Believed Dead, Python Revives At Landfill (Hold muh beer alert!)

WMAQ-TV/Chicago - NBC5 News ^ | 8.6.02

[Chad Fairbanks]

While this is a neat little story, one could wonder why it needed a 'Hold muh beer alert'... :0)

[mhking]

one could wonder why it needed a 'Hold muh beer alert'...

As in "Hold muh beer while I throw away my python..."

[Yardstick]

What a funny episode, and what a funny little article! I love this:

Apparently, the snake, named Ariel, had gone into a state of suspended animation. Her owner said snakes sometimes do that when stressed.

[MagnoliaMS]

Thanks, mh. Just the thought of a 250# python will make for some really bad nightmares tonight! LOL.

[11th Earl of Mar]

While this is a neat little story, one could wonder why it needed a 'Hold muh beer alert'

I'm with you. And I could do without most of the other 'Hold muh beer' headlines. Sheesh!

[Jeff Chandler]

Q: Why on earth would anyone keep a 250lb reptile as a "pet"?

A: Some people crave attention.

[The Great RJ]

Be sure to always put the toilet seat lid down, least one of these devils comes up through your plumbing.

[VOA]

But the 250-pound Burmese python sprang to life when it was dropped several feet at the
Delta Township, Mich., landfill -- startling the two teenagers who were working
to unload it.

Shame on me...but this I do wish the EPA would go after these pukes for attempting
to introduce a "non-native" species into the environment.

Besides, the idea of pythons, crocodiles, alligators, snakehead fish or walking catfish
being put where nature didn't intend them ticks me off.

Here in West Los Angeles where many gun-control yuppies have no problem with walking
their pit bulls off the leash and have the weirdest pets at home...I wouldn't be shocked
to find a escapee python at my apartment some day.

[VOA]

Be sure to always put the toilet seat lid down, least one of these devils comes
up through your plumbing.

I think you have the basis of a very good advertising campaign.
"One can of our lye-based toilet bowl cleaner a week keeps the pythons away!"
[Although you may need a real plumber to get a dead one out of your pipes!]

[dighton]

Bring out your not-dead not-Monty pythons!

[Zaxis]

And now for something completely different...

[spetznaz]

Actually this just shows a serious trend that has been happening where inexperienced handlers (read teenagers) buy young constrictors since they are only around 12 inches long and look cute (to those who do not jump up at the sight of a reptile). However at times they end up buying 'cute little' snakes that end up being either Reticulated Pythons, Burmese Pythons, African Rock Pythons, or Anacondas! And the thing about these particular snakes is that a teeny tiny 10 incher can grow up to be over 25 feet in length, and so strong that once it starts to constrict it would be hard for a gang of men to unwrap the snake! Actually even 'smaller' adult constrictors like the Boa Constrictor can kill a person easily if it wraps itself around the kneck ....while the larger behemoths like the Reticulated, African Rock, and the Burmese are not only certified man-killers but man-eaters!

The following photo is of a 13 tear old Burmese Python called 'Baby.' It is 20 feet long, and is expected to continue growing for the rest of its 20-25 year life expectancy (meaning that in the future Baby will be much larger). And note the picture shown here is not Baby's full length ...it is only a partial shot! Now imagine how long a full grown Reticulated Python can be since the largest recorded was 32 feet 10 inches long (and this was a shot specimen, meaning there is always the chance they can grow larger than that depending on the conditions, and a snake that is well fed and kept in a safe warm environment, AKA a person's home, will obviously get much larger than it would in the wild).

Anyway here is a photo of Baby:

That is the reason herpetologists say it is unwise for unexperienced handlers to purchase constrictors that will eventually get large. Actually even skilled snake handlers have died when their pythons got spooked or lashed out during a feeding frenzy! And trust me, if a snake like baby gets you chances are you will die (and even if it is shot its muscular spasms might actually even kill you faster). And although they have no venom they have recurved teeth that are quite long and needle sharp ....the teeth are recuved to ensure their prey does not escape once it is captured. And many pythons go for the face with the bite, and then throw their coils.

Here are some other pictures of constrictors. The one below is of a 'smaller' Burmese, and then the one below that is of a small African Rock (they can get HUGE, with some experts saying a full grown African Rock comes third after the Reticulated and the Anaconda in total length). This particular Rock is a juvenile, but look at how it consumes that rabbit, and then make that Rock into a 20 foot adult and the rabbit into you!

And finally a couple of exerpts of some experiences some handlers have had with large constrictors:

The first has to do with Baby (the 20 footer in the picture) who was housed in a room with an Anaconda (why, i do not know):

I stepped a bit closer to the glass to stare into Baby's eyes. "I bet feeding him is a real challenge," I managed to squeak. Louis laughed and gave me an incredulous look. "Baby eats several live chickens a week. And you're right about feeding him, it's tricky." Louis held up his right hand to show me a recently healed wound that required 25 stitches. He blamed himself for the injury, however. "A couple of weeks ago, while I was feeding Baby, I let my guard down and got distracted. Things got pretty hairy. I was lucky to make it out the door of this habitat." That day, Louis failed to separate his snakes before feeding them. While he was giving Baby some chickens, he failed to notice that the anaconda had slithered up onto a large rock just above the feasting python. In the wink of an eye, the anaconda dropped down, grabbed a chicken in its mouth and began pulling it from Baby's jaws. "I couldn't allow that," Louis said. "The situation would have escalated and there would have been a terrible fight. I might have lost one of my snakes." As Louis struggled to free the chicken from the grasp of the anaconda, it clamped down on his hand. The python, excited first by the feeding and then by the frantic activity with the anaconda, looked at Louis and began moving quickly in his direction. It was then than Louis managed to shoot through the habitat door and slam it shut behind him. "I heard the click of the safety catch, followed by as loud thud as the python's head slammed into the door."

However my favorite experience is one by Cartoonist Gary Larson. Cartoonist Gary Larson, of The Far Side, also had a close call with a Burmese python he had raised from a baby. According to Larson he realized he was "LIVING WITH A GIGANTIC PREDATOR WITH A VERY SMALL BRAIN" one day when it tried to do him in.

[piasa]

So much for the easter bunny. You didn't get any eggs in your basket last easter, did you?

[goodieD]

that thing is HUGE!! The worst my dachshund could do to me is trip me up and lick me to death.

[Chad Fairbanks]

But that still doesn't answer my question... Perhaps more details would help...

;0)

[mlocher]

Apparently, the snake, named Ariel, had gone into a state of suspended animation.

the state of michigan is sometimes referred to as having suspended animation, even more so with what's her face winning the democratic gubenatorial race

[jumpstartme]

Bunnies don't lay eggs, even when they are shitting their pants. You know that.

[Tennessee_Bob]

He can keep that python. Here's the one I want:

[Billthedrill]

The landfill manager said the snake "woke up and decided it didn't want to be there."

Note to self: when python decides it doesn't want to be someplace, agree with it...