THE MERCURY (Hobart, Tasmania) 16 January 08 One too many snakes (David Killick)
A cuddly 1.8 metre carpet python called Piper has landed a Carlton amateur heptologist in trouble for having one too many snakes in his house.
Matthew Stephen Stafford, 25, took over the snake's care after the original owner found he couldn't look after it properly.
"I did 100 per cent the right thing," he said yesterday.
"The bloke who had it, his wife was waking up in the night and finding it wrapped around the kids.
Mr Stafford, who is licenced to care for snakes and lizards and already held a permit for one carpet python, swapped an old station wagon worth $600 for the snake.
He took the scaly beast to the vet and had it microchipped and was keeping it it enclosed within a terrarium.
But Piper was seized by Wildlife Management Branch officers acting after a tip off on March 18 last year.
In the Hobart Magistrates' Court yesterday, Mr Stafford pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing a controlled animal without a permit.
Magistrate Peter Dixon convicted Mr Stafford and fined him $300. Piper was forefeited to the crown.
One too many snakes