Morelia carinata

Avg. Length: 2 (m)

Temp: 28-35°C under the heat source

Min. Cage Size: 1200L x 600W x 600H (mm)

Feeding: 1 rat every 7 days

Experience: Intermediate

Only recently available at an affordable price, Rough-scaled Pythons, or ‘Roughies’, have become a very popular choice for hobbyists seeking a medium-sized species. There are a number of features and characteristics make Roughies so special.

In addition to having keeled scales – which no other python species has, Roughies have forward-directed eyes, presumably to allow binocular vision when looking at aspects of the environment, their food – or, seemingly with almost ‘goofy’ confused interest, at their keeper. The Rough-scaled Python is remarkably similar to the Green Tree Python, with which it shares a very close kinship as evidenced by recent molecular studies of the Australian pythons. These 2 species are the most arboreal species of pythons, meaning that they prefer to spend most of their time off the ground in branches, meaning that in captivity you are able to create in may ways a more interesting enclosure for them to look at.

Roughies are among the easiest python species to maintain successfully, and breed very readily so becoming one of the most popular of the medium-sized python species in the hobby.

Photo courtesy of Jasmine Vink

adult rough-scaled python

representative image of hatchling