Reptile & Amphibian Forums

WKRC (Cinncinati, Ohio) 16 December 06 Snake Attack
A Camp Dennison man was killed overnight when he tried to show his pet to another person. Ted Drees had owned his pet Ball Python for a number of years. For some unknown reason the 13 foot snake turned on Drees. It first bit him in the face and then choked him to death. When officials arrived to deal with the snake, they had to use a taser to get it off of Drees. The SPCA is currently holding the snake. It is in a cage, and they say they are not going near it. When they asked the Drees what they wanted to do with it, they told the SPCA to keep it.
Snake Attack

Geez....now I know why my mother-In_law refuses to come to my house. I've got man killing snakes!!!!

What a joke....this makes me wonder how much of the information we get from our local news source is actually the truth. I know they have to spice it up a notch but c'mon.

n/p
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Nick

1.2 Normals
1.0 Poss. Het for Carmel Albino
1.0 Dbl Het for Green/Yellow Ghost
1.0 Het Albino
0.1 Snow Corn

"Geez....now I know why my mother-In_law refuses to come to my house..."

you sound like that is a bad thing... I would call it the only positive outcome from these events.
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-0-1 Rescued Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-2-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet, Isis
0-0-1 Rescued Fit and Trim Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

Can we sue these people for damages?
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Tosha

it would only seem logical, HAHAHAHHAHAHA

LOL, I think we need a pic first.

Quig
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Don't interupt me when I'm talkin' to myself

I wonder if it's a female.

And if they plan to adopt it out.

I call dibs!!!!!!!

Cheryl

ps. I can't believe how ignorant people can be. They (the press) were probably TOLD what kind of python that was and still screwed it up!

I think the media should be regulated and held responsible for stupidity!! These days they're no better than a bunch of people gossiping about something. Woops...gotta run, Ball pythons eating the neighbors!!
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Dale....dgoins222@yahoo.com

couldn't agree more, I got to feed my breeder female Ball a 50LB pig or should I go with a goat witch is more nutritious.
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Vince Pramuk

Assuming the rest is correct (they can't fake a man's death right?) What kind of snake do you think it was? ... a reticulated python or red tailed boa? Those are the only snakes I know of that get big enough to potentially seriously hurt someone. Are there any other huge snakes that are kept as pets? I wonder if he soaked his head in tunafish or something before he held it, lol.

It had to have been a huge snake for the guy not to be able to pull it off his neck. It's very doubtful that a man would be unable to get even a very large adult ball python off him. Do you think they'd exaggerate that he died?

burmese, anaconda, boa, retics, those are the four that come to mind here, but never a ball.

I read ball python and when I got to the 13 feet part of the sentence, I screamed out loud, 13 feet?????????? come on, what they feedin that ball python? I gotta get some of that snake miracle grow!

snakes that can get to a length that can kill::

anaconda, red-tail/columbian boa, scrub python, rock python, burmese python/indian python, olive python, timor python, reticulated python, boelen's python, blackhead python, cuban boa and then there are other snakes that get close to the 8ft mark that if the conditions are right could pose a threat to someone (small adult and very large specimen).
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Josh & Krysty Hutto
J&K Reptiles

Various Ball Pythons:::

1.0 striped vanilla
1.0 spider
1.2 Citrus Ghost and hets
1.2 Albino and hets
2.3 het Pied
0.6 50% poss het pied
1.1 Pastel (male has additional gene going on with him)
a bunch of normal female breeders
a bunch of normal female holdbacks and several rescued normal males

0.1 columbian boa, she's a feeding monster, controls my
over production of rats, lol
0.1 brazilian rainbow boa, another rat eating monster
1.1 corns

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrier as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!

nad explained to the editor why it couldn't be a ball python.

he said yeah, he thought he saw those at petco.

they said it was a ball because a family member told them that.

I actually went to look at a guy's burm once, and he kept calling it a "ballmese." You have to keep in mind, I live in Arkansas and this was pretty well out in the sticks as it was. Every time he said it though, I had to stifle a snicker. The snake ended up being emaciated with a huge burn on its back...which you really can't be surprised about because of the obvious huge amount of knowledge the owner had.

So, is it that big of a stretch to imagine the family just getting the name incorrect? Certainly not with all the "bald pythons" and "albino burmese pythons for only $600" like you see all the time in the local papers.

Very sad story though, and it'll only act as kindling for the fire quickly burning this hobby to the ground.
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com

If the snake bit him in the face and choked him to death, how did the SPCA ask him later on what he wanted done with the snake?
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~* Jen *~

In Nevada, New Mexico Pablo Leroy the Sixteenth was looking for a place to cool off. Being only 8 months old he had not yet tried swimming or drinking from the toilet, this would be his first and last meeting with this dangerous household fixture. His parents Earl,Lenny and Marge found him 3 days later after returning from VEGAS, they had a strong alibi; "What happened in Vegas, stays in Vegas". they told authorities. They were shocked to find their child DIT(Dead In the Toilet), they had filled an extra dog dish with water and food. Little Pablo loved his Gravy Train! Why could this have happened? If this happened here it could happen anywhere, people need to know.

These toilet are a MENACE and must be outlawed! Once this is done they plan on outlawing all silverware, cutlery, power tools, hand tools, pens and pencils...they have heard rumors that automobiles are dangerous too. They must educate the world of what dangers are waiting to pounce on the weak and feeble.

What a JOKE!!!

We don't hear about little "Johnny" falling down the stairs or stabbing himself with a knife...

But snakes are just exciting!

Every days there are more laws to limit and constrain us..... gee just think in 20 years we will have someone making our own decisions.

Things happen, this world in dangerous, it should be our choice!

SATAN
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"Satan™" is a registered trademark of NERD, Inc. Any copyright infringment is punishable by ETERNAL DAMNATION and some other terrible stuff.

Well said.

lmao!

Irony is...this happening in a country that didn't outlaw motorcycles or automobiles...we simply invented helmets and seatbelts/airbags(how many still die every day?).
It isn't whether something is dangerous or not..It's how many lemmings are going to cry foul!

oh and ...have a Happy Saturnalia
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Charles

came running into the house yelling for me to go out back and save the dogs. "A huge snake is going to get the dogs! Get out there quick!". I quickly ran out back and realized she had two blue-tick hounds. For those that do not know, these are not small dogs - around 60-70lbs each. Well, I did capture the predator, but not without a brief, life-threatening battle. I took that monster glass snake of 12 inches and let him loose in another county to terrorize and feed off other people's dogs. IMG. LOL. My mom is not afraid of snakes - she used to keep them - but I think age is surpassing her mind. Oh well. This guy probably had a burm.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

The sad part of all these fear tactics is what it does to the hobby. I have yet to have one person that was once afraid of snakes atleast begin to not mind me owning them, mother-in-law exempt. I even had a friend who was deathly afraid of snakes until she saw me with my large, calm female ball pythons. A few months later and she now owns 5 herself, including 2 baby nics and an adult female Columbian! These animals are harmless in the hands of the right, educated, experienced people.

On a side note, what would happen if this guy's own dog had bit him? I'd be willing to bet everyone would still continue to buy dogs. I've been hospitalized twice with dog bites, never by my own dog. I have never had to make more than a trip to the medicine cabinet for a band-aid or two with my snakes.

I agree with the Morph-God, let people make their own choices. If the do something dumb, so what. It's called population control.

-John

i totally agree. maybe we should be putting more effort into "spaying and neutering" stupid people than animals. on a side note, i dont know about the rest of you, but all of my ball pythons are at least 15 ft lol.

Photos and Video link at URL below

WCPO (Cinncinati, Ohio) 16 December 06 Man Strangled By Pet Python
A Camp Dennison man has been killed by his pet python.
Investigators say 48-year-old Ted Drees was strangled by his 14-foot python early this morning.
Witnesses say it took three Hamilton County sheriff's deputies to release the snake from around his neck.
The victim's mother can't believe something he loved so much could take his life.
"He had this one out all the time. He reached in and the snake grabbed him around the neck, and couldn't get the snake off," said Elaine Drees, the victim's mother.
Deputies arrived and discovered the snake coiled around the victim's neck.
Humane society officials say the snake, now wrapped in a blanket inside a cage at the Hamilton County SPCA, squeezed the life out of Drees.
"He just loved them. He could go hunting and find a snake just like that," said his mother.
She says he was an outdoors man who loved snakes and that he had handled reptiles since he was a boy.
The 14-foot muscular snake wrapped around Drees' neck and would not release.
"It took three paramedics to get the snake off," said his mother. "By that time it squeezed him and there wasn't any hope."
Snake experts say the description of the way the snake attacked Drees is consistent with how snakes kill their prey -- when the victim tries to take a breath, the snake's strong muscles contract.
"Kind of like any other python, it takes care of its prey by wrapping around it, and as the animal [victim] breathes out, it will squeeze tighter and tighter," said Andy Muhlman, of the SPCA.
Muhlman says the choice of the pet is a matter of personal preference, but says he thinks regulation of the exotic animals is on the way.
"The house of representatives has a bill before them that address exotic animals as pets," Muhlman told 9News.
The veteran animal control officer says this is the first time he's seen a reptile such as this kill a human.
Many people keep these animals as pets, but this behavior doesn't take him completely by surprise.
"These are wild animals. You don't tame them all that much," said Muhlman.
Man Strangled By Pet Python

25 fatalities contributed to dog attacks reported in 2006
29 fatalities in 2005

Rediculous amounts of people are hospitalized or taken to the emergency room as a result of dog attacks. Even cats can do more damage than pet pythons or boas. You're dumb if you let your large snake roam free in your house. You're dumb if you set it on the bed and are surprised when you come back a second later to find it eating your cat. Personally... I think if you haven't been an educated snake owner for multiple years... you shouldn't buy a retic. BUT ... they shouldn't regulate that with permits. Rather, that should be the common advice from petstores and reptile stores that sell these guys.

....they talk about the snake as an evil monster.... as if this man didn't do anything wrong when handling it to provoke it. Seems to me like the man's breath must have smelled like food one too many times for the snake to resist or something.

"Don't worry, the legislation is coming to protect us from these monsters!"

*eyeroll*

...OK....."was trying to show it to someone".....

shouldn't "someone" have hleped him??

13 foot isn't squat.........

I used to deal with a 13 foot non-ball python all the time.....

maybe he should have fed it more?.....

trained it better? (not conditioned it wrong actually)

....was they's trailer a single wider???

.
.
.DUH.......

.BBQ it......tastes like chickens.....
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and I am still waiting for that "magical" check......
mail isn't that slow.....come on man....write it out.....!50

i live in a single wide!!!

LOL

but i still want to know why the "someone" didnt help the dummie???

i keep a spray bottle with vodka by all my cages in the event i get bit and they are in a feeding mode, i cant spray them quickly, if that doesnt work then ill just get drunk....LOL

I've been in a double....nice..brand new and all......
singles scare me.......guy at work went in debt for $85K on a new double wide......what's he care.....30 year mortgage and he's 53 when he signed it.....like they are actually gonna get all the dough......

.........vodka?.........I know ,I know.....

I actually haven't had one hold on yet.......they grab and realize it's you before you realize they had you......

face hurts....arms depends on where.....4 tooth lines down the nose it sad........
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.
and I am still waiting for that "magical" check......
mail isn't that slow.....come on man....write it out.....!50

i have noticed that they let go once they realize they have you...

thats what my 7ft boa did, she grabbed and then let go...

Come on, it is not the 90's, they make TRIPLE wides now ya know!
Almost just bought one, 2900 sq. ft. on 5 acres, but, it was $550K. Just could not do it.

Dave

why would i need a bigger place...?

this one is bought and paid for, my car is paid for... i like to keep my life as simple as possible, my bills include light, phone, and car insurance..... less than 500 a month....
im happy where i am at , thats what counts.

Paid for is good! That is all you needed to say. I finally got my truck paid off, and that feels great, cannot imagine not having a mortgage! Good luck this year!

Dave

yes now maybe this tax season i can invest in a morph

What morphs do you like? What do you plan on getting? Ghosts, Albinos, Pieds, and Pastels, you cannot go wrong with any of those in my opinion, and Yellow Bellies too! But get what you like in case you cannot sell some of the offspring right away, you want something you like to look at

Dave

i love pieds, i have a het male, who has bred to one of my normal females.

albinos i like.

and the caramels.

pattern wise i like clowns, and spiders

i am not too sure about the bite and let go part, one of my juveniles actualy spent 20 minutes constricting the carpet in his cage,

but i have been bitten many times, and each one they hit and let go, only this female has ever held on for more than 1 s, she bit, began to constrict then let go when she realized it was me, total time might have been 3 s.
she is pretty agresive for a yearling

Heh, there is only one ball python I have ever heard of that killed a person and it certainly wasn't 13' long. In fact the ball python didn't even touch the woman, it was just sunning itself on her front porch minding it's own business. She saw it, had a heart attack and died.

Now if the owner of the 'ball' python was told it was a ball python, well that person lied. Largest ball python I have heard of, was something around 5' and that was a huge female.