Python Q&A series asks: How long and how heavy can this menacing snake get?

Mark H. Bickel, Naples Daily News
·1 min read

Note to readers: The Naples Daily News and the News-Press have partnered with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida for a series of Burmese Python Q&As that we will publish throughout 2024. Ian Bartoszek, the Conservancy's Environmental Science Coordinator, is our go-to expert to help us understand these massive beasts better.

Q. Why are some Burmese pythons longer or heavier than others?

BARTOSZEK: Pythons grow based on the amount of prey they consume. Generally female pythons grow to larger size than males.

Conservancy biologists have captured the heaviest female python to date in Florida that measured approximately 18 feet in length and weighed 215 pounds.

The team also captured the largest male python on record that measured 16 feet and weighed 140 pounds.

Massive beast moving northward: Invasive pythons in Florida: Just how far can these snakes slither up north?

Jake Waleri, right, and Stephen Gauta transport a record 19 foot Burmese python, Wednesday, July 12, 2023 caught in the Big Cypress National Preserve on July 10, 2023. Waleri, who is an amateur hunter and several friends caught the large snake. They brought it to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida to have it officially documented.
Jake Waleri, right, and Stephen Gauta transport a record 19 foot Burmese python, Wednesday, July 12, 2023 caught in the Big Cypress National Preserve on July 10, 2023. Waleri, who is an amateur hunter and several friends caught the large snake. They brought it to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida to have it officially documented.

Have a python question for Ian?

What question do you have about pythons in Southwest Florida? Email mbickel@gannett.com and we will put your question in front of Ian Bartoszek.

More Burmese python coverage

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: How big can a pythons in Florida get?