easily adjust to living near humans. Handling Although pythons are typically afraid of people due to their great stature, and generally avoid them, special care is still required when handling them. Given their adult strength, multiple handlers (up to one person per meter of snake) are usually recommended. Some jurisdictions require owners to hold special licenses, and as with any wild animal being kept in captivity, treating them with the respect an animal of this size commands is important. Variations The Burmese python is frequently captive-bred for color, pattern, and more recently, size. Its amelanistic form is especially popular and is the most widely available morph. This morph is white with patterns in butterscotch yellow and burnt orange. Also, "labyrinth" specimens with maze-like patterns, khaki-colored "green", and "granite" with many small angular spots are available. Breeders have recently begun working with an island lineage of Burmese pythons. Early reports indicate that these dwarf Burmese pythons have slightly different coloring and pattern from their mainland relatives and do not grow much over in length. One of the most sought-after of these variations is the leucistic Burmese. This particular variety is very rare, being entirely bright white with no pattern and blue eyes, and has only in 2008/2009 been reproduced in captivity as the homozygous form (referred to as "super" by reptile keepers) of the co-dominant hypomelanistic trait. The caramel Burmese python has a caramel-colored pattern with "milk-chocolate" eyes. See also Inclusion body disease, a viral disease affecting pythons References Further reading External links Burmese python (Python molurus) - EDDMapS State Distribution - EDDMapS Species profile - Burmese Python (Python molurus), National Invasive Species Information Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Library Python (genus) Snakes of Asia Reptiles described in 1820 Articles containing video clips Reptiles as pets Apex predators