Description:
Scientific name: Morelia carinata
Life span:
The rough-scaled python can reach a maximum length of about 2 m (6.6 ft). It features a neck region constriction and a head with a triangular form. Large parietal scales and distinctively keeled dorsal scales set M. carinata apart from other species. The body is lean and athletic. The color pattern is either dark brown with light brown blotches or light honey-tan with darker reddish-brown patterns. The pattern appears to be reversed as the blotches get bigger towards the tail. The belly is white and may have black patches on it. It is believed that the marks help with camouflage. The snake can climb on sandstone and into crevices with the help of its wrinkled to corrugated scales.
Native Region/Habitat
They can be spotted climbing on low trees and bushes of monsoon rainforest in the rocky valleys of the Kimberley region of far-northern Western Australia. One of the narrowest distributions of any snake species belongs to this one. They can be found in the Kimberley region’s Charnley River-Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary.
Behavior:
They are reportedly strictly crepuscular at this time. Their behavior is quite gentle, and they hardly ever try to bite.
Care As a pet/In captivity:
Due to the fact that they reproduced easily in captivity and were bred from a small number of wild specimens, they are now available to private owners. They adapt well to captivity and are well-liked by pet owners as energetic and nimble animals.
- The species will consume rodents and mice in captivity. One specimen that was found in the wild regurgitated a small native rock rat as its final meal; other than this observation, nothing more is known about the diet of this individual.
- • Because there are so few rough-scaled pythons in captivity, which are arboreal snakes that can grow to great sizes, the enclosure must be big enough to give the snakes horizontal logs to bask on, as well as different hiding places and a heat gradient. A mature Rough-scaled Python could live in a terrarium that measures 900x60x120cm (WxDxH), and for a pair of mature Rough-scaled Pythons, an enclosure measuring 120x60x120cm would be ideal.
- A heat tile, mat, or cord can be used to provide heating to keep the hot spot’s ground surface temperature at 32°C. On warmer days, you might not need to turn on the heat globe because the ambient temperature of the enclosure may already be high enough. Ambient heat can be delivered with an infrared heat globe to maintain a daytime temperature of 36°C in the warm end and 25°C in the cool end.
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