Florida Burmese python lays 96 eggs in abandoned concrete pipe nest

Researchers in Florida have documented rare egg-laying and hatching events in a wild Burmese python, revealing new details about how the invasive snakes reproduce and survive in human-altered environments. The female laid 96 eggs inside an abandoned concrete pipe in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, producing 83 hatchlings, making it the largest verified Burmese python clutch recorded at the time of the study.

According to the study published in Ecosphere, titled ‘Wild Burmese python nest site selection, thermogenesis, and brooding behaviours in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem’, the research documented the snake's nesting behaviour, including how it generated heat by shivering while protecting its eggs, offering a rare account of the species' reproduction in the wild.Why did the python choose a concrete pipe to nestThe researchers were tracking wild Burmese pythons in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem as part of ongoing investigations into invasive reptiles. On 28 January 2022, they captured an adult female python weighing 73.6kg and measuring 442cm in snout-to-vent length.