WESTERN MAIL (Cardiff, UK) 10 February 06 Thieves steal 22 snakes from shed (Robin Turner)

Thieves have made off with a nest of African pythons, it emerged last night.

The 22 royal pythons were stolen from a shed in the back garden of a house in the Birchgrove area of Swansea which was broken into some time this week. The snakes, which measure between 18 and 24 inches in length, can grow to up to 3 ft.

Their owner, a reptile breeder who has asked to remain anonymous, has assured police the snakes are harmless to humans and are "gentle creatures".

They were all in plastic boxes. But the breeder has made it clear the creatures must be kept at a temperature over 90F (about 32C) or they could die within a week.

The snakes, about 2in in diameter, were bred specially as domestic pets. Also missing are the 14 boxes that were used to keep the snakes, translucent "Lotico" toy boxes with lockable lids.

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=16686579&method=full&siteid=50082-name_page.html



BBC (London, UK) 09 February 06 Pythons stolen from garden shed

Police are hunting thieves who have taken 22 young python snakes from a reptile breeder's garden shed.

The snakes, described as "gentle" and no threat to people, were grabbed from a house in Birchgrove, Swansea.

The royal or ball pythons, measuring 18in to 2ft (45-60cm) in length, were kept in 14 boxes with lockable lids.

The owner has said the African snakes could die within a week if they were not kept in an environment with a temperature above 90F (32C).

The creatures and the boxes containing them were taken in the break-in, reported at around 1820 GMT on Wednesday evening.

The reptile breeder was breeding the snakes to be domestic pets. The snakes were described as "only half grown".

In a statement, South Wales Police said: "These snakes were bred specially as domestic pets and are harmless to human beings.

"Once fully developed, they can reach an average length of 3ft-3.5ft [91-106cm]."

The containers were described as translucent toy boxes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/4698564.stm

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