Diamond Python

The Diamond Python (Morelia spilota spilota) — Sydney's Iconic Native Python

If there is one snake that belongs to Sydney, it is the Diamond Python (Morelia spilota spilota). Found nowhere else in the world outside of New South Wales and a small part of eastern Victoria, the Diamond Python is the city's signature reptile — a stunning, large, completely harmless native python that has held onto its place in the urban landscape better than almost any other large native species. They are one of the few large reptiles you can genuinely encounter in a Sydney backyard, and for those of us who work with them, they are one of the most rewarding species in the Australian fauna.

At Sydney Snake Catcher we relocate more Diamond Pythons than any other species. In 2025 alone, we attended over 150 Diamond Python jobs across the Greater Sydney region — second only to the Red-bellied Black Snake in our call volume. Almost every one of those pythons was relocated calmly and safely, with no harm to the snake, the homeowner or anyone else. They are genuinely one of the easiest, most pleasant species to work with — and one of the most misunderstood by homeowners who find one on their roof or in their shed.

What is the Diamond Python?

The Diamond Python (Morelia spilota spilota) is a subspecies of carpet python endemic to coastal and adjacent eastern New South Wales and a small part of eastern Victoria. They are the southernmost-distributed python species in the world, adapted to cooler conditions than any of their tropical relatives, and one of the most beautiful snakes anywhere on the planet.

• Venom rating: Non-venomous and harmless to humans, although large pythons can still inflict serious bites if mishandled
• Total length: Up to 2,500mm (2.5 metres) typically, with larger individuals occasionally recorded
• Conservation status: IUCN Least Concern
• Urban Adaptation Rating: ★★★★★
• Activity: Most active in warmer months from September to February

How to identify a Diamond Python

The Diamond Python is one of the most distinctive snakes in the Sydney region:

• Large, heavily built python with smooth, glossy scales
• Dark olive to black base colour
• Yellow or cream spots on most dorsal scales
• Spots cluster into rosettes — pale-centred groupings of scales surrounded by dark — the species' signature feature
• Rosettes larger but fewer in southern populations
• More vibrant and densely patterned north of Gosford
• Intergrades with the Coastal Carpet Python (Morelia spilota mcdowelli) on the NSW Mid North Coast
• Triangular head clearly distinct from neck
• Heat-sensing pits along the upper and lower lip scales
• Long, prehensile tail used for climbing
• Slim, elegant body shape despite the size

The rosette pattern is the defining feature. No other snake in Australia has quite this combination of yellow rosettes on a dark background. Once you have seen a Diamond Python in good light, you will never confuse it with anything else.

Where do Diamond Pythons live?

Diamond Pythons are one of the few large native reptiles that have genuinely persisted in suburban Sydney. They occupy a wide range of habitats:

• Established suburban gardens with mature trees
• Roof cavities and ceiling spaces
• Sheds, garages and outbuildings
• Pergolas and verandahs
• Garden walls and rockeries
• Aviaries and chicken coops (a problem situation)
• Properties bordering bushland
• Leafy suburbs from the Upper North Shore through to the Northern Beaches, the Sutherland Shire, the Inner West and beyond

A property does not need to be on the bush edge to host Diamond Pythons. We regularly attend jobs in densely settled suburbs where the local python population has been quietly living in roof cavities and garden corners for years without the homeowners ever realising.

The roof cavity connection

One of the defining features of urban Diamond Pythons in Sydney is their use of roof cavities and ceiling spaces. The pattern is consistent across decades of observation:

• Pythons enter roof cavities through gaps in tiles, around vents and along soffits
• They use these warm, dry, protected spaces as winter brumation refuges
• A single roof can host the same python year after year
• They feed on the rats and possums that share the cavity
• Homeowners often have no idea until a python is seen entering or exiting

This habit is genuinely beneficial. A Diamond Python in your roof is the most effective rodent control system you can have — quiet, free, and ecologically appropriate. The downside is that the same python may also take roof-dwelling possums, which some homeowners value.

If you have a Diamond Python in your roof and you can tolerate its presence, the best thing to do is leave it alone. If you cannot tolerate it, a licensed reptile catcher can remove and relocate it — but be aware that an attractive roof will likely be recolonised by another python in due course.

Behaviour and the famous calm temperament

Diamond Pythons are one of the calmest, most placid snakes in Australia. We have relocated hundreds of them, and the typical experience is striking in how undramatic it is:

• The python is found curled up somewhere — a verandah corner, a shed, a chook pen, a roof cavity
• It is alert but unhurried
• It does not strike, does not hiss, does not display defensive behaviour
• It can usually be picked up by hand with minimal protest
• It coils gently around the catcher's arms but does not constrict
• It rides quietly in a bag back to the catcher's vehicle

This temperament is one of the reasons we recommend that homeowners who find a Diamond Python do not panic. Unlike many snakes, Diamond Pythons can often be allowed to move on of their own accord without any drama. They are simply not interested in confrontation.

The famous trick we sometimes recommend to homeowners is this: name the snake. Once a homeowner has called their resident python "Bruce" or "Stella" or "Diamond Jim," they tend to develop a relationship with the animal rather than a problem with it. The python's status shifts from "scary intruder" to "garden character," and the next time it appears, the response is curiosity rather than fear.

Diet and lifestyle

Diamond Pythons are constrictors. They have no venom and rely on overpowering and constricting their prey. Their diet shifts with age and circumstance:

Juveniles:

• Small lizards, particularly skinks
• Frogs
• Small rodents
• Small birds

Adults:

• Possums (a particular favourite — both ringtail and brushtail)
• Rats and mice
• Birds of various sizes
• Other small mammals

The taste for possums is one of the reasons Diamond Pythons do so well in suburban Sydney. A leafy suburb supporting a healthy possum population is essentially a Diamond Python buffet. We regularly find pythons with enormous food bulges from a recent possum meal — sometimes the meal is so large the snake cannot move properly and needs to be left to digest.

The famous "possum food coma" is one of the more reliable ways to encounter a Diamond Python. After a large meal, the snake will retreat to a quiet basking spot and remain there, almost immobile, for days or even weeks while the meal digests. Many of our call-outs are to homeowners who have found a python in this state and assumed something is wrong with it. Nothing is wrong — it has just eaten a possum.

Are Diamond Pythons dangerous?

For humans, no. Diamond Pythons are non-venomous, and the calm temperament means bites are extraordinarily rare. We have never had a serious human injury from a Diamond Python relocation in over thirty years of doing this work.

That said, a few caveats are worth noting:

• A large Diamond Python (over two metres) has a serious bite, with long, recurved teeth. A defensive bite from a large python — usually only happening if the snake is grabbed or trapped — can cause significant tearing injuries that may need medical attention.
• Diamond Python bites are not venomous but can become infected from oral bacteria.
• A python in defensive coils can constrict around an arm or leg. While they cannot suffocate an adult human, the experience can be alarming and the snake may need to be carefully unwound.

For pets, the picture is more nuanced:

• Cats are rarely taken by Diamond Pythons in suburban settings, but it does happen
• Small dogs can be at risk if a python is hungry and the dog is small enough — fortunately rare
• Chickens, ducks and pet birds are very much at risk. A Diamond Python that finds an unsecured chicken coop will eat its way through it
• Aviary birds are at risk for the same reason

The straightforward rule: respect Diamond Pythons, do not handle them, secure your livestock and small pet animals, and you will have no problems with them.

Breeding and reproduction

Diamond Pythons have one of the most interesting reproductive cycles among Australian snakes:

• Mating: Spring, with males travelling significant distances in search of females
• Male competition: Multiple males often gather around a receptive female, with intense competition through wrestling and pushing
• Clutch size: 15 to 30 eggs typically, with larger females producing more eggs
• Egg laying: Early to mid summer
• Maternal incubation: Females coil their bodies tightly around the eggs and maintain the clutch's temperature by muscular shivering — a remarkable adaptation
• Incubation period: Approximately two months
• Maternal investment: The female does not feed during incubation and can lose up to 50% of her body weight
• Hatching: Late summer to early autumn
• Hatchling independence: Fully independent at hatching, with no further maternal care

The maternal incubation behaviour is one of the most striking features of the species. Diamond Pythons are one of the very few snakes in the world that actively warm their eggs through their own body heat. The female maintains the clutch at approximately 30°C through controlled muscle contractions, allowing the eggs to develop reliably even in the cooler conditions of southeastern Australia.

What to do if you find a Diamond Python at your home

Stop, take a breath and recognise that you have found one of Sydney's most beautiful native animals.

Practical steps:

• Keep your distance. Three metres is plenty.
• Photograph it from a safe distance if you want to confirm identification.
• Keep pets and small children away from the area.
• Watch where the snake goes. Most encounters resolve themselves within minutes as the snake moves on.
• If the snake is in a problem location — in a chicken coop, in a roof cavity you cannot tolerate, in an enclosed building — call a licensed reptile catcher.
• If the snake is just passing through your garden, let it go. It will not stay.

What you should not do:

• Do not kill it. Diamond Pythons are protected native wildlife.
• Do not handle it. Even with their calm temperament, a defensive bite from a large python can cause significant injury.
• Do not corner it. A cornered python will defend itself.
• Do not assume it is a venomous snake. The rosette pattern is unmistakable.
• Do not try to relocate it yourself. Apart from the legal issues (relocation requires a licence), Diamond Pythons released in unfamiliar territory often do not survive.

The Diamond Python as a partner, not a problem

We end by making a case that many readers may not expect from a snake catcher: try, if you can, to live alongside your Diamond Python rather than removing it.

A Diamond Python in your garden:

• Controls rats and mice better than any commercial product
• Causes no harm to humans or properly-secured pets
• Is one of Australia's most beautiful animals
• Is genuinely rare and increasingly threatened in much of its range
• Contributes to the ecological health of your local area
• Will likely be the same individual year after year — a long-term resident, not a transient visitor

Properties with resident Diamond Pythons are often the same properties with the most thriving native wildlife generally. Their presence is a sign that your garden is doing something right. We routinely encourage homeowners to think of their python not as a problem to be solved but as a partner in keeping the local ecology in balance.

That said, if removal is genuinely needed — a python in an aviary, a chicken coop being raided, a snake in a building where it cannot be safely tolerated — we are here. Sydney Snake Catcher relocates Diamond Pythons routinely, professionally and humanely. Every Diamond Python we handle is released into suitable habitat away from the property of concern.

Summary

The Diamond Python (Morelia spilota spilota) is Sydney's signature snake — a large, beautiful, non-venomous native python found nowhere else in the world outside of New South Wales and eastern Victoria. They are present across all five distribution zones of the Greater Sydney region, and they have adapted to suburban life better than almost any other large native reptile. Calm, charismatic and genuinely beneficial, they are one of the species that makes Sydney's wildlife distinctive. If you find one in your garden or your roof, the best response is calm appreciation rather than panic — and if you genuinely need it moved, a licensed reptile catcher can do it without harm to you, the snake or anyone else.

Found a Diamond Python or another snake at your home? Sydney Snake Catcher operates 24/7 across the Greater Sydney region. We are fully licensed and insured, and we relocate Diamond Pythons and all other native reptiles humanely. Call 1300 599 938.