Now taking custom project enquiriesTell us about your oddball →
Species Atlas

PythonsSpecialist keepers

Scrub python

Simalia kinghorni · also Amethystine python, Australian scrub python

Australia's longest snake can top 5.5 m and shimmers like an amethyst in the sun.

Size
Commonly 3 to 5 m; verified records up to about 5.6 m
Diet
Mammals and birds, including rats, possums, flying-foxes, bandicoots and wallabies
Active
Mostly nocturnal; climbs well
Home
Rainforest, vine scrub and nearby woodland, sometimes suburbs
Status
Least Concern (IUCN); not EPBC listed

Meet the Scrub python

The scrub python is Australia's longest snake, and one of the world's largest snakes that regularly climbs trees. In good light its scales flash an oily purple-blue, which earned it the name amethystine python.

It hunts at night in the rainforests and scrubs of north-east Queensland, taking prey as large as wallabies, and it has been recorded eating a 10 kg wallaby. Females lay eggs and coil around them until they hatch.

Claims of 7 to 8.5 m scrub pythons appear in older books but cannot be verified. Reliable measurements reach about 5.65 m for a female and 5.33 m for a male.

It was first described in 1933 by Olive Griffith Stull as a subspecies of the New Guinea amethystine python and named after Australian Museum herpetologist James Roy Kinghorn. It was raised to full species status in 1984 and moved to the genus Simalia in 2014.

Where it lives

North-eastern Queensland, from the tip of Cape York Peninsula south through the coastal rainforests and Atherton Tableland to around the Burdekin River south of Townsville.

Its place in Australian culture

Australian story

Scrub pythons regularly make the news in Far North Queensland: in 2018 one in Kuranda needed surgery after swallowing a child's stuffed toy cow, and in 2017 police stopped traffic for a roughly 5 m python on a road at Wujal Wujal.

Fun facts

  1. It is Australia's longest snake.
  2. Its scales shimmer purple like an amethyst.
  3. It can eat wallabies weighing around 10 kg.
  4. Stories of 8 m-plus scrub pythons have never been verified.
Specialist keepers

Can you keep one?

Kept only by experienced keepers under some state licences because of its huge size and lively temperament; check your state wildlife authority.

Planning a home for one? We hand-build custom backdrops, hides and ledges for Australian species.

Plan a habitat

For fans of the Scrub python

Cogger, Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia

Serious naturalists

The authoritative reference on Australia's largest snakes.

See options on Amazon AU

Questions people ask

What is the biggest snake in Australia?

The scrub (amethystine) python is Australia's longest snake, with verified records of about 5.6 m.

Is the scrub python dangerous?

It is non-venomous, but large individuals are powerful and can give a serious bite, so they should be left alone.

Where do scrub pythons live?

In the rainforests and scrubs of north-east Queensland, from Cape York south to around Townsville.

Meet more natives

Wild onlyOenpelli pythonSimalia oenpelliensisSpecialist keepersOlive pythonLiasis olivaceusSpecialist keepersWoma pythonAspidites ramsayiSpecialist keepersBlack-headed pythonAspidites melanocephalus

Browse all 32 species

General information for Australian keepers, not veterinary advice. As an Amazon Associate, Oddball Animal Works earns from qualifying purchases. It never changes your price. About our links

Tell us about your oddball →