Morelia spilota, commonly known as the carpet python, is a large snake of the family Pythonidae found in Australia, New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea), Bismarck Archipelago, and the northern Solomon Islands. Many subspecies are recognised; ITIS lists six, the Reptile Database six, M. s. variegata is the smallest subspecies, typically in length. The average adult length is roughly . However, one 3-year-old captive male M. s. mcdowelli, measured in Ireland, was found to exceed . Males are typically smaller than females; in some regions, females are up to four times heavier. This type of maternal care, which is typical for pythons, ceases once the hatchlings have emerged.
Behaviour
Differences in activity are noted throughout various subspecies; as a whole, the species is generally active during both daytime and nighttime, Carpet pythons favor arboreal living conditions, although they can also be found on the ground, and they commonly use open spaces to bask. This is indicative of shifts in snake behaviour or movement across the year, with snakes likely moving out of natural forest areas in the later dry season to the more productive suburban areas in search of prey or mates.
Diet
Carpet pythons kill prey by constriction. Their diet consists mainly of small mammals, birds, and lizards. Incidents of carpet pythons devouring domestic cats and small dogs have been reported.
Distribution and habitat
The species is found throughout mainland Australia, with the exception of the arid centre and the western regions. It is widely distributed throughout the forest regions of Southwest Australia. It is also found in Indonesia (southern Western New Guinea in Merauke Regency), Papua New Guinea (southern Western Province, the Port Moresby area of Central Province), and on Yule Island. The type locality given is "Nouvelle-Hollande" [Australia]. The subspecies M. s. imbricata is regarded as near threatened in Western Australia, due to loss of habitat. The subspecies M. s. spilota, the cold-weather diamond python, has some separate requirements and habits. As medium to large snakes, carpet pythons need a proportionately sized enclosure that allows for climbing as well as crawling around on the ground. They generally require moderately high basking temperature and moderate humidity. Captive specimens are normally fed live or frozen (defrosted to room temperature) rats or mice, but it is considered best practice to offer a varied diet which includes other types of rodents and birds to create more balanced nutrition. Young carpet pythons can be fed every 1–2 weeks, but adults have slower metabolisms and should be fed every 2–4 weeks depending on body condition.
With good care, the carpet python is capable of living up to 30 years.
Subspecies
The geographic distribution and common names can be summarised as the following: The attempted arrangement of taxa in this, and other, Australasian Pythonidae has produced numerous synonyms. The discreet and roaming habits of this species have produced a low number of recorded specimens, giving inadequate sample numbers to support descriptions of a taxon's morphology. despite being unaccepted or invalid. Common names are regional variants of carpet and diamond python or snake.
The following is an incomplete list of synonyms: