reptile
Woma Python
Aspidites ramsayi
The woma python belongs to genus Aspidites, a small group of only two Australian python species that stands apart from every other commonly kept python or boa in one very specific way: it has no heat-sensing labial pits along the jaw at all. Ball pythons, carpet pythons, and boas all hunt partly by detecting the infrared heat of nearby prey through pits lining the mouth; a woma has none, and instead relies on a striking, unusual hunting behavior in which it presses coils against the walls of a rodent burrow and uses body movement to pin and flush prey toward its head in the confined tunnel space, sometimes described as 'burrow constriction.' That pitless jaw also gives the woma a visibly smoother, more rounded head profile than the more triangular, pit-lined heads of infrared-hunting pythons, and it's often the single easiest field mark a keeper can use to identify one at a glance. In the wild this is a nocturnal, largely fossorial desert specialist that spends the heat of the day in burrows (often ones dug by other animals rather than its own) and is active on the surface after dark, particularly following rain, which is also when the desert's rodent and small-reptile prey are most active.
20-30 years in captivity with correct husbandry, on par with other mid-sized pythons
4-6ft (120-180cm) as a typical adult, with some females pushing toward 7ft; a comparatively heavy-bodied python for its length
Arid and semi-arid desert, spinifex grassland, and sandy scrub across inland Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and South Australia
Husbandry
- A 36x18in (91x46cm) enclosure suits a young adult, moving up to roughly 48x24in for a large adult female; floor space matters far more than height for this heavy-bodied, ground-dwelling burrower, which has no real interest in climbing
- Source: Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians (ARAV) husbandry guidance (checked 2026-04-18)
- Basking surface 88-92Ā°F (31-33Ā°C), cool end 75-80Ā°F (24-27Ā°C), with a nighttime drop into the low 70sĀ°F reflecting the real temperature swing of an inland Australian desert night
- Source: ARAV husbandry guidance (checked 2026-04-18)
- A dry ambient humidity of roughly 30-40% suits this desert species day to day; a humid hide offered during shedding brings localized moisture up without raising overall enclosure humidity, which this species does not need and does poorly with long-term
- Source: ARAV husbandry guidance (checked 2026-04-18)
- Appropriately sized rodents by girth, offered roughly every 1-2 weeks for an adult and weekly for a growing juvenile; this species' burrow-hunting strategy means it often takes prey with a distinctive pinning, coiling strike rather than the more open ambush-strike style seen in surface-hunting snakes
- Source: Merck Veterinary Manual ā Reptile Nutrition (checked 2026-04-18)
- Solitary ā pythons do not benefit from cohabitation and co-housing raises real risk of stress, competitive feeding injuries, and disease transmission between individuals
- Source: ARAV husbandry guidance (checked 2026-04-18)
- A deep layer of a burrowing-friendly substrate such as aspen shavings or a sand-soil blend that holds a tunnel shape lets this species express its strong natural digging drive, which is a far more central part of woma behavior than it is for most other commonly kept pythons
- Source: ARAV husbandry guidance (checked 2026-04-18)
Honest disagreement among sources
Current best practice: A woma spending most daylight hours buried or hidden, with activity concentrated after dark or around feeding, is normal fossorial behavior for this species rather than a sign of stress, and enclosures should be furnished with enough substrate depth and hide options to let that behavior happen undisturbed
Noted disagreement: Keepers coming from more visibly active display pythons like the carpet or ball python sometimes read a woma's low daytime visibility as illness or poor husbandry and increase handling or disturbance trying to 'fix' it, which is more likely to stress the snake than help it
Myth flagged: Because this species lacks heat-sensing pits, it is sometimes assumed to be less capable of accurately striking prey than a pit-bearing python ā in practice, its burrow-constriction hunting strategy is a genuine, effective adaptation to a different hunting environment, not a deficiency
Handling
Womas have a widely reported reputation among Australian-python keepers as calm and generally head-shy, meaning most individuals tend to tuck the head inward and present the body when initially approached rather than striking outward the way a more defensive snake might. That head-shy tendency also means a woma handled incorrectly, or grabbed near the head unexpectedly, is more likely to react defensively than a more habituated species, so supporting the body fully and letting the snake move at its own pace matters more here than a keeper coming from a bolder display species might expect. Regular, calm, low-pressure handling from a young age tends to produce a confidently tolerant adult, and because this species does not rely on infrared pit-sensing to track a moving hand near its face, it reads a keeper's approach primarily through vision and vibration rather than heat signature, which many keepers find changes how the snake reacts to handling compared with a pit-bearing python.
Signs of good health
- A smooth, rounded head with no swelling, and no crusting or bubbling around the nares
- Regular, even feeding response roughly on the expected schedule for the animal's age and size
- A single, complete shed rather than retained patches, particularly around the eye caps and tail tip
- Active burrowing and exploratory movement in the substrate after dark, even if daytime visibility stays low
- A body with even muscle tone and no unusual thinness along the spine or ribs when gently handled
Common problems
14 common reptile problems are tracked for this species; 0 have full guides published so far.
Recommended gear for this taxon
Equipment categories that are genuinely correct for this species' welfare needs ā see the full Gear Guide for the complete list.
Digital infrared temperature gun
Measures actual basking SURFACE temperature, not just ambient air ā a stick-on dial thermometer reads air temp, which is a poor proxy for the surface temp that drives digestion and thermoregulation.
Proportional (not on/off) thermostat
Holds a heat source at a stable target temperature rather than the wider swings an on/off thermostat allows ā meaningfully reduces both overheating and cold-snap risk.
T5 HO UVB tube + reflector fixture
T5 HO output is more consistent across the basking area than compact/coil UVB bulbs, and a reflector fixture roughly doubles usable UVB output from the same bulb ā match the % output to your species' sourced requirement and replace every 6-12 months regardless of visible light output.
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This is general educational care information, not veterinary diagnosis. For a sick or injured animal, see a qualified exotic-animal vet promptly ā especially for anything acute (not eating combined with lethargy, breathing changes, bleeding, or any sudden behavior change). Nothing on this page substitutes for an in-person exam.