Species Fact Profile: Boelen's Python (Simalia boeleni)

                                                            Boelen's Python                                                                                                                    Simalia (Morelia) boeleni (Brongersma, 1953)

Range: New Guinea (both Indonesian New Guinea and Papua New Guinea)

Habitat:  Montane Rainforests, up to 2000 meters

Diet: Small Mammals, Ground-Nesting Birds, Lizards

Social Grouping: Solitary

Reproduction: Females lay up to 14 eggs per clutch, which hatch after 70 days.  Little known about reproduction in wild.  Successful captive breeding has involved brumation (lowered temperatures) for a few months to stimulate winter conditions, slowly increasing temperature, and then introducing the pair.  No parental care from either parent

Lifespan: 15-20 Years

      Conservation Status: IUCN Data Deficient, CITES Appendix II

•       Total length up to 3 meters (unconfirmed up to 4.2 meters), with a stocky body and large head and a blunt snout
•       Dorsal color is a dark blue or purple, almost black, very iridescent.  Underside is a pale yellow or white, extending into the darker upper portion in a series of streaks.  The lips are likewise patterned with the lighter color.  Juveniles are more reddish, darkening with age (adult coloration coming in at about 2 years of age)
•       Primarily ground-dwelling and found on forest floor, but can climb trees
•       Very poorly studied in the wild, and not often encountered in the pet trade.  Can be very delicate, recommended only for most advanced keepers.  Not generally aggressive, but have a reputation for being highly inquisitive
•       Native legend tells that the Boelen's python was originally a feathered war god, who fled from a battle and lost his feathers in the process, until only the snake underneath remained
•       Named to honor Dr. K.W.J. Boelen, who collected the first specimen for science