Everything Bonnie says here is very true. These things can and do happen, unfortunately. I personally have been wrapped a number of times over the last 28 years and a few of them came very close to ending up with me being dead. But there are risks in everything we do every day in life, so I don't think this is reason to NOT get a pet burmese, but I DO think it is very good reason for having a very deep respect for the animal and for never letting your guard down. Like Bonnie said, don't become complacent. Just like you don't cross a street without looking both ways, always look for potential danger when handling large pythons. And experience and years involved do not amount to less danger. Some of my closest calls from some of my stupidest mistakes were after a point in my herping (career?) where I considered myself to be a pro and I began to get careless. Well no more on that and I hope my words are not lost on you here. No matter how much a person knows about an animal, things can and will happen. Always be careful. But do have your pet.

By the way Bonnie, I respect you and what you do immensely. And I understand why you do not advocate more burmese/retic ownership, and I am a little on the fence with that whole subject,.... But seriously, I don't think we should paste a blanket "do not get one!" statement to everyone that inquires about a burm for a pet. You never know who is the next Steve Irwin in the group. Look at what he and his wife have done for public awareness and respect for reptiles in general. What young herpers need is more encouragement, not harsh dissuasion. And face it, unfortunately there are always going to be a bunch of less than insightful people looking to turn a quick buck by breeding their normal burms. Sad but true. So maybe it's better to help build and shape more good homes for them to go to than to elliminate the buyers. Then where do they go? I really don't know if there IS an answer to the dilemma. It's one of those complex things that seems paradoxical and that there is no cookie cutter solution to. But for now,... while there are burmese available,. I think it makes more sense to help place them in good care. Don't you?







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>>IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW DOCILE OR "TAME" IT IS -THE FACT IS THAT A LARGE BOID CAN AND WILL KILL YOU UNDER THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES. Period. ONE wrong move and you can be dead, and the rest of the hobbyists have to endure the media frenzy that will follow.

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>>When dealing with a large snake, you must ALWAYS consider that they can and sometimes will do unexpected things that could be potentially life-threatening. When you get complacent, you put yourself in danger. I did that one time - went to feed a 13' Burmese that was in a temporary cage (6x2x3), top opening, etc. I used 4' tongs to lower the rabbit towards her, but she missed the rabbit and went after me instead. If I hadn't had my mega-sized python hook in the other hand, and the presence of mind to drop the rabbit and use both hands to hook her away from me, I'd be dead right now. What was the simple mistake I made?? Simple - I was ALONE and feeding what was otherwise the most docile burmese you could find. I got lazy and complacent, and forgot that I was still dealing with a potentially deadly animal.

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>>:::big breath:::

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>>OK, I'll be quiet now...

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>>See my post on this below (use the link)....

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>>One more reason to reconsider a large boid

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>>-----

>>Bonnie Keller

>>VA Reptile Rescue

>>www.vareptilerescue.org
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The fastest way to achieve great wealth is by living more poorly for much longer.

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