Virginia Beach, VA - Woman killed by pet python

[Jay_Bunny]

This is very sad and very unfortunate to happen when the reptile world is getting so much bad press already. She should have had someone with her. My house rule is if you are going even open the cage to a snake more than 6ft, have another person with you.

Many of you are jumping to conclusions and doing nothing but disrespecting a dead woman. Yes, she was careless and should have waited to medicate the snake until her husband got home. This doesn't mean you should sit there and insult her and call her a moron. There are people out there who are far worse and they are still alive and keeping their snakes. This woman obviously was doing some things right if she was actually medicating the snake. A moron would have just let a snake die or suffer. But no, she was medicating the snake like any good keeper would do. Should she had someone with her at the time, yes, but from time to time keepers sometimes think they know the animal and feel comfortable being around it alone.

So all you people out there who are suspecting her husband for killing her and calling her names and saying what a horrible person she is, shut up and have some respect for a fellow reptile keeper.

[wilomn]

This is very sad and very unfortunate to happen when the reptile world is getting so much bad press already. She should have had someone with her. My house rule is if you are going even open the cage to a snake more than 6ft, have another person with you.

Many of you are jumping to conclusions and doing nothing but disrespecting a dead woman. Yes, she was careless and should have waited to medicate the snake until her husband got home. This doesn't mean you should sit there and insult her and call her a moron. There are people out there who are far worse and they are still alive and keeping their snakes. This woman obviously was doing some things right if she was actually medicating the snake. A moron would have just let a snake die or suffer. But no, she was medicating the snake like any good keeper would do. Should she had someone with her at the time, yes, but from time to time keepers sometimes think they know the animal and feel comfortable being around it alone.

So all you people out there who are suspecting her husband for killing her and calling her names and saying what a horrible person she is, shut up and have some respect for a fellow reptile keeper.

Nope.

She broke THE cardinal rule for keeping big snakes.

It is THE rule for just this reason.

[filly77]

While I do have sympathy for her & her family- especially the family!!

but like wilomn said, that is the number 1 rule w/ owning large snakes!

it gives the responsible herpers a bad name and an even worse name for the snakes.

she should of just been responsible, had some patience and waited for her husband to come home. she paid the ultimate price, her life... (i hope she didn't have children)

[elevatethis]

I hope that this serves as a heads up to new and existing keepers as far what these snakes are capable of. That retic was still relatively small...I think that this really put what they're capable of into perspective, and whether or not your level of experience is adequate to own one.

[redpython]

This is a sad and tragic situation that could've been avoided. I hope that people who think their snake knows and loves them, take a real look at this situation. Not being disrespectful or a downer, but a lot of people keep and encounter snakes that can potentially harm them and handle them improperly over and over.

And in my opinion, that snake doesn't look to be ten feet....remember the media always exaggerates the length of snakes.

[dsirkle]

Very sad for the poor lady and her family .

But it doesnt take CSI to think the husband had something to do with it. In most cases husbands do have everything to do with it, and why would this be any different.

We all know that police usually dont reveal to the media, what they dont want you to know, or what they dont want the real suspect to know what the police really knows. So knowing that, if they even suspect the husband it could take a very long time to gather the evidence, and file charges, and even if the husband is a suspect, without sufficient evidence they will never charge him, and we go on living thinking that the snake killed the lady, but only the husband, the snake, and GOD knows what really happened.

my .02

You and I clearly don't run with the same crowd as each other do.

[wilomn]

This is a sad and tragic situation that could've been avoided. I hope that people who think their snake knows and loves them, take a real look at this situation. Not being disrespectful or a downer, but a lot of people keep and encounter snakes that can potentially harm them and handle them improperly over and over.

And in my opinion, that snake doesn't look to be ten feet....remember the media always exaggerates the length of snakes.

I thought the same thing at first. Then I had a flashback to when I had a young retic. When that guy was seriously 10 feet long, in an 8 ft. cage all the way across the frong and part way back, he was about the thickness of a coke can.

Retics can stay very skinny up into the 10-12 ft. range.

Some of the reports also said 13 and 15 feet. No even close.

[SoCaliSon]

Regardless of what the rules are, or whether or not she did the right thing handling it by herself, or if it could have been avioded(all these answers are easy)... This is a tragedy, where a human life was lost. She made a mistake(Like ALL of us do at one time or another), and unfortuantely, she ultimately payed for it. We do need to learn from incidents like this, but The fact is a life was lost... Regardless of whos fault it is... I do think we need to show some compassion for the fact that she can never come back from this one mistake. At a funeral for a suicide case do we show any less compasion for the loss of life? When someone dies of lung cancer, do we skip the mourning process because it was their own bad habit that did it? No! And that kind of attitude in a situation like this, I find obsurd! Learn from these tragedies, And swallow your pride... It is obvious she made a mistake... She is gone... Get over yourself and how right you know you are and show some compassion for human life. I am sorry but the pompus attitude on this situation by some of the members has really suprised me.

Something as simple as changing lanes at the wrong time could end your life... You never know when a tiny slip up is going to end it all, don't act like you are above this.

[Colin Vestrand]

i personally think that a lot of the responsibility lies with the people that are mass producing these things... i'm sure i'll get flamed, but ya gotta admit, it's pretty out of hand.

the other thing, not to defend the article, they aren't trying to say it's a 'tiger retic' they're using the original common name - which was a tiger python, this goes back to when the british colonized and explored SE Asia.

[wilomn]

Regardless of what the rules are, or whether or not she did the right thing handling it by herself, or if it could have been avioded(all these answers are easy)... This is a tragedy, where a human life was lost. She made a mistake(Like ALL of us do at one time or another), and unfortuantely, she ultimately payed for it. We do need to learn from incidents like this, but The fact is a life was lost... Regardless of whos fault it is... I do think we need to show some compassion for the fact that she can never come back from this one mistake. At a funeral for a suicide case do we show any less compasion for the loss of life? When someone dies of lung cancer, do we skip the mourning process because it was their own bad habit that did it? No! And that kind of attitude in a situation like this, I find obsurd! Learn from these tragedies, And swallow your pride... It is obvious she made a mistake... She is gone... Get over yourself and how right you know you are and show some compassion for human life. I am sorry but the pompus attitude on this situation by some of the members has really suprised me.

Something as simple as changing lanes at the wrong time could end your life... You never know when a tiny slip up is going to end it all, don't act like you are above this.

I'm going to assume you're confused and here's why.

There is no lack of compassion for this woman and her stupid though tragic end.

There is also no letting go of the fact that she knew better and broke THE most important rule of giant snake keeping.

When your kid gets his first speeding ticket do you tell him to be more careful where he speeds so he won't get caught or do you tell him to obey the RULES and he won't have to worry about being caught.

It's a damn shame she died. If she's contributed to the gene pool let's hope the offspring got some smarts from the dad.