I think what you said about clutch sizes is probably pretty accurate. Ernie and I hashed-out the clutch size record on another forum. One source states that 107 is the record for burms. However, the source is a bit sketchy and this would obviously be a rare event. And you're right about the frequency of clutches... burms in FL seem to be incapable of breeding every year (and obviously incapable of double- or triple-clutches). There may be some exceptions but I've certainly never heard of any.



As flherp said, I'm not sure who that quote can be attributed to. It's obviously flawed for many of the reasons you mentioned but I can see it being a somewhat valid point if you consider that none of the animals here are native to SE Asia where Burms are from. I wouldn't want to be associated with that quote though.



Hatchling burms certainly have a good number of predators in FL. Survival rates will be tough to get but it wouldn't surprise me if they are relatively low. They do start off larger than most snakes though so they have a slight advantage (and they grow so quickly).



Like I've said elsewhere, there are almost certainly several thousand pythons out there. The exact number could be debated forever but 1,000 is way too low for a guess. Ask anyone that herps out here regularly and they will tell you that pythons are a relatively common find.



Mike

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