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THE AGE (Melbourne, Australia) 10 December 07 Missing snake 'not bitey' (Adam Carey)
The owner of a three-metre carpet python missing in Melbourne's inner north has pleaded for its safe return.
'Rusty' — a three-metre, 10 kilogram rust-coloured python about as thick as a man's arm — was reported missing at midday yesterday after escaping from its owner's home on Noone Street, Clifton Hill.
"He's been with us a long time, he's a favourite pet and it's distressing that he's lost and it would be even more distressing if he was hurt," snake owner Tim Marshall said.
Mr Marshall said the python posed no threat to people and would probably seek shelter on or inside somebody's roof.
"He's like most snakes, he's timid, he's shy, he'll try and hide and he's not at all aggressive, he's not bitey," he said.
Melbourne Zoo reptile specialist John Birkett agreed the snake would probably be placid.
"Some (carpet pythons) can be very quiet, some can be a bit cranky," he said.
"But generally speaking they're fairly well-behaved, especially if the animal's been in captivity for a while."
Mr Birkett, a licensed snake controller, described carpet pythons as climbers and said Rusty may well have gone up a tree.
"It's most likely going to climb, because they're very arboreal. It's not likely to be cruising down the footpath. But who knows?" he said.
He said the snake could also be hunting rats or birds.
Victoria Police had warned bird owners nearby not to leave them outside.
"Anyone with canaries or budgerigars are advised not leave their birds outside in small cages,'' a police spokesman said.
But Mr Marshall said Rusty, who lives on a diet of rats and rabbits, would probably not be looking for food.
"He eats every couple of weeks, he had a big feed last week, so he certainly won't be hungry," he said.
Mr Marshall said he had kept Rusty and a second carpet python as pets in a tank for about 10 years.
Anyone who has seen a snake resembling Rusty's description should contact police.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/missing-snake-not-bitey/2007/12/10/1197135327639.html?s_cid=rss_news

THE AGE (Melbourne, Australia) 16 December 07 Worried family begs public not to pulverise pet python Rusty (John Mangan)
Rusty, 10, of Clifton Hill, has been missing for a week now. Concerned family members ask the general public to be on the look-out for a low-profile, upwardly mobile, three-metre, 10-kilogram, brown and charcoal carpet python, with an inquiring manner and fussy eating habits.
They also beg the general public NOT to panic if they bump into Rusty. He's a completely domesticated python, not poisonous, not even a biter.
Rusty usually lives in a glassed-in enclosure in the Marshall household with his mate, Dave, 8, a diamond python, but since they're both so friendly and generally slow moving, when guests visit, they're let out to wander around the lounge room.
One minute last Sunday Rusty was basking on the balcony, the next he had completely disappeared.
"He's a climber, so he's probably gone up the pipe into the roof," says Tim Marshall, who was shocked by Rusty's sudden departure.
"My main worry is that he's going to end up in pieces on the end of somebody's shovel, or he gets flattened trying to cross Hoddle Street."
Rusty has been a Marshall family pet for a decade, since he was a tiny snakelet, no bigger than your finger, and with his owner, Harley, 19, travelling in Europe, parents Tim and Fran were looking after him.
Harley is somewhere on the snake-free Irish west coast at the moment, and unless he's read about it on the internet, hasn't heard Rusty is missing.
"I feel awful," says Mr Marshall. "I just hope that we've got him back before Harley calls."
Rusty and Dave are pretty easygoing, and have no trouble sharing the lounge-room with the Marshalls' cat, Bailey, and dog, Angel. The serpents are even well-liked by the neighbours, who sometimes help keep them watered when the Marshalls are on holiday.
Tim Marshall first kept snakes and lizards as a child in the Adelaide Hills, and stresses how different the big, harmless pythons are from the much smaller, poisonous tiger snakes you might find in nearby Yarra parkland.
Jon Birkett, a snake expert at Melbourne Zoo, has checked out the Clifton Hill townhouse looking for clues, and urges calm about the missing snake.
"All you need to do if you come across Rusty is stay calm, stand back, keep your pets away, keep an eye on him, and call the police, or the council, or the RSPCA, or the zoo; they'll all be able to give you the number of a licensed snake controller."
Similarly, since Rusty is in the habit of shedding his skin every couple of months or so, if you do find a large abandoned exterior, let the authorities know as it may provide a crucial clue to his current whereabouts.
Mr Birkett says Rusty might have wandered off into Clifton Hill's stormwater drains, but he'd be much more comfortable somewhere dry and elevated, such as a ceiling, or in the rafters of a carport or shed.
Rusty is still a young snake and could easily live another 10 or 15 years, as long as he can avoid the shovels and Hoddle Street. Because he was fed shortly before disappearing — he eats only rats — he may not need another meal for weeks.
Sadly, pythons are not known for their homing instincts. "We're hoping he's in the roof," says Mr Marshall. "He's not hungry, there's dew up there, a bit of rain, he'd be as happy as Larry."
Worried family begs public not to pulverise pet python Rusty

THE AGE (Melbourne, Australia) 19 December 07 Hiss-taken identity: it's not Rusty (Adam Carey)
A carpet python has been found in Melbourne's outer-east, but police on the scene have confirmed it is not 'Rusty', the pet snake reported as missing early last week.
But today's find could offer hope to Rusty's owner - the carpet python is also a missing pet.
Carpet python 'George' was rescued from a tree in Endeavour Hills after being reported missing two months ago.
Sergeant John Blackburn, who kept watch below a tree up which the snake had climbed, said George would be reunited with his owner, an eight-year-old boy.
Police believe the snake was stolen from a backyard enclosure two months ago and had been roaming around the neighbourhood ever since.
Sergeant Blackburn said a cleaning lady at work saw the snake climb up a drain pipe and on to a roof before police were called to the scene.
"When we got down here it was going up the tree and being the brave policemen we are we weren't prepared to grab it and try and pull it to ground because we didn't know what sort of snake it was," he said.
Sergeant Blackburn said a snake controller from Snake Busters began "hacking away at the tree and trying to shake the tree" to bring the python down.
In a chaotic scene, The Age overheard the snake controller asking the police officer to fetch ropes from the back of his van, only for the officer to refuse because "there's death adders in there".
"He's got the top 20 deadliest snakes in the back of his car, and he wants us to go through his car to find some ropes," Sergeant Robertson told The Age.
The snake controller brought George to ground and captured him soon after.
Rusty's disappointed owner, Tim Marshall, said he was still holding out hope that his own pet python would eventually make it back home.
"It's hard to be optimistic, but the snake controller says there's a good chance he'll show up in the end," he said.
Rusty - a three-metre, 10 kilogram rust-coloured python about as thick as a man's arm - was reported missing last week after escaping from his owner's home in Noone Street, Clifton Hill.
"He's been with us a long time, he's a favourite pet and it's distressing that he's lost and it would be even more distressing if he was hurt," snake owner Tim Marshall said at the time.
Mr Marshall said the python posed no threat to people and would probably seek shelter on or inside somebody's roof.
"He's like most snakes, he's timid, he's shy, he'll try and hide and he's not at all aggressive, he's not bitey," he said.
Lost or stolen pet snakes must be reported to police, but many snake owners do not have a licence as is required by law, and therefore do not report them as missing.
Unclaimed carpet pythons often end up being released into the wild in Queensland or sold to reptile parks.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/hisstaken-identity-its-not-rusty/2007/12/19/1197740362990.html?s_cid=rss_news