This snake is the largest species of python living today. Some people believe that the giant South American water boa, known as the anaconda may grow larger or heavier, but the longest snakes that are found in the wild or that are living in a zoo today are reticulated pythons.
Reticulated python hatch from eggs. Very large females may lay over 100 eggs at a time. The eggs are white and have a soft, leathery shell. Female pythons wrap their powerful bodies around their eggs until they are ready to hatch. This behavior is known as brooding and it prevents the eggs from getting too warm or too cool. The eggs need to remain close to 89 degrees Fahrenheit during the incubation period, which lasts about eighty-five days. The young pythons emerge by cutting a slit in the eggshell with their egg tooth.