Reptile & Amphibian Forums

KANSAS CITY, Mo (Reuters) – A Kansas woman faces a charge of harboring a vicious animal after her pet python grabbed onto her neck and would not let go until a police officer intervened.

Chrystal Wilson of Lyons, Kan., took the eight-foot-long albino snake from its cage for feeding Tuesday when it clasped its jaws on the side of her neck, Police Chief Chris Detmer said Friday. Luckily, the snake has small teeth rather than sharp fangs, he said.

A child in the house called police. Officer Max Bryant forced the jaws of the snake apart with his hands. Bryant will get a citation for bravery from the Lyons City Council, Detmer said.

"There's not too many guys or women who would grab it by the end of the mouth like that," Detmer said. The snake was not wrapped around Wilson but she was reportedly visibly upset because she could not get it off her neck, Detmer said.

Wilson is in her mid 20s and moved to Lyons about a year ago, Detmer said. She was ordered to remove the snake from the home because it poses a risk to children there, he said. She received a misdemeanor citation for harboring the snake.

Neither Wilson nor Bryant could be reached for comment Friday.

Source: news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110418/od_nm/us_snake

I think there needs to be a minimum IQ level required in order to post comments to any given online news article.

After attending hearings and testifying against numerous restrictive pet legislation bills over the years and hearing senators repeatedly tell me inane things such as, that reptile breeders need to be licensed and inspected so their snakes can be temperament tested so that buyers can be assured of getting snakes that wont bite, I now realize that those comments reflect the mentality and IQ of most of our politicians.

Accidents do occasionally happen. There can be procedural remedies put in place to eliminate a repeat occurrence.
Giving the Police Officer a citation for bravery is ridiculous. What a sick sick society we live in.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

The woman and the python were shown on the TV news today. The python was clearly underweight and is obviously not being fed adequately, which accounts for any hyperaggressive feeding response.

This information needs to get into the media because I suspect that improper feeding techniques account for 99% of all incidents such as this one. I wonder if someone could get a media interview to explain proper feeding techniques to Boa/Python owners as a sort of public service.

Here's the skinny (pun intended):

Q. What does a Boa/Python eat?
A. Rodents or rabbits that are roughly the same diameter as the mid-point of the snake.

Q. How often should a Boa/Python be fed?
A. You should feed a snake within a day or so after it defecates, or approximately every 2 weeks, but never more than 3 meals without a defecation.

Q. What is the proper way to feed a Boa/Python?
A. For snakes up to 6 feet in length, offer pre-killed food from tongs that are at least 12 inches. For bigger or very aggressive snakes, use tongs that are 24 inches in length. In general, there is no need to remove a snake from its enclosure for feeding purposes.

These are my general rules. If anyone feels differently, please comment.