Neighbour’s albino python flies the coop, nearly runs afoul of urban flock
Tag Archives: reptile
Reptile News: Reptile News: Don’t smuggle from Brazil
Black Hastings market
Apparently the fine of $220,000 and up to 2 years in jail is not enough to detour people from traveling to Hastings and attempting to smuggle the native snakes out for sale on the black market. Port Macquarie was known for its Stephens Banded Snakes and Intergrade Pythons. Apparently the Intergrade Pythons from that area have a distinct sought after coloration that is hard to reproduce in captivity.
One 50yo man was recently caught after being bitten by one of the Banded snakes and seeking emergency treatment but according to National Parks and Wildlife Service Ranger Andrew Marshall the man was not charged because he did not admit to his intentions to collect and sell the snake on the black market.
Pregnant or just plain fat?
Well I expected her to drop some babies a few nights ago but I am starting to wander if she just isn’t fat and not pregnant at all. What do you think?
House Evacuated for Eight Weeks after Pet Cobra Vanishes
Snakes, as every schoolboy knows, can go for quite some time between meals. Even monocled cobras — extremely poisonous, but hardly the hardiest of reptiles — can survive up to six weeks without a bite. Which helps explain why a house in the western German city of Mülheim is being sealed off and evacuated for two months.
The saga began over a week ago when amateur snake keeper Kevin O., 19, brought home his exotic new pet and installed it in a terrarium complete with the ventilation system necessary to keep the three-month old serpent toasty warm. Just a short time later, however, the snake tank was empty and its occupant was nowhere to be found. O. called the authorities.
What followed was one of the lengthiest and most expensive pet-hunts Germany has seen in recent years. The walls, floor and ceiling of O’s attic apartment were dismantled and the two units on the ground floor below were also carefully searched. Flour was strewn on the floor in the hopes of collecting tracks. Strong, double-sided tape was installed to perhaps trap the cobra baby. The fire department even brought in mini-cameras to search the tightest and most inaccessible corners.
To no avail. On Sunday, the search was called off and the renters were told they would have to find alternate accommodation for eight weeks — by which time, it is assumed, the snake will have starved to death. The house has been sealed off to cut off any possible reptilian escape routes, though the cobra is not likely to venture outdoors, say experts, due to chilly German temperatures.
A Hefty Bill
For Kevin O., however, the drama is far from over. In all, the search cost close to €40,000 — and that’s just for the fire department. There were numerous other agencies involved in the search in addition to the construction company tasked with stripping O’s apartment to the studs. The owner of the house is also unlikely to be pleased with the structure’s new look. Even if keeping poisonous pets is legal in Germany, it is considered likely that O. will be presented with a hefty bill.
In the meantime, the mini-cobra remains hidden. “We probably won’t find the snake even in a hundred years,” said a fire department spokesman on Sunday. “No matter what we do.”