [[hispid cotton rat]]s and then infect humans with the [[Everglades virus]], a dangerous infection that is carried by very few animals.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hoyer IJ, Blosser EM, Acevedo C, Thompson AC, Reeves LE, Burkett-Cadena ND | title = Mammal decline, linked to invasive Burmese python, shifts host use of vector mosquito towards reservoir hosts of a zoonotic disease | journal = Biology Letters | volume = 13 | issue = 10 | article-number = 20170353 | date = October 2017 | pmid = 28978755 | pmc = 5665769 | doi = 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0353 }}</ref> While direct human-python interactions can be potentially dangerous, the risk of zoonotic diseases is always a concern, whether considering medical and belief use in Nigeria or when addressing invasive species impacts in Florida. In 2022, a woman who lived near a lake area in south-eastern [[New South Wales]] state, [[Australia]], was found to be infested with the [[Ophidascaris robertsi]] roundworm which is common in [[carpet python]]s - non-venomous snakes found across much of Australia.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-08-29 |title=Live worm found in Australian woman's brain in world first |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-66643241 |access-date=2023-09-26}} </ref>

=== Traditional use ===
==== Skin ====
Python skin has traditionally been used as the attire of choice for medicine men and healers.<ref name="AlexanderMoshoeu2016">{{cite journal|last1=Alexander|first1=Graham J.|last2=Moshoeu|first2=Thibedi J.|last3=Williams|first3=Vivienne L.|title=Reptiles sold as traditional medicine in Xipamanine and Xiquelene Markets (Maputo, Mozambique)|journal=South African Journal of Science|volume=112|issue= 7/8|year=2016|page=9 |issn=0038-2353|doi=10.17159/sajs.2016/20150416|doi-access=free}}</ref> Typically, [[South Africa]]n [[Zulu people|Zulu]] traditional healers will use python skin in ceremonial regalia.<ref name="AlexanderMoshoeu2016" /> Pythons are viewed by the Zulu tradition to be a sign of power. Healers are seen as all-powerful since they have a wealth of knowledge, as well as accessibility to the ancestors.<ref name="AlexanderMoshoeu2016" />

==== Fat ====
Typically, species are attributed to healing various ailments based on their likeliness to a specific bodily attribute. For example, in many cultures, the python is seen as a strong and powerful creature. As a result, pythons are often prescribed as a method of increasing strength.<ref name="AlexanderMoshoeu2016" /> It is very common for the body fat of pythons to be used to treat a large variation of issues such as [[joint pain]], [[Rheumatism|rheumatic pain]], [[toothache]] and [[eye sight]].{{Cn|date=May 2025}} Additionally, python fat has been used to treat those suffering from mental illnesses like [[psychosis]].<ref name="KajawuChingarande2015">{{cite journal|last1=Kajawu|first1=Lazarus|last2=Chingarande|first2=Sunungurai D.|last3=Jack|first3=Helen|last4=Ward|first4=Catherine|last5=Taylor|first5=Tonya|title=What do African traditional medical practitioners do in the treatment of mental disorders in Zimbabwe?|journal=International Journal of Culture and Mental Health|volume=9|issue=1|year=2015|pages=44–55|issn=1754-2863|doi=10.1080/17542863.2015.1106568 |s2cid=57728277| url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283805674 }}</ref> Their calm nature is thought to be of use to treat combative patients. The fat of the python is rubbed onto the body part that is in pain. To improve mental illnesses, it is often rubbed on the temple.{{Cn|date=May 2025}} The existence of evidence for genuine anti inflammatory and anti-microbial properties of the refined 'snake oil' is ironic with respect to the expression "snake oil salesman".<ref>{{Cite journal|pmid = 19051590|year = 2008|last1 = Falodun|first1 = A.|last2 = Owolabi|first2 = O. J.|last3 = Osahon|first3 = O.|title = Physicochemical, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory evaluation of fixed oil from Boa constrictor|journal = Acta Poloniae Pharmaceutica|volume = 65|issue = 4|pages = 477–480}}</ref>

==== Feces ====
The Sukuma tribe of [[Tanzania]] have been known to use python [[feces]] in order to treat back pain. The feces are frequently mixed with a little water, placed on the back, and left for two to three days.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Vats R, Thomas S | title = A study on use of animals as traditional medicine by Sukuma Tribe of Busega District in North-western Tanzania | journal = Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine | volume = 11 | issue = 1 | article-number = 38 | date = May 2015 | pmid = 25947365 | pmc = 4472419 | doi = 10.1186/s13002-015-0001-y | doi-access = free }}</ref>

==== Organs ====
In Nigeria, the [[gallbladder]] and [[liver]] of a python are used to treat poison or bites from other snakes.{{cn|date=May 2025}} The python head has been used to "appease witches". Many traditional African cultures believe that they can be cursed by witches. In order to reverse spells and bad luck, traditional doctors will prescribe python heads.{{Cn|date=May 2025}}

== Folklore ==
In northwestern [[Ghana]], people see pythons as a savior and have taboos to prevent the snake from being harmed or eaten. Their folklore states that this is because a python once helped them flee from their enemies by transforming into a log to allow them to cross a river.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Diawuo F, Issifu AK | title = Exploring the African traditional belief systems in natural resource conservation and management in Ghana. | journal = The Journal of Pan African Studies | date = December 2015 | volume = 8 | issue = 9 | pages = 115–31 | url = http://www.jpanafrican.org/docs/vol8no9/8.9-10-FDiawuo.pdf }}</ref>

In [[Botswana]], [[San people|San]] ritual practices surrounding pythons date back 70,000 years. In San mythology the python is a sacred creature that is highly respected.<ref>{{cite web | first = Yngve | last = Vogt | name-list-style = vanc | title = World's oldest ritual discovered. Worshipped the python 70,000 years ago |url= https://www.apollon.uio.no/english/articles/2006/python-english.html | work = Apollon  | publisher = University of Oslo |access-date=2019-03-14 }}</ref> They believe that mankind was made by a python that moved in between hills to create stream beds.

In [[Benin]], Vodun practitioners believe that pythons symbolize strength and the spirit of Dagbe ["to do good" in [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]]].&nbsp;Annually, people sacrifice animals and proclaim their sins to pythons that are kept inside temples.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-41048840|title=Has voodoo been misjudged?|last=Fihlani|first=Pumza|date=2017-09-01|access-date=2019-05-19|language=en-GB}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[List of pythonid species and subspecies]]
*[[Python (genus)|Python]]

== References ==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|32em}}

== External links ==
{{Wikispecies}}
{{Commons}}
* {{NRDB family|page=pythonidae.php|family=Pythonidae|date=3 November|year=2008}}


{{Pythonidae}}
{{Snake families}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q184018}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Pythonidae| ]]
[[Category:Snake families]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger]]
[[Category:Snakes]]