Height/weight/ size

The family Pythonidae contains some of the largest snakes snakes in the world, according to Sara Viernum, Wisconsin-based founder of The Wandering Herpetologist. “Most pythons are large snakes … such as the reticulated python (Python reticulatus), which can grow over 30 feet [9 meters] in length,” she said. “There are also small species of pythons such as the anthill python (Antaresia perthensis), which only grows up to 24 inches [61 centimeters] in length and is considered the smallest python species in the world.”

The coloration and size of different species of python vary widely. Depending on their local habitats and need for camouflage, coloring can range from elaborately patterned scales (such as those on the Burmese python, the ball python and many other species) to solid brown (leiopythons) to bright green (the green tree python), but scientists note some more subtle physical commonalities.

How they breath

Snakes have nostrils, just like humans, and they breathe through them and use them to smell. However, their best sense of smell comes from using their tongue, and they can also breathe through their mouths, like humans, by using their glottis.

The glottis is the opening in the bottom of a snake's mouth that is kept closed except when inhaling. It is connected to the trachea, or windpipe, which lets the air that is inhaled fill its lungs.

The glottis is extremely helpful, because when a snake is eating, it can move its glottis off to the side so that its prey does not prevent it from opening and allows the snake to still breath while it is eating. It's like chewing with your mouth open --- it's bad manners for people, but not for snakes!

A small piece of cartilage inside the glottis vibrates when the snake forcefully breathes out, and this is what makes the characteristic hiss that most people think of when they think of snakes. It's not the snake's tongue at all!

Where they live

Pythons are nonvenomous snakes found in Asia, Africa and Australia. Because they are not native to North or South America, they are considered Old World snakes.