Hey, did you lose your python?

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Last week sometime a resident of Bethany Oklahoma found that his fifteen foot python had escaped. Yet the zoo professionals say, "Don't worry." Oklahoma is not the everglades. The python likely would not survive the winter outdoors in central Oklahoma, but this still brings to light the hazards of holding exotic pets in captivity. If this one is not found before winter I would be very cautious of entering heated garages and storage sheds once the weather turns cold. Oh, and do not forget to look up for them nesting in the rafters. In Florida the Burmese python is problematical. In 2002 over 2000 were caught in the state. According to an article by Popular Scientist Magazine a female can produce up to 87 offspring in the wild. It is likely some are escaped pets, or pets that got too large and people turned them loose. Hurricane Andrew destroyed a snake breeding facility and it is quite likely that some of the pythons now being seen and caught are descended from those that were accidentally set free during that disaster. Native snakes are fearsome enough. Our post office had a baby copperhead that it caught in a glue trap inside the back room. Native snakes do have natural predators, though. I have even seen free range chickens catch and eat baby snakes, just as if they were overgrown worms. In Arizona they have found snakes hiding inside pool noodles, trying to escape the heat. So be careful out there. Snakes can be anywhere.