Olive python

Liasis olivaceus

Olive pythons are BIG snakes - regularly reaching the three-metre mark, with rare individuals attaining lengths of up to four metres. We would not recommend it as a first snake due to the combination of large size and agressive, and sometimes borderline psychopathic, feeding response. But for the experienced and capable keeper who can work around these tendencies, this is a very attractive species that shows a lot of character. But make no mistake - this is a species with one thing on its mind every time its enclosure is opened: food! Olives need to be awakened with care, and the use of a snake hook to initiate handling is recommended. Once the python realizes that the keeper isn't on the menu, it can be quite amenable to handling, and makes an inquisitive and well-adjusted pet.

Snake Ranch co-founder Gavin Bedford was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to work with the first and only known wild-caught albino olive python shortly after it was discovered in a Darwin suburb. As with normal-coloured olives, the albinos are a straightforward proposition - so long as the large size and a potentially aggressive feeding response is adequately taken into account.
 

albino olive python approx two years old

 

representative image of albino olive python hatchling