More Trouble

[Twisted Reptiles]

This is just unfortunate all the way around. Bad for the victim, the family...and bad for us, the community, we are the ones who will feel the backlash from this.

A poor choice compounded by a lack of reaction on the other persons part.

Couldn't get it off? Really? Kill it. Cut it off. Do whatever you have to do.

Ugh.

[dc4teg]

Im curious to see if the owner and his girlfriend were intoxicated. Usually a smart person could react to a situation quickly, but if they were intoxicated, then this would make more sense!

[CoolioTiffany]

Im curious to see if the owner and his girlfriend were intoxicated. Usually a smart person could react to a situation quickly, but if they were intoxicated, then this would make more sense!

You have a very good point there.

To be honest, even though I've never had to pry off a 8-9 foot boa off of my neck, I don't think it would be too difficult to take a snake of that size unless you are just really weak or you are above the influence or drunk.

[twan]

R.I.P to the owner and much sympathy to his family and friends. This is not good for us at all.

[tonyaltn]

There are conflicting reports of the snakes size, my local news reported it to be a 6 foot snake...I also love how they put a photo of a Ball Python up, I cant wait till folks in my small town see that and freak out over my "Boa Constrictor" when their kids come play with my kids thinking I have a "dangerous animal" thats going to strangle someone. I already have neighbors that are terrified of it, lol.
Not a good thing for the reptile community at all...but we all know how the news never exagerates things, Im sure by the time this is over the snake will grow to be 15 feet long with 5 inch fangs that flies around at night hunting kids. That might be a little off (LOL) Im just thinking that I wouldnt be suprised if I am the only one in my town that owns a Python and when word gets out I may see folks with torches and pitchforks outside my window some night,

I may be a new snake owner, but I do love to read and from what I have read...the reptile community dont need any more bad press.

[Chocolate Muffin's]

An untimely death is always unfortunate, but I never understand why these things aren't just chalked up as tragic accidents. It's very clear the animal was not doing anything to intentionally harm its owner.

I thought the comment made in the article about the Burmese Python was interesting...reminded me of the whole issue of Pitbull's versus humanity, debate.

Maybe I was born yesterday, because I never read anywhere that one should never put a snake around their necks....guess I'm an idiot because my fattie loves nothing more than being wrapped around anything she can hold on to.

I know one should not drive under the influence.Never point a loaded gun without true intention...etc...the whole snake around the neck thing, I missed that. I do it all the time.

Done ranting.

[MarkS]

So, would this be the first death from a boa constrictor in the U.S.?

I believe this is the first death from a boa constrictor in the WORLD. I've never even heard of a death from a wild one in their natural range.

Weird things happen sometimes. I remember hearing about a man who choked to death while fishing. He caught a small fish, either a perch or bluegill I think, he was laughing at the small size when the thing flipped off of the hook and into his mouth. it went part way down his throat and got stuck. They couldn't pull it out of his mouth due to the spines on the fins so he suffocated. I guess maybe they should ban fishing too.

[Crazy4Herps]

I have dealt with the danger-of-being-killed-by-a-boa situation quite often from my parents when I was first getting into the hobby. The truth is this: if threatened, a snake WILL NOT CONSTRICT. I'm sure us ball python owners have all seen this first hand. Snakes ONLY constrict to eat, and there's no possible way a 7ft boa constrictor would recognize an adult human as food. Constriction is NEVER a defense; it actually puts the snake in a vulnerable position. If a boa feels threatened, it'll bite, and sure, a well aimed tag to the jugular could be fatal, but that's a whole different matter.

This whole situation has got to be a misunderstanding. As a boa owner myself, there's no way any semi-aware person could get themselves killed by a Bci. And the media's clearly misinformed take on it (not to mention the picture!) only makes things worse.

Folks, these problems aren't going to go away on their own. Every single snake keeper out there should be working their butts off to educate their neighbors, friends, family, and local schools about snakes. It's as much our fault as theirs that our hobby is so misunderstood. It's our responsibility to teach the rest of the world that snakes need to be respected, not feared.

[mechnut450]

it a shame al lthe time i had my girl she hold tight but that was so not to fall I had her wrapped around my waist, leg and shoulder and never had a problem( outside of trying to walk with a heavy weight on my one leg ( since i can bearly lift mine off the floor ( about 8 inches) with out holding not something). and she loved to wander the snake room( pushing othe rtubs off the heat so she could lay there.) but never hurt a soul. you had to have fur on you and be about cats size or smaller. I know in my house it was common for mom and me to be in the same room when handling her only cause it took help to get me and the snake off the floor. most the time I handle the snake snake and mom would spot clean or vaccum the cage clean ( to remove any fine dust that built up after a couple cage cleanings.)

HeckI was able to pull the snake off one ofthe cas that went into her cage as I filled a 3 litter bottle in kitchen( it howI transporteed the water to the water bowl) and I heard a thump and a cat scream. grabed the snake and just uncoiled her. no real effort was needed and I a weak person.

[xdeus]

I have spouted for years that Boa's have never killed a person. I guess I can't state that anymore as this seems to be the first. Article

However, I do consider this a freak accident. Thousands of people own Boas as pets and this appears to be the first death ever? Can you say the same for people that own dogs, horses, or other animals? As far as the person being drunk or not being able to remove the relatively small snake... well, I can see how it can happen if the snake had a strong grip on him. For the record, I really don't think he was being attacked but rather the snake was just holding on for security. It sounds like the snake put him in a sleeper hold (crushed his carotid arteries which will cause unconsciousness within seconds) and continued to hold on until his brain was deprived of oxygen. In that case, the guy probably had very little time to realize what was happening much less do anything about it. However, I'm sure the person that was near him could have removed the snake with a little effort, but they probably freaked and called emergency services instead of trying to get the snake off of him.

Very sad, but hopefully it won't create too much of a backlash for snake owners.