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WOAI (San Antonio, Texas) 16 June 06 Family Ordered to Get Rid of 20-Foot Python
How'd you like it if the city suddenly ordered you to get rid of your beloved pet? Especially if he's been with you nearly 30 years. News 4 WOAI's Natalie Tejeda shows how one family's going to great lengths to save their pet.
Stored inside a great dane carrier is Carl Schweickardt's best friend.
"We've had him for nearly 30 years," says Carl Schweikardt, Snooky's owner. "I haven't had my kids that long."
Snooky is your friendly neighborhood python. When you hear the word python you might think, 'So what, it's just a snake.' But snooky here is no ordinary snake.
"I think he's a little over 20 feet long," adds Carl. "I know he weighs about 200 pounds."
Unfortunately, that makes him a fugitive within San Antonio city limits.
"According to the city ordinance, any snake, non-poisonous snake, over 3 feet long is prohibited," says Ed Wright, with Animal Control.
For years, Snooky and his human, Carl, have been one of the biggest, no pun intended, crowd pleasers at local high schools
"There's probably been at least 1,000 kids through MacArthur High School that are doing exactly what we're doing now," adds Carl.
Not anymore, an anonymous tip to animal control by a neighbor, a snake snitch, put authorities hot on his tail.
"That's the end with the teeth on it, but trust me this end is far more dangerous," says Carl. Why? "He poops."
Snooky's now on the run... or should we say slither.
"I'm having to stash him at friends' houses that are knowledgeable enough to take care of him properly until we can figure out either some way around the ordinance," says Wendy, Carl's daughter.
"Why would I want to get rid of him," says Carl. "I've had him for almost 30 years and he's like part of the family. I've had my wife for over 30 years. I don't plan on getting rid of her either.
Carl claims Snooky was an anniversary present from his wife and has never had any problems with the snake before. Snooky's now living at a house outside the city limits.
Family Ordered to Get Rid of 20-Foot Python

...sorry to hear that...as long as people fear snakes...we are always going to have a problem...just read in the paper today about a girl in california being attacked by dogs at school...at school.whens the last time a python has done that?...ever?...

in a NJ school, it was handled quite professionally by the school and the girls parents didn't make a "big" deal of the matter, the snake has since been removed from the school and the girl was said to have accidentally waved goodbye to someone close to the snakes head when it struck. Although the media tried to make it look a little worse than it was, but this was squelched (ssp?)by the science teacher and even the girls parents. Thank God. But overall snake attacks are few and far between, most regular people do not realize how many snakes are kept in captivity to be honest and we all know if you keep snakes, you rarely have just one, I have over 50 myself and in over 25 years have never had any problems with the general public being "attacked" by my snakes, it could be the locks I keep on my enclosures, I did scare the barjesus out of an elderly neighbor when I was like 12 however, one of my Nerodia sipedon sipedon escaped and was sunning itself on my mothers honeysuckle vine on the front yard fence, the snake over 4 foot long, I was glad to get her back. But I have to say I have come along way with escapee's since then LOL
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Frank Roberts
R&R Herpetological Frank Roberts & John Rodriguez
Roberts'Realm of Reptile Research

...i didnt hear that story but im glad no one or thing got seriously hurt...some people dont realize that snakes dont "attack" people if you get bit...its 9 times out of 10 most likely your own fault...the snake didnt attack her,it bit her because she scared him...

ASBURY PARK PRESS (Neptune, New Jersey) 08 June 06 St. Rose student attacked by snake - In Detention, Boa Bit Her (Joseph Cacchioli And Erik Larsen)
Belmar: Jessica Frattalone never thought chewing gum in school would come back to bite her.
Last week, a 5-foot-long, 6-inch-thick boa constrictor, housed in a science classroom at St. Rose High School, attacked the 16-year-old sophomore while she was being held after school for detention.
"Puncture wounds, a slight bruising of the skin was noticeable," Police Chief Jack Hill said. "There was no indication it was serious, but she went to her doctor and she was given medicine — antibiotics."
According to a police report, the attack occurred about 2:30 p.m. Friday, Hill said.
"The child was in the rear of the room and, according to the child, she did nothing to provoke the snake and the snake bit her," Hill said.
Principal Michele R. Campbell said the boa constrictor is owned by a science teacher on staff who has since taken the snake home.
Frattalone had been assigned to wipe down desks in another classroom as punishment for chewing gum. The cleaning solution she used smelled like vinegar. After she was finished, she went to the science classroom to retrieve a book she had left behind earlier, she said.
There, another student was roaming around the room with the boa constrictor wrapped around his arm. As the boy approached Frattalone, she waved to say goodbye and the snake lunged for her, biting her forearm.
"Its teeth were digging into my arm," Frattalone said. "I was screaming and trying to pull him off me."
"We think that the snake smelled that vinegar smell on her arm," said Gary Frattalone, 41, the teen's father.
Bridget Wolff, a science teacher, was in the classroom during the attack and cleaned the wound with soap and water, the Frattalones said.
"The students have been trained," Campbell said. "The student who was injured may have made a poor choice reaching out in front of the snake, which she has been trained in class not to do."
Nevertheless, Campbell expressed regret over the incident and said St. Rose responded appropriately in the aftermath.
"I feel bad about the snake situation, I think we handled it as best we could. . . . These are not venomous snakes," she said.
St. Rose student attacked by snake

good lord my 6' boa weighs 20 lbs and is about three inches thick...and hes big...probably just a "guesstimate"...the person holding the snake should have known to keep its head pointed away from other people standing nearby and all handling should have been supervised by a responsible adult...sorry the girl was bitten...but its still not the snakes fault.

probably an exageration, common with the press and with people describing length and girth of snakes in general. The fish was thiiiiiisssss big LOL
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Frank Roberts
R&R Herpetological Frank Roberts & John Rodriguez
Roberts'Realm of Reptile Research

"people dont realize that snakes dont "attack" people if you get bit...its 9 times out of 10 most likely your own fault"

Try 10 out of 10. It's ALWAYS our fault when we take one on the chin.
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David Beauchemin
High End Herps.Inc
http://HighEndHerps.com

lol...i know its 10 out of 10...i thought i would throw one of my personal beleifs out there and see what id get in response....im glad you agree (not many people do...).