Woma Python

A. ramsayi

Last updated: March 16, 2023
Verified by: AZ Animals Staff
ยฉ reptiles4all/Shutterstock.com

Woma pythons often prey on venomous snakes and are immune to some venoms.

Woma Python Scientific Classification

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Reptilia
Order
Squamata
Family
Pythonidae
Genus
Aspidites
Scientific Name
A. ramsayi

Read our Complete Guide to Classification of Animals.

Woma Python Conservation Status

Woma Python Locations

Woma Python Locations

Woma Python Facts

Prey
Lizards, birds, rodents, snakes
Name Of Young
Hatchlings
Group Behavior
  • Solitary except during mating season
Fun Fact
Woma pythons often prey on venomous snakes and are immune to some venoms.
Most Distinctive Feature
Orange head with dark markings over their eyes.
Other Name(s)
Ramsay's python, sand python, the woma
Gestation Period
2-3 months
Litter Size
5-20 eggs per clutch
Lifestyle
  • Diurnal
  • or Nocturnal Depending on Region and Season
Location
Central and Western Australia

Woma Python Physical Characteristics

Color
  • Brown
  • Yellow
  • Black
  • Orange
Skin Type
Scales
Lifespan
~ 20 years
Weight
2-11 pounds
Length
4.5-7 feet long, and up to 8.5
Age of Sexual Maturity
2-3 years
Venomous
No
Aggression
Low

This post may contain affiliate links to our partners like Chewy, Amazon, and others. Purchasing through these helps us further the A-Z Animals mission to educate about the world's species.

View all of the Woma Python images!



Woma pythons are effective hunters that are just as good at squishing their prey as they are constricting it.

Also known as Ramsayโ€™s python, the woma is a nonvenomous constrictor that used to be common throughout western Australia; however, it is endangered in some areas and the subject of reintroduction attempts.

Amazing Facts About Woma Pythons

ยฉA-Z-Animals.com

61,854 People Couldn't Ace This Quiz

Think You Can?

Where to Find Them

Woma pythons tend to prefer desert and semi-arid habitats and are often found in sandy areas. They also occur in grassland, acacia and eucalyptus woodlands, and other non-sandy areas. The general habitat type doesnโ€™t seem as crucial to their survival as having appropriate shelter.

During the day, they take shelter in rock crevices, hollow logs, animal burrows, and under thick vegetation. Woma pythonsโ€™ activity levels are dependent on the outside temperatures. During the summer heat, they are active at night (nocturnal), and during the winter, they are diurnal.

While this species is generally terrestrial and sometimes fossorial, itโ€™s also opportunistic and will climb trees, hunt in burrows, and take whatever prey it can. The womaโ€™s diet is varied; they feed equally on mammals and reptiles, with birds and eggs thrown into the mix.



Hunting for this snake sometimes adds new scars. Itโ€™s primarily nocturnal and catches at least some of its prey in burrows. It doesnโ€™t just bite and constrict; however, some of these burrows are too small for the woma to wrap multiple coils around its prey. So, it uses a loop of its body to pin its prey against the side of the burrow. This method, while effective, doesnโ€™t kill as quickly as constriction. Adult snakes are usually covered in scars because the prey goes down fighting.

cinnamon python
During the summer heat, woma pythons are active at night (nocturnal), and during the winter, they are diurnal.

ยฉfivespots/Shutterstock.com

Reproduction

This speciesโ€™ mating season occurs from May to August in the wild. A female lays anywhere from 5-20 three-inch long eggs and stays coiled around them for the next two to three months, protecting and incubating her eggs until they hatch. She shivers to create a little more heat if the temperature drops too far. After the babies hatch, theyโ€™re on their own. At hatching, woma pythons average 12 inches long; they are voracious eaters able to take their first bit of prey within a couple of days after hatching.

Scientific Name

Their scientific name is Aspidites ramsayi; Aspidites originates in Greek and means โ€œshield-bearer,โ€ after the symmetrically-shaped large scales on their head. William John Macleay named the snake named in honor of Edward Pierson Ramsay, an Australian zoologist, and ornithologist. This species goes by a few names: Ramsayโ€™s sand python, sand python, or the woma.

There are only two species within the genus Aspidites, the other is the black-headed python. This genus is endemic to Australia, and the snakesโ€™ ranges overlap a little bit.

woma python
Woma pythons are docile and easy to handle.

ยฉreptiles4all/Shutterstock.com

History and Evolution

What makes the Woma Python different from other pythons is that it lacks heat-sensing pits like other pythons. Scientists believe that this may not have evolved due to most of their historical hunting being executed in underground burrows. They do, however, have the vomeronasal organ that does help them smell their prey.

While they are normally considered burrowing snakes, there is some evidence that they spend more time tree-dwelling than researchers previously believed. They are known to feed and prey upon other snakes. This is due to them being resistant to other snakesโ€™ venom.

Population and Conservation Status

The IUCN Redlist of Endangered Species lists the woma as โ€œleast concernโ€ because it has an extensive range. It also doesnโ€™t appear to be declining fast enough, on the whole, for them to include the snake in a higher threat category. However, this isnโ€™t a complete picture, as it is endangered in some areas. Because of this, itโ€™s listed on Schedule 4 (Specially Protected Fauna) of the Western Australian Wildlife Conservation Act.

The Department of Environment and Heritage is working to mitigate the threats posed by invasive species, habitat degradation, and illegal pet trade collection. However, the mulga, a highly venomous brown snake species, eats the young pythons before they mature enough to breed. Other threats include attempts to control invasive rabbits by destroying ground burrows. Animals that rely on these burrows for shelter are most likely affected by the burrowsโ€™ destruction.

Appearance and Description

The woma is slender for a python and can reach seven feet long; on occasion, an outlier manages eight feet, but thatโ€™s not the norm. Like most pythons, they move slowly forward in a straight line instead of the elegant movement other species exhibit. Itโ€™s called rectilinear progression, and it isnโ€™t the fastest mode of transportation โ€“ they only move at about one mile per hour. Itโ€™s pretty cool, but this snake adds one neat feature to their locomotion over hot surfaces: it lifts its body off the ground and reaches forward as far as possible before pushing off the ground again. This method allows it to keep most of its body off the ground and only a few inches touching the ground at a given moment.

This snake often has an orange head with dark markings over its eyes that look sort of like eyebrows. Instead of heat-sensing pits on its lip scales, it has a similar organ at the tip of its snout, right at the opening of its mouth. The woma has a narrow head and small eyes, with a somewhat flattish body and thin tail that it uses as a lure for prey. Its scales are smooth and glossy with a creamy yellow belly, while its body is yellow, reddish, gray, or olive-brown with dark brown to black bands down the length of its body.

Woma python on log
The woma has dark spots that look like eyebrows.

ยฉiStock.com/Ken Griffiths

Video

How Dangerous are They?

Woma pythons arenโ€™t dangerous and, thanks to their docile nature, are popular pet snakes, with many available from breeders. They donโ€™t attack people, and would rather be left alone. Captive-bred pet snakes are easy to handle and often seem to enjoy some attention. If you corner one, it will hiss and try to intimidate you, but it isnโ€™t likely to bite. They eat a variety of small animals that, if left unchecked, would overrun the environment โ€“ snakes are natureโ€™s rodent control, after all!

woma python on white background
Woma pythons make great pets since they donโ€™t attack people.

ยฉiStock.com/GlobalP

Behavior and Humans

These snakes sometimes dig their burrows, and wild populations frequently use self-dug burrows or enlarge an existing one left behind by another animal. They are pretty resilient, and surface vegetation changes donโ€™t affect them much; however, some agricultural activities and grazing animals may destroy some of the burrows they depend on.

The womaโ€™s narrow pointy head is different than most pythons. Its shape is similar to that of the brown snake, so people sometimes mistake them for that highly venomous snake. As a result, theyโ€™re sometimes killed out of fear because of the brown snake, but this harmless python is great to have around.

View all 104 animals that start with W

About the Author

Heather Ross is a secondary English teacher and mother of 2 humans, 2 tuxedo cats, and a golden doodle. In between taking the kids to soccer practice and grading papers, she enjoys reading and writing about all the animals!

Woma Python FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)ย 

Where do woma pythons live?

Womas are endemic to Australia, and cover the central 2/3s of the continent, extending to the northwest coast; with a population on the southwest coast.

What do Womas eat?

These pythons eat mammals, reptiles, and birds. Theyโ€™re generalist carnivores that will eat anything they can overpower and swallow.

How do Womas hunt?

Theyโ€™re ambush predators that use their tails to lure prey to them.

Are woma pythons dangerous?

No! While a large snake could be difficult to handle, they only grow to about 7 feet, arenโ€™t venomous, and are very docile.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us? Contact the AZ Animals editorial team.

Sources
  1. Woma Python | San Diego Zoo, Available here: https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/woma-python
  2. IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species, Available here: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/2176/83765377
  3. Woma | Department of Environment and Heritage, Available here: https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/savingourspeciesapp/project.aspx?ProfileID=10069

Newly Added Animals

A Diminutive Woodrat
Diminutive Woodrat

The presence of a Nelsonia tail in a tree indicates that these woodrats may be arboreal at times.

A Kamehameha Butterfly
Kamehameha Butterfly

State insect of Hawaii

A Jack Crevalle
Jack Crevalle

One of the biggest species in the Caranx genus

Most Recently Updated Animals

A White Shark
White Shark

White Sharks live in all of the world's oceans.

A Labraheeler
Labraheeler

These dogs have medium-sized pendant ears.

A Giant Schnoodle
Giant Schnoodle

Both parents of the Giant Schnoodle are hypoallergenic, making this one of the Doodle breeds that's safest for dander-sensitive owners.

Latest Animal Quizzes