More bad press on big snakes....

[lillyorchid]

Of course they blame the snake.... yet don't say why the snake bite and constricted this girls arm....

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/31/sna....ap/index.html

TARPON SPRINGS, Florida (AP) -- A 14-foot python bit its handler and tried to drag her into its cage during a show at an aquarium, and wouldn't release the woman until a police officer zapped it with a stun gun.

Alison Cobianchi, 18, was taking Chloe, a Burmese python, out of her cage for the daily snake presentation Saturday at the Tarpon Springs Aquarium when the snake wrapped itself around her arm and waist.

Visitors and aquarium employees kept the nonvenomous snake from pulling Cobianchi into the cage, but couldn't make it release its grip.

Police were called to help. "We either had to Taser it or we would have had to kill it," police Sgt. Allen MacKenzie said.

Cobianchi suffered puncture wounds on her wrist.

"It was definitely the most scary and painful thing that has ever happened to me," she said. "I knew I wasn't going to die, but I was worried I wouldn't get my hand back."

The snake was not seriously hurt by the stun gun.

Aquarium owner Scott Conger said Chloe bit him once while he was feeding her, but Cobianchi is the first employee seriously injured. He said the snake show was canceled indefinitely.

"She was my favorite animal that we had," Cobianchi said of Chloe. "Not anymore."

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating.

[Reediculous]

If they are professionals, why couldn't they get the snake to release?-----you have to be kdding me, to call the cops, im surprised they didn't blow the burm's head off----that's the first thing they would of done in my town.------another thing---how many people where around---you need at least 3 people (with experience) when taking a snake out that large

[snakedude56]

I wonder what will happen to the burm now that it has been labeled a monster.

[Rapture]

That sucks for large snakes and their owners everywhere... What a silly girl to not like the snake anymore...

[unbakedbrownie]

That is awfully weird.

I was told that if a large snake ever started to constrict, or whatnot, that all you had to do was spray them with water. Is there any validity to this?

[jotay]

That is awfully weird.

I was told that if a large snake ever started to constrict, or whatnot, that all you had to do was spray them with water. Is there any validity to this?

I know there is validity to hitting them in the face w/ anything alcohol. They will let go in a pinch and it does not harm them in any way.

I read that in our morning paper and thought that the snake is more than likey not be cared for correctly to boot. It's a shame!

[deskjet]

If they are professionals, why couldn't they get the snake to release?-----you have to be kdding me, to call the cops, im surprised they didn't blow the burm's head off----that's the first thing they would of done in my town.------another thing---how many people where around---you need at least 3 people (with experience) when taking a snake out that large

i agree there should have been more than just one person handling the snake

[Sausage]

...."I knew I wasn't going to die, but I was worried I wouldn't get my hand back."

When was the last time you heard someone say, "Yup, that burn snapped my hand off like a alligator in heat!" So this girl has one bad experience with her snake and doesn't like it anymore. I'll bet y'all anything that she will give the burn away. What was she doing taking a snake that big out alone, anyway?
I'd blame the owner, not the snake. Snakes don't strike out of hate-- they have to be provoked.

[tmlowe5704]

burm