Apart from the head, pigmentation is darkest in the mid-dorsal region. The scales are smooth.
Females are generally larger than males and can reach lengths of ten feet.
The other member of the species is the woman, Aspidites ramsayi. Both species lack the heat sensing pits on the upper lip that are typical of pythons. The head is narrow, and barely distinguishable from the neck. Their small black eyes are difficult to see against the head coloration. The nose is rounded and used for digging the burrows in which the animals often live.