# Green Anaconda vs Reticulated Python: Which Snake Is Really the Biggest?

*South America and Southeast Asia · JUN 20 2026*

> The Green Anaconda is the heaviest snake in the world while the reticulated python is the longest, so the anaconda wins on weight and bulk and the python wins on length.

The Green Anaconda is the heaviest snake and the reticulated python is the longest. Here is how the two giants actually compare, point by point.

## What are the key takeaways from this briefing?
- The Green Anaconda is the heaviest snake; the reticulated python is the longest.
- A roughly 5-metre anaconda can weigh as much as a python over 7 metres long.
- Anacondas are semi-aquatic South American snakes that give live birth in water.
- Reticulated pythons are egg-laying snakes of Southeast Asia's forests.
- Both are non-venomous constrictors and both face habitat loss and trade pressure.

It is one of the most-searched questions in the animal world: which is the biggest snake, the Green Anaconda or the reticulated python? The answer hinges on what you mean by big. One wins on weight, the other on length. Here is the clear, point-by-point comparison. For deeper detail on one of the two, see our [Green Anaconda species guide](/wildlife-guides/anaconda/).

## The short answer

The Green Anaconda (*Eunectes murinus*) is the **heaviest** snake on Earth. The reticulated python (*Malayopython reticulatus*) is the **longest**. Both are non-venomous constrictors, but they are built very differently.

## Weight and build

The anaconda is the bulk champion. Its body is thick, heavily muscled and broad, and large females approach 100 kg. A roughly 5-metre anaconda can weigh about the same as a reticulated python well over 7 metres long, because the python is far more slender for its length.

## Length

The reticulated python takes the length crown. Today's largest credibly measured individuals reach the 7 to 8 metre range, edging past the anaconda, which rarely exceeds about 6.25 metres in verified measurements.

## Where they live

- **Green Anaconda:** slow rivers, swamps and flooded grasslands of tropical South America.
- **Reticulated python:** tropical forests and wetlands of Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and the Philippines.

## Hunting and lifestyle

The anaconda is strongly semi-aquatic, lying submerged with eyes and nostrils on top of its head to ambush prey at the water's edge. The reticulated python is more at home on land and in trees. Both kill by constriction and swallow prey whole.

## Other key differences

- **Reproduction:** the Green Anaconda gives live birth in water, while reticulated pythons lay eggs.
- **Colour:** the anaconda is olive-green with black blotches; the python wears an intricate diamond-like net pattern.
- **Conservation note:** in 2024 the Green Anaconda was split, with northern populations named *Eunectes akayima*.

## So which is the biggest?

If biggest means heaviest and bulkiest, the Green Anaconda wins. If it means longest, the reticulated python does. Both face pressure from habitat loss and the skin and pet trade, and keeping their wetlands and forests intact is what secures their future. That habitat-first work is something a modest [gift](/donate/) can quietly support.

**[Read the full Green Anaconda wildlife guide](/wildlife-guides/anaconda/)** for the facts, IUCN status and conservation context — or **[donate to WARN](/donate/)** to help fund the local partners protecting this species.

## What do people ask about this briefing?
### Which is bigger, an anaconda or a python?
It depends on the measure. The Green Anaconda is the heaviest and bulkiest snake, while the reticulated python is the longest. Neither is simply bigger overall.

### Could an anaconda and a reticulated python meet in the wild?
No. Green Anacondas live in South America and reticulated pythons live in Southeast Asia, so the two species never overlap in the wild.

### Is either snake venomous?
No. Both the Green Anaconda and the reticulated python are non-venomous constrictors that kill prey by coiling and squeezing rather than biting with venom.

## Which sources does this briefing use?
- [Britannica — What Is the Largest Snake in the World?](https://www.britannica.com/science/What-Is-the-Largest-Snake-in-the-World)
- [Natural History Museum — What is the biggest snake in the world?](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-is-the-biggest-snake-in-the-world.html)
- [Smithsonian's National Zoo — Green Anaconda](https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/green-anaconda)

Human-readable page: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/newsroom/anaconda-vs-reticulated-python-which-is-biggest/