HOLLAND SENTINEL (Michigan) 24 July 04 One snake found, one still missing - Owner claims albino python found outside home, experts warn to be careful with any snake (Roel Garcia)
After the capture of a six-and-a-half-foot snake Thursday night in Holland, it seemed a reptile that had been at-large since July 5 had been caught.
But the snake captured late Thursday turned out to be an albino Burmese python.
The snake that escaped from a home at the corner of 16th Street and Central Avenue was a boa constrictor and is still not accounted for.
While these large snakes seem to be slow and their bite is not poisonous, one expert does not recommend approaching them if you see them in your front yard or driveway.
Stefanie Strowenjans, a veterinarian's assistant at Ottawa County Animal Hospital, 620 Butternut Drive, said people inexperienced with handling large constrictors should not handle them.
"They have teeth and will bite you," said Strowenjans, 24, who owns a 2-year-old red-tailed boa constrictor. "You will need stitches if you're bitten by one."
Strowenjans said that boas and pythons will also strike if provoked. If the snake is five feet away and it's a six-foot snake, it will strike and bite, she said.
She said that if an inexperienced person has to handle a boa or python, the person should grab it by the back of the head.
However, Strowenjans recommended placing a towel or large cloth on top of the snake.
"Throw a towel or blanket on them. They like to hide and they like warm places," she said.
Strowenjans said that if a constrictor-type of snake gets wrapped around a person's neck or chest, it could kill the individual.
After the snake was captured Thursday at a home on East 26th Street, people on the scene had difficulty determining whether the snake was a boa constrictor or python. The yellowish snake appeared to be about six feet long and could have matched the description of the lost boa constrictor from July 5.
Steve Hamm, an employee and reptile connoisseur from Pets For Everyone at the Holland Outlet Center, cleared up the snake confusion.
"Boas have nostrils and pythons have pits on their upper lip," said Hamm, 25, who owns five boas. "Also, boas give birth to live young. Pythons lay eggs."
Jack Waterway, owner of Best Way Animal Removal, said the owner of the albino Burmese python called him after reading the article in Friday's Sentinel.
"He was pretty relieved to get it back. He said he got the snake last August," Waterway said. "He said it was worth $3,000."
Waterway, who has been in business for a year and a half, said he has only received about five calls for snakes. But he has had four this summer.
He said he charges $75 for animal removals but charged the family on East 26th Street only $50 Thursday night.
One snake found, one still missing