Sad News

[rebeccabecca]

I have been told my snake's are as deadly as a pitbull( hahaha). Not many corn's and small male ball's have caused much damage. We keep out pixie frog under lock and key though ( 4 year old's fingers can be tasty and will be building a wall with a lock and double locks on the enclosure for my savannah monitor just in case.BTW When my kids were babies, I kept the doors shut so that no animals( even cats) can get in. I would be forsure closing the door with a huge snake in the house.

[MelissaFlipski]

I just can't stand it anymore; I have to reply with having only read 1/2 of this thread. Let me step up to the soap box for a minute.

Ever since I heard about this story, I've just been sick with anger and disgust!

I really hate to bring this up, but I really hope the authorities do an autopsy on the child. It wouldn't be the first time a child died of abuse or neglect and the guilty parents tried to frame it on one of their pets.

This was my first reaction, too. As Wilomn said, that Burm was only 8.5 feet long. Unless it wanted warmth and somehow managed to be a bit of a "rough snuggler" (sarcasm in voice), this doesn't make any sense! And the keeper said in his 911 call that the snake is 12 feet long. How can he not know his own snake???? Anyway...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...kfs5gD995TLSO0

In that link, the article says this, "Burmese pythons are not native to Florida, but they easily survive in the state and can reach a length of 26 feet and weigh more than 200 pounds." WHAT???!!! Thanks a lot you irresponsible media folk for making the public more freaked out about snakes!

The bad apple (the owner of the FL Burm) ruins it for all of us.

I feel horrible for the toddler who had her life shortened. I feel sad for the mom (though I have my concerns there, too). I have nothing but anger and contempt for the owner of that burm - insufficient and/or insecure tank, no permit, no supervision, and no attempt to correct the mistake they already knew about - the snake had already escaped before.

Regardless of what happens with the cause of death, these people should be charged with neglect and reckless endangerment!! Even with all the apparent holes in this case, my concern is that when and if the snake is ever cleared, there will be no big media blitz to correct the original misinformation. All the public will remember is how horrible snakes are!!

I am so angry about this!! It undoes some of the much needed progress the reptile community has made with the "uninformed and afraid."

I'll step down now.

[Bobsean]

Hey, going along with the results of this incident. Did everyone see this? http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...threadid=96402

[guambomb832]

Yup I did bobsean...I was the first to comment it....
Damn people ruining it for the good people of the reptile community.
I mean I wouldn't even think of putting a two year old in the same house of a snake over 6 feet long, that's just common sense.
Also in the news story, the owner said "The stupid snake got out in the middle of the night and killed my girlfriend's daughter" now he is referring to it as stupid?I hope this guy goes to jail for indirectly killing a toddler with his own stupidity!
Its these stupid irresponsible owners that make US all look like a bunch of weird people who just like snakes because they eat rats or rabbits, get to massive lengths and girths(although the majority of captive snakes don't) and pose a serious threat to the owner and the family.
This really gots to stop right now, or we lose this hobby for good.

[MarkS]

Damn people ruining it for the good people of the reptile community.
I mean I wouldn't even think of putting a two year old in the same house of a snake over 6 feet long, that's just common sense.

Now why in the heck would you even say something like that? Have you ever even kept a snake longer then 6 feet? Large snakes are no more dangerous then large dogs, yet millions of households keep them in the same house along with their young children. Just a few COMMON SENSE rules and they are just as safe to keep as anything else that could be potentially harmful if mishandled or misused. For crying out loud people, these are not some demons from the nether regions out hunting for toddlers to eat, they're just animals. If you're going to make statements out of ignorance, please do everyone a favor and DON'T HELP....

[Clever Baby Dragon]

I would tend to agree with some of the other users on this post, that there is a lot of details that are missing here, it all seems a bit fishy.

One thing to remember is that we have no guarantee that the newspeople are reporting this completely accurately, its very easy to make a small mistake over the details of a 911 call, especially if you are getting it second hand for any reason.

Second, I'm not a burm expert, but I didn't think an 8-9 foot snake would consider eating a toddler sized object, especially one that didn't smell like normal food, so if it did, what triggered the feeding response? Was the snake just so hungry that it didn't care any more? In that case why was the poor animal being starved, and the owner can add animal neglect to his list of charges.

Third and this has been said a dozen times, how did the snake and the kid come into contact?

Fourth what lead up to the attack (we'll probably never find out), was this a case of a child walking in on a starved snake, did the toddler accidentally stress the snake, causing a defensive bite that devolved into a more serious feeding attempt when the child struggled, was this just a really badly treated (and resultantly aggressive) snake?

I am sincerely sorry for the mother and her child, but hope that cooler heads prevail in reacting to the incident.

[guambomb832]

To MarkS,
I am sorry
it was a "heat of the moment" message
I meant if it escaped before and didn't fix the cage and just put it in a bag in the cage he is totally at fault here.
I know snakes over 6 feet wouldn't want to hurt anyone.
I just don't like how they are known to be man-eaters.
I know what I said was way out of line( I typed it pretty late last night, I was tired)
but I want to help stop this python ban that Bill Nelson is proposing.

[alexOATH]

This story was terrible, idiotic people should not be allowed to own such large snakes, or snakes at all for that matter.

[MarkS]

To MarkS,
I am sorry
it was a "heat of the moment" message
I meant if it escaped before and didn't fix the cage and just put it in a bag in the cage he is totally at fault here.
I know snakes over 6 feet wouldn't want to hurt anyone.
I just don't like how they are known to be man-eaters.
I know what I said was way out of line( I typed it pretty late last night, I was tired)
but I want to help stop this python ban that Bill Nelson is proposing.

I'm sorry to snap at you like that Christian, it's not just you. It seems that there have been a number of people here and on other forums who have been making statements to the effect that people with small children shouldn't be keeping giant constrictors and I just disagree with that so much, it just helps spread the fear and ignorance. There are so many other things in the average household that can be just as or more dangerous then Burmese pythons. Anything from household cleaners to insecticides to medicines to firearms or even just plain old bathtubs and stairs. Don't even get me started on electrical outlets. But the point is, as long as you always practice 'safety first' you really shouldn't have a problem.

Keeping large constrictors is not for everybody, but it's really not rocket science either, and if you want to try it it's not that difficult to stay safe by following a few basic rules.