REGISTER STAR (Rockford, Illinois) 12 June 08 4-foot python found in Starbucks parking lot (Isaac Guerrero)
Rockford: Snakes alive! That’s what Doreen Hanzel thought when a woman walked into Petco on East State Street this morning holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a 4-foot albino Burmese python in the other.
“From what the lady described, she had gone into the Starbucks across the parking lot to get a coffee and when she came out, this snake was sunning itself on the pavement next to her car,” said Hanzel, the operations manager at Petco.
“It didn’t strike her or anything, so we figured it was somebody’s pet and it was just abandoned in the parking lot.”
The java drinker — Hanzel never got her name, nor did a Winnebago County Animal Services officer who showed up a bit later — picked up the bright yellow reptile and carried it across the Forest Plaza parking lot to Petco.
It’s quite common for owners of exotic animals to abandon pets in public places, said Animal Services Director Gary Longanecker.
“Often times, people lose the interest in the pet, or the animal grows too large and they can no longer house them or feed them, so they take it to an alley or a parking lot and just dump it,” Longanecker said.
“Normally, we’d take the animal back to our shelter,” he said. “In this case, Petco has better facilities to house the snake and care for it. They’re better equipped to keep it and find a zoo or a foster home for it.”
Full-grown Burmese pythons can easily reach 18 feet in length and weigh 200 pounds or more. They routinely live 25 years or more in captivity. People often mishandle these potentially huge constrictors and attacks on handlers — sometimes deadly — are not uncommon.
Young Burmese pythons can temporarily live in a 20-gallon or larger aquarium until larger housing is built. Given its size, the python dropped off at Petco is probably no more than eight months old, Hanzel said.
“This snake is pretty docile, but Burmese pythons are more aggressive as far as pythons go,” Hanzel said. “They can inflict some nasty bites resulting in stitches. They’re usually the ones you hear about when you hear about snakes attacking children.”
Burmese pythons typically eat “anything they want — from rodents to birds,” Hanzel said. “We initially thought something was wrong this snake’s mouth.”
Upon closer inspection, Hanzel realized the reptile may have had a snack before it was spotted.
“It may have eaten some geese eggs,” she said. “It had dried blood or feathers around its mouth.”
The identity of the java drinker who brought the snake to Petco is still a mystery. Hanzel said the woman should be thanked.
“She’s a good Samaritan,” Hanzel said. “It’s not every day you meet someone trying to save a snake like this.”
4-foot python found in Starbucks parking lot
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IL Press: 4-ft python found @ Starbucks
Replies (6)
“This snake is pretty docile, but Burmese pythons are more aggressive as far as pythons go,” Hanzel said. “They can inflict some nasty bites resulting in stitches. They’re usually the ones you hear about when you hear about snakes attacking children.” ...Hanzel (the operations manager at Petco) said.
My lip is a deep purple from me biting it so hard. Anyone care to let us know just what are the requirements for being a Petco operations manager are?
May I suggest a Kingsnake.com Burmese Python Forum reading assignment?
Later!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American
another bad pet owner and bad judgement. Ya the Petco manager sounds very loose. These days alot of places do not have the real help they need in their stores. Thats a long discusion I do not have time to get into at the moment. A burm eating eggs, thats a funny one in it's self.
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Education is Everything.......
"another bad pet owner and bad judgement
That may be true, to some degree. I have a hard time believing that anyone would simply do as said in the article - release a 4ft albino Burmese Python. It's only 4ft long, not 14ft, and has yet to become too big to handle, to house, or costly to feed.
A possible suspicious point - What are the odds of a woman that's not afraid of snakes finding a burm in a parking lot, picking it up & turning it in to a nearby pet store? Hmmmmmmm...
Later!
Mike
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American
aside from them being "so aggressive"....
Since when is petco able to house a burm... ? The ones near me get an ear-full every weekend, when i see 20 balls in the equivilant of a 20- gallon tank... same with the red tails... and then they were selling iguanas as chinese water dragons.... (for 70$)...
god i hate petco... god i hate stupid people...
At least the lady that found it wasn't anti-snake.... could have been FAR worse...
~Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue
Ha! Yeah, I picked up on that "housing" statement, too.
I can deal with ignorant people, it's the know-it-all ignorant ones that I have real issues with. And I think that's what you're talking about, too.
This isn't just a "Petco" thing, it's fairly rampant all-throughout pet stores ("dadspets" touched base on this). And it doesn't stop there. With an inside line in my local public school system there's absolutely no wonder what's happening to our nation's society.
"Get a grip, HH!"
Ha! Yeah, I'd better.
Th, th, th, th,.... that's all, folks!
Later!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American
You do have a good point Mike. Being only 4 ft was kinda weird.
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Education is Everything.......
