Sad News

[joepythons]

Isnt that just great a baby lost its life because of them idiots .So in all the baby died and the snake was killed because the owners were law breaking no common sense idiots

[llovelace]

She died because of an irresponsible parent/caregiver, like so many children do, this one just happened to involve an exotic animal

[MarkS]

Isnt that just great a baby lost its life because of them idiots .So in all the baby died and the snake was killed because the owners were law breaking no common sense idiots

The Python isn't dead.

"Authorities removed the snake from the home Wednesday afternoon. Once outside the small, tan home, bordered by cow pastures, the snake was placed in a bag then inside a dog crate. The snake was still alive.

Darnell did not have a permit for the snake, which would be a second-degree misdemeanor, said Joy Hill, a spokeswoman with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He has not been charged, but Caruthers said investigators were looking into whether there was child neglect or if any other laws were broken.

Hill said the snake will be placed with someone who has a permit, pending an investigation into the girl's death."

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

Sounds like the authorities are being pretty careful in their handling of this.

[frankykeno]

What a very sad occurrence. I think Wes made a very good point earlier in this thread in that we should keep the speculation to a minimum if possible. There's simply no knowing until investigative information is properly released (and then god hope it's actually reported correctly ) how that snake and that poor child ended up together unsupervised like that.

As both a parent and an owner of a larger snake (9 ft female boa) all I can do is what we've always done here at home. We thought a long while about the responsibilities of bringing Tequila into our home with our own younger child. We made rules for her that are never broken under any circumstance. We make sure she was caged appropriately and under lock and key. Only Mike and I hold the keys to the padlock on her enclosure. Tequila isn't even considered a giant but she is 9 feet of very, very powerful snake and we'd be both stupid parents and stupid snakekeepers to ignore or minimize that fact.

While my heart breaks for these parents I have serious questions in my mind about how and why that baby and that snake were in close and unsupervised contact at 10 a.m.

[wilomn]

I saw the video of them measuring that snake. It measured out at 8 foot 5 inches. Let's be generous and say 9 feet. Not that big for a burm. It was also on the thin side. I'd guess between 12 and 18 lbs. I've got an 8 foot boa that weighs 15 lbs, as of Monday, and is almost the same thickness as that burm. Let's be generous again and say 20 lbs.

Now, a 9 foot 20lb burm is NOT going to try to eat an average 2 year old human. Even if it was starving, that is simply too large a prey item to swallow unless that child was abnormally small.

I smell a big stinking heap of crap in their story.

But, I could be wrong. For the sake of the child, I hope I am. I would much rather think that an innocent slither just out being itself killed this child looking for a meal than the only other possibility; that the child was already dead, how I don't even want to know, and the snake is being blamed.

[MsPrada]

I saw the video of them measuring that snake. It measured out at 8 foot 5 inches. Let's be generous and say 9 feet. Not that big for a burm. It was also on the thin side. I'd guess between 12 and 18 lbs. I've got an 8 foot boa that weighs 15 lbs, as of Monday, and is almost the same thickness as that burm. Let's be generous again and say 20 lbs.

Now, a 9 foot 20lb burm is NOT going to try to eat an average 2 year old human. Even if it was starving, that is simply too large a prey item to swallow unless that child was abnormally small.

I smell a big stinking heap of crap in their story.

But, I could be wrong. For the sake of the child, I hope I am. I would much rather think that an innocent slither just out being itself killed this child looking for a meal than the only other possibility; that the child was already dead, how I don't even want to know, and the snake is being blamed.

Did anyone besides the father/mother see the snake on the child? Such as EMTS or police?

[wolfy-hound]

My local news did a piece on this, and went to a local reptile store. It actually didn't seem too bad. The pet store folks were pretty clear that owners were normally responsible, and that you were supposed to have a permit, and have locks on the cage, etc.

HOPEfully, it won't get too huge. Maybe the overwhelming focus on celebrity deaths will overshadow it.

[sg1trogdor]

Just great. Thats all I will say.

[Oroborous]

Very sad...

[hoax]

Where were the parents?

Exactly!

Can you fill us in with all the details the police, family and reporters have given you that we didn't get in the news article?

It would really help us so we could judge for ourselves if it really was the owners fault.

It does not matter if some one broke in and let the snake out! It is the parents fault for not taking every necessary step possible.

Mike