IDAHO STATESMAN (Boise, Idaho) 25 August 06 'Snakes on a Plane' gives real-life snakes a bad reputation, according to Zoo Boise's snake expert (Jeanne Huff)
There've been snakes in a pit (Raiders of the Lost Ark", snakes in the water ("Lake Placid," "Anaconda" and now, "Snakes on a Plane," also known as SoaP. It opened last weekend as the top-grossing film. Barely.
But because of its raucous name and the fact that Samuel L. Jackson signed on as lead actor with glee, it's been buzzed about on the Internet for months and hyped as the next Blair Witch — type it into Google.com and you get 58,700,000 hits.
Does the lowly snake deserve such a bad-boy rep?
"Absolutely not," says Debbie Wiggins of Zoo Boise. "I'm a veterinarian with an interest in herpetal culture."
Meet Hot Lips
Hot Lips is the Burmese python that lives in the rainforest display at Zoo Boise. She's about 26 years old, is 14 feet, 10 inches long and weighs close to 150 pounds. Her biggest circumference has been measured at 21 inches.
"According to our records," Wiggins said, "she was born in the wild." That would be in India, she said.
Hot Lips usually spends her days lolling around in her cage, slithering in for a dip in her pool of water or just coiling up for a nice nap in a corner.
Last Friday morning, before the zoo was officially open, Wiggins and a crew of zookeepers — Bill Franklin, Tammy Ferguson and Jim Beineman — opened the cage door and let Hot Lips out for a little romp and photo shoot.
"I've always liked snakes," Wiggins said. "I have several snakes as pets right now. I've actually been constricted to a chair," she said, laughing.
Because Hot Lips is so big and muscular, it takes all hands on deck to un-wind her.
Do Burmese pythons bite or just constrict their prey?
"They bite — they grab on with their teeth — and then constrict," Wiggins said. "They unhinge their jaws so they can fit over their prey."
She held her hands in a jaw-snapping shape, then moved them farther and farther — and farther apart.
Hot Lips hissed. Her tongue darted in and out of her mouth. Snakes can't see well, Wiggins said. They check out their environment with that busy tongue.
Then the zookeepers lowered Hot Lips to the floor. She began to move, at a pretty fast clip.
"If we had a prey item in her enclosure, you'd be surprised how fast she could move," Wiggins said.
Because of her size, her movement was easier to see. It wasn't merely a slithering advance — more like an undulating, rhythmic procession.
"Rectilinear motion," Wiggins said. "She just shed her skin. She really is in the height of her glamour."
As Hot Lips roamed around, all eyes kept vigil. The conversation drifted to "SoaP" and its unlikely scenario.
"If you let a snake out on a plane, she'd go to a corner as quiet and dark as possible," Wiggins said.
Is Hot Lips venomous?
"We used to have a venomous collection of snakes," Wiggins said. "We have a ribbon boa, a king snake and a red-tail. None of our snakes are venomous. We only have one venomous reptile, a gila monster; he's a cream-puff. That doesn't make Hot Lips any less dangerous."
Wiggins said most big pythons like Hot Lips don't recognize humans as prey. But "you'll see accidents every once in a while." Dogs or small children sometimes get mistaken for prey. Or even adults. Usually it's because they've been around a rabbit cage, cleaning it out, maybe. The snake can't see well, and its tongue tells it this smells like a rabbit, and ....
Hot Lips is the kind of snake that eats its prey alive. (Don't worry, they feed her after hours.) She eats smaller mammals and birds. Sometimes "you'll see pictures of them eating a deer," Wiggins said. "They could encompass one of us easily, but they just don't."
Spoiler alert
Wiggins, Corbin Maxey — also known as "the reptile guy" — and I went to see SoaP on Saturday.
Maxey, 17, has eight species of snakes, including a boa constrictor, some pythons and a milk snake. He's appeared on the "Jay Leno Show" with them and presents educational shows at schools, fairs, libraries and birthday parties.
After watching the movie, Wiggins, Maxey and I sat down to talk snakes: what was real, what seemed ludicrous and what, if anything, could be learned from watching. If you really don't want to know anything about this campy horror flick, STOP READING NOW.
Jeanne Huff: One of the plot points in this movie has to do with an outlaw snake wrangler and his illegal collection of venomous snakes. Is that a plausible scenario?
Corbin Maxey: Yes. You can buy venomous snakes over the Internet or at shows. They're trying to be more vigilant about illegal snakes and animals, and the laws are more stringent than before. You have to have a hunter's license before you can even capture them in the wild, and there are specific laws regarding whether you can or can't import venomous snakes in Idaho. They want to know who you are.
JH: What about the anti-venom: Would snake collectors keep the anti-venom on hand for the snakes they have?
CM: The anti-venom is SO expensive. And it has a terribly short half-life.
DW: (Most) people don't get the anti-venom — they just get (purchase) the snake. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums has an anti-venom Web site. You can find out what the anti-venom is and where the nearest facility is.
JH: What about how fast some of the movie snakes' venom acted in the movie? Can a venomous snake kill that quickly?
CM: Sure. There are definitely some types of snakes you only have a few minutes to get to the venom or you're gone. In the U.S., the Mojave rattler probably has the most potent venom. The ones around here are Great Basin rattlesnakes.
DW: For the ones around here, there is anti-venom at all the area hospitals. And treatment is not cut and suck. It's key to keep the area immobilized and get to the doctor as fast as you can.
CM: The black-tailed rattlesnake in Arizona — there is no anti-venom for that one.
IS: Did you think the snakes in the movie acted like real snakes?
DW: That's not typical behavior. The movie said they were crazy (in reaction to a pheromone spray). Because so many people do have snake problems, many people who are pro-reptile would be upset that it gives snakes a bad rep. It is an entertaining movie, but it's not realistic.
There's a lot of shock value because the snakes go crazy and do horrible things to people, when in reality there are very few snakes that are overtly aggressive — the black mambas, the fer-de-lances. But the vast majority of snakes want to be left alone. They are quite secretive.
JH: What about that fear of snakes thing? Isn't everyone afraid of them?
CM: I did a nursing home tour this year, and they were so scared, they about all had heart attacks. But kids are so interested.
JH: In the movie, there was one Burmese python, like Hot Lips. Did that snake act appropriately?
CM: Some of it was just Hollywood. But when they threw the dog at the snake, he grabbed it and he flipped his coils over. That was fairly realistic.
JH: What would you like people who may go to this movie to know about snakes?
DW: Only 10 percent of all snake species are venomous.
CM: More Americans get stung by bees than bitten by snakes each year.
DW: When Corbin and I did Reptile Rampage at the zoo in 2004, the whole idea of the script was to show what animals people could buy at the pet store this big (she makes a 3-inch measure with her hands) and then they could grow this big (she throws her arms wide).
They gave away baby iguanas as prizes this year at the Canyon County Fair. Why would you give any live animal as a prize? They used to give them away at the River Festival, too, and the papers that came with the animals said the exact opposite of what they can eat.
Iguanas are the most abused animals there are by far. They're imported from Mexico by wild-catching the pregnant females and slaughtering them for the eggs.
I've become more sensitive to the way people characterize negative people. They call them animals, snakes — "You snake, you." Snakes have always been cast as evil.
Snakes are beautiful.
Note: If you're interested in becoming a member of the Idaho Herpetological Society, you can contact Wiggins at dwiggins@cityofboise.org.
Straight snake talk
Here are a few things you may not know about snakes from Wiggins,www.worthingtonli braries.org and www.ecosnake.com, but which you may wonder about after seeing the movie:
• Snakes don't growl. (They do in the movie, for those of you who haven't seen it.)
• There are 12 species of snakes in Idaho.
• Snakes cannot hear you even if you make a lot of noise. They don't have ears and are essentially deaf to surface noises, but they are very sensitive to vibrations. They may not hear you approaching, but they'll probably "feel" your footsteps.
• Rattlesnakes don't always rattle before they strike.
• Rattlesnakes don't always strike when they rattle.
• If a rattlesnake's mate is killed, it will not remain behind to seek vengeance on the killer.
• Snakes can move pretty fast but not at truly high speeds. Top speed for most snakes probably is about 5 to 8 mph.
• Snakes cannot jump. They may fall from a ledge, soil bank or tree, but they do not jump.
Outlaw snake handlers in Idaho
Charlie Justice is the district conservation officer for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in Nampa. He's also the go-to guy for outlaw snakes in the state.
Jeanne Huff: Is there really a problem of venomous snakes in Idaho?
Justice: Exotic pets are getting to be more and more popular. We have some rogue snake people in Idaho. There's more of these people out there than I'm aware of.
Last Sunday an eyelash viper was stolen (in Idaho). A woman last year had 33 venomous snakes — different kinds of rattlesnakes, tree vipers, rhino vipers, cobras. They were imported illegally into the state. Fish and Game is not allowing venomous snakes into the state.
JH: How do people get them into the state?
Justice: You can get them on the Internet. A lot of people are going around shipping requirements.
JH: Who should people call to report rogue snake people or venomous snakes?
Justice: They can call the regional office at 465-8465 or Citizens Against Poaching at 1 (800) 632-5999. They can be anonymous on either number.
'Snakes on a Plane' gives real-life snakes a bad reputation, according to Zoo Boise's snake expert