If she was able to tell the cop not to kill the snake, she very likely was also able to tell him how to remove the snake from her (assuming she had enough experience with snakes to know herself), and any bites he received may have been his fault. The article’s author appears to have spoken to the cop about the series of events, but not to the woman herself. She is not even named, nor is the pet store.
I think the cop was telling his “look at me, I’m so brave, I fought a 12 foot python” story and the reporter assigned to police duty just ate it up, while the pet store employee is probably wondering why the random customer called 911 rather than just unravel the snake from her (that’s a guess on my part, but sounds plausible to me!)
If the animal had her hand, and wrapped her arm, it would have committed at least 2/3 of it’s length just to that. the remaining tail length, while significant would not be enough to constrict anyone’s throat. When the snake grabbed her neck to anchor itself, no doubt panic ensued.
Burmese are from Asia, not Africa, nor the Amazon. Secondly, Loads of people like to have snakes as pets. If they are handled regularly from a young age, they are extremely docile. We had an albino Burmese of near the same length, named “daisy” who sat on the couch with the dog, using her as a heat mat. The dog didn’t mind, and the snake never was aggressive to anyone.
Snakes make excellent pets for those who take time to understand them. They are not the same as a dog or a cat and the keeper has to act accordingly. They are clean, hypo-allergenic, cheap to feed, make no noise, do not smell, and are beautifully patterned and colored. They do not require attention from you if you are busy, though regular handling keeps their temperaments polite. It is also fascinating to watch them go about their business in a well kept, nicely designed enclosure, just like a beautiful saltwater aquarium.
Yeah, it’s one of those typical, sensationalist scantily-informed Internet news articles that so often find their way onto this message board. I got the impression that the woman wasn’t the owner of the shop. Maybe she was just an under-trained employee.
Who knows with this kind of article? It could be that the cop really thought that she was on the brink of death. It reminds me of local TV news where (on a day where Congress has passed a law that yet again removes one more civil right throughout the land) they lead with something like this, framing it as though it were a Hollywood action movie. They interview one person (usually some bystander who can barely form a complete sentence), and then go back to the anchor who says, “That’s so scary!!!”
I saw the story on the local TV news last night. The snake was sizeable, and the owner of the shop looked quite sheepish – she’d stuck her hand in the cage at the wrong moment, or smelling like food, apparently.
May I point out, however, Sunrazor, that if the cop had started shooting as you suggest you would have, he would have shot the woman’s hand off? Because the snake was gripping its hand in her mouth.
It sounds like the customer panicked – which is why that customer presumably should never, EVER own a big snake – and called 911 rather than just help the woman get the snake off her. Granted, a big snake is incredibly strong; it can be a two-or-more-person job to uncoil one. But there was no need to go crazy on it; the snake was just doing its snaky thing.
In one local report, there was speculation that the woman had been handling mice before the unpleasantness with the snake, FWIW.
I’ve always liked snakes, though my ownership of them has been confined to keeping garters in a terrarium for a few days after encountering them in the garden. My cat occasionally brings one into the house but they’re very good at knotting themselves up so they’re hard for a cat to damage.
I’ve had a soft spot for large-ish captive constrictors since 6th grade. My science teacher had three snakes:
-a 3-4 foot little guy named Fritz, who liked climbing inside things like printers and binders and not coming out for a good long time (Fritz died a year after I left the class. He had escaped and climbed inside the map cupboard, where he crawled into a map tube and died. The class stunk for a good week).
a 6-7 foot “albino” constrictor named Sunny. Sunny was a little grumpy, so most kids left her alone, except one girl who really liked her. One time she was holding Sunny, and Sunny decided to crawl down her shirt and through her shorts. A group of us had to go to the ladies room to untangle her. Another time, this girl had been knocking on Sunny’s cage, trying to get her attention, and then went to pick her up. Sunny bit her HARD on the hand. I rather imagine it hurt quite a bit, but no one blamed the snake, not even the girl that got bit.
-My favorite, Fluffy, a 5-6 foot boa constrictor. I always enjoyed having Fluffy draped over my shoulders. She was a nice snake.
Anyways, since then I’ve always been fond of captive constrictors. As long as you treat them with respect and know how to handle them, there is no reason to be that scared of them. Granted, with increased size comes increased caution, but I would probably have jumped right in. Of course, the yelling and general chaos that ensued when the cops came in likely didn’t help calm the snake down any, but they eventually got it off.
Before anyone thinks I am a total snake lover, I will completely admit to squealing like a little girl when encountering little bitty tiny garter snakes outside. I have also spent many semi-horrified hours in front of the TV watching snake-based programs and saying repeatedly “That guy is a complete MORON. I would be in the next freaking COUNTRY if I saw that snake.”
You guys just aren’t getting it, are you? I don’t care WHERE the snake is FROM!! I’m not going to check it’s damn passport or green card or cargo manifest or whateverthehell! If I’m a police officer and I see a huge snake wrapped around a human, the snake dies. In a hail of bullets. A HAIL, DO YOU HEAR!?!? BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM (how many is that, six? I got three more!) BAMBAMBAM!
Years ago, as an undergraduate, I had the care and feeding of the residents of a university reptile lab as a workstudy job. There were a couple ball pythons, some boas whose exact species I disremember, a copperhead, a whole pile of black snakes, some garter snakes, three really big snapping turtles, assorted geckos, iguanas, and sundry other scaly creatures.
Firstly, snakes really aren’t terrifying if you know their habits and behaviors. The blacksnakes, for example, were far more ill-tempered than “my” copperhead. He was one of the retards of the snake world, but I digress…
Secondly, I still don’t know why anybody would keep reptiles as pets. They may (or may not) get used to being handled to the point where they accept it, but they never really learn to recognize anybody nor do they interact with you the way a dog, cat, or one of the smarter birds will. They are display items more than pets. When you get into dangerous reptiles like really big snakes, venemous snakes, alligators, etc., you definitely are not talking about something that could be legitimately called a pet.
I keep one as a pet for reasons mentioned earlier in the thread – they are clean, they don’t stink, they require very little care (they only eat once a WEEK or so, which is one of their best qualities), it’s fun to watch them eat – like your own little live Discovery Channel – they are interestingly colored/marked, and they’re cool.
If the average random pet store customer is anything like me, you bet your ass I’m calling 911. I’m not getting closer to any stinkin’ snake than twice its body length, especially if it’s already out of its cage and wrapped around someone. Oh, yeah, like I’ll step right in and “unravel the snake” from around her. No problem, I go around grabbing snakes every day.
