Large Snakes

[Yithian]

I've temporarily mislaid the source, but I read recently a discussion between a vet and a snake expert, and they concluded that we are likely to see larger snakes in the future.

Apparently, one of the most common issues with pet/captive snakes is lack of appetite, partly caused by the carefully controlled range of temperatures in which they are kept (overfeeding isn't much of an issue, apparently—they just ignore the excess).

In the wild, however—snakes being cold-blooded, of course—a rise in the temperature of their habitat will increase the speed of their metabolism and trigger larger appetites: the more they eat, the more they grow.

Whether this is good or bad news is largely subjective.

 

[MercuryCrest]

Here's one (there was an NBC link I found earlier, but it seemed to be a watered down version of this): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/science...rses-shrinking-size-CATS-scientists-warn.html

EDIT: This isn't so much a back and forth between vet and a herpetologist, but it does discuss the possibilities.

 

[lordmongrove]

MYSTERIOUS GIANT SERPENTS OF AFRICA AND ARABIA​

 

[lordmongrove]

The Mindi or Mallee Snake - Giant Serpent sighting in the Mallee Scrub in the 1840s​

 

[EnolaGaia]

Here's an excerpt from Charles Gould's Mythical Monsters concerning giant snakes in the Mallee area.

SOURCE: https://books.google.com/books?id=9...D#v=onepage&q=mallee snake OR serpent&f=false

 

[EnolaGaia]

Here's another massive one caught in Florida:

A Giant 185-Pound Florida Python May Be the New State Record​

A new record has been set for the largest (invasive Burmese) python captured in Florida.

Largest python ever found in Florida is 18 feet long and weighs a whopping 200 pounds

The largest Burmese python ever seen in Florida has been discovered, lured out of its hiding place in the Everglades by researchers who used another python as bait ...

The gargantuan snake was a female, measuring nearly 18 feet (5.4 meters) long and weighing 215 pounds (97 kilograms) — 30 pounds (13.6 kg) more than the next-largest python ever found in the state. Most Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) that are found in Florida range between 6 and 10 feet (1.8 and 3 m) long, although in their native habitats in Southeast Asia, the snakes commonly reach 18 feet long (5.4 m) and the largest can reach lengths of 20 feet (6 m) or more ...

Since being introduced in Florida in the 1970s, the invasive pythons have bred successfully in the southern regions of the state, where they prey on many native birds and mammals, as well as the occasional alligator or pet dog. ...

FULL STORY (With Photos & Video): https://www.livescience.com/largest-python-in-florida-found

 

[Yithian]

A new record has been set for the largest (invasive Burmese) python captured in Florida.

View attachment 56410​

FULL STORY (With Photos & Video): https://www.livescience.com/largest-python-in-florida-found

I don't want to seem excessively sentimental about a problematic invasive species, but there's no explanation as to why they killed her after going to such lengths to capture her.

I confess I was rather dismayed at the resolution.

 

[Coal]

I don't want to seem excessively sentimental about a problematic invasive species, but there's no explanation as to why they killed her after going to such lengths to capture her.

I confess I was rather dismayed at the resolution.

I thought there was a bounty on them?

 

[EnolaGaia]

I thought there was a bounty on them?

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has multiple programs dedicated to locating and eradicating invasive pythons. Access to information on these programs can be found starting at:

Burmese Pythons in Florida
https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/python/

Folks who register as contractors for the Python Action Team program are reimbursed for time spent doing surveys plus a bounty for each python captured / killed. These registered contractors are the only ones paid any standard fees for their eradication activities. In addition ...

Cash prizes are awarded for the general Florida Python Challenge event (in 2022, scheduled for August).

 

[Sharon Hill]

I don't want to seem excessively sentimental about a problematic invasive species, but there's no explanation as to why they killed her after going to such lengths to capture her.

I confess I was rather dismayed at the resolution.

They are severely affecting the fragile Everglades ecosystem and breeding. They have overtaken the allligator and Florida panther as top predators of the native wildlife. The death of this female with 122 eggs will be a small disruption in the propagation of this invasive species.

Their impact on the environment has been dramatic as they are competing with native wildlife for food. USGS reports:

"The most severe declines in native species have occurred in the remote southernmost regions of Everglades National Park, where pythons have been established the longest. In a 2012 study, populations of raccoons had dropped 99.3 percent, opossums 98.9 percent, and bobcats 87.5 percent since 1997. Marsh rabbits, cottontail rabbits, and foxes effectively disappeared." https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-have-invasive-pythons-impacted-florida-ecosystems

But, I wonder, if this was the largest Burmese python caught in the wild in Florida, wasn't it really the largest in North America? I mean, there aren't any other places in the US where tropical snakes are getting out of hand, and the Burmese python is one of the largest. (Green anacondas are also habituating in Florida but not as common.)

 

[lordmongrove]

22 foot reticulated python eats two dogs.
https://today98post.com/two-missing...zkD2UeU8sNVTIdLlS6X-4zYXHJSY6N26UaEbOp-wyIUPk

 

[Ogdred Weary]

I thought there was a bounty on them?

Having a chocolate bar on your person does not excuse murder.

 

[Sharon Hill]

22 foot reticulated python eats two dogs.
https://today98post.com/two-missing...zkD2UeU8sNVTIdLlS6X-4zYXHJSY6N26UaEbOp-wyIUPk

Before I clicked that, I assumed it was Florida. I foresee the day when this will happen there with regularity.

 

[lordmongrove]

Before I clicked that, I assumed it was Florida. I foresee the day when this will happen there with regularity.

I think pythons in the southern US will be like cane toads in Australia. They are unlikely to ever be totally eradicated.

 

[lordmongrove]

Police Shoot Dead 15-Foot Pet Snake Found Strangling Unconscious Man​

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/police-shoot-dead-15-foot-210437805.html

The snake on the picture is a common boa that does not grow to 15 feet. The attacker is probably a Burmese python, reticulated python or African rock python.

 

[Sharon Hill]

Police Shoot Dead 15-Foot Pet Snake Found Strangling Unconscious Man​

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/police-shoot-dead-15-foot-210437805.html

The snake on the picture is a common boa that does not grow to 15 feet. The attacker is probably a Burmese python, reticulated python or African rock python.

This story currently has limited information and I have lots of unanswered questions. Police in eastern Pennsylvania west of Allentown responded to a call for a man in cardiac arrest. They reported that when they arrived, a 28 year old man was unresponsive with a large snake wrapped around his neck. They reported the snake was 15 feet long. They shot the snake and the man is hospitalized. The headlines report he was strangled but it’s not at all clear if that was the case. It is possible, though, but this was the police making the circumstantial conclusion that the snake turned on its owner. There are no details about who called the police. If the man recovers, then we’ll have more certainty about what happened. https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2...ie-township-police-snake-shot-strangling-man/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/07/21/police-fatally-shoot-snake/

 

[EnolaGaia]

This story currently has limited information and I have lots of unanswered questions. ...

Update ... The man died ...

Pennsylvania man dies days after pet snake wraps around neck

A Pennsylvania man has died following an incident last week where his pet snake wrapped around his neck, leading an officer to shoot the reptile. ...

Elliot Senseman, 27, was pronounced dead at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest on Sunday morning, according to the Lehigh County Coroner's Office.

Officials said Senseman died from anoxic brain injury due to asphyxiation by constriction. The coroner's office said the manner of death was an accident. ...

In addition to the coroner's office, Senseman's death is being investigated by the police.

FULL STORY: https://abc7.com/pet-snake-wraps-ar...n-pennsylvania-death-officer-shoots/12071879/

 

[ramonmercado]

Didn't get far.

An 8ft (2.4m) yellow python has been found after escaping from a Nottinghamshire home.

The snake, named Lavender, appeared in a neighbour's garden on Monday after being reported missing from a property in Blandford Road, Chilwell, on 13 July.

The disappearance had prompted a police alert.

It is thought Lavender was tempted out of her hiding place by the fall in temperature and the need to eat.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-62297482

 

[EnolaGaia]

Florida's participatory 2022 python hunt is now underway ...

Python hunt! 800 compete to remove Florida’s invasive snakes

More than 800 competitors will be trudging through the Florida Everglades for the next eight days, in search of invasive Burmese pythons that will bring in thousands of dollars in prize money.

The python hunt officially began Friday morning and runs through 5 p.m. on Aug. 15 ...

Since 2000, more than 17,000 pythons have been removed from the Everglades ecosystem ...

Cash prizes of up to $2,500 are available in both the professional and novice categories for those who remove the most pythons, officials said. There are additional prizes for the longest python in each category. Each python must be dead, with hunters facing disqualification if they kill them inhumanely or kill a native snake.

So far, the registered hunters represent 32 states and Canada. Registrations are being accepted throughout the competition. It costs $25 to register and participants must also complete an online training course.

FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/article/oddities-miami-snakes-florida-reptiles-8479459c3f9f386edd751f3a7e2e6528

 

[lordmongrove]

30 foot snake in Australia 1890.

 

[Yithian]

Seven metres—eats humans.

Python swallows woman at plantation in Indonesia
Body of 54-year-old worker found in stomach of 7-metre snake on island of Sumatra

Rebecca Ratcliffe and Reno Surya
Wed 26 Oct 2022 08.04 EDT

A woman was found dead in the stomach of a 7-metre python at a rubber plantation where she worked in Indonesia, according to local reports.

The woman, identified as Jahrah, 54, went to work on the plantation in Jambi province, on the island of Sumatra, on Sunday morning and her husband reported her missing when she did not return home that evening.

Searching for her on Sunday night, her husband discovered her sandals, headscarf, jacket and the tools she used at work, and called for others to help, police told local media. The following morning, a python was spotted nearby.

Story continues:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.th...hon-swallows-woman-at-plantation-in-indonesia

 

[Sharon Hill]

Some outlets are reporting the woman was "eaten alive". She was very dead. The Washington Post noted that these encounters are increasing as the snakes have fewer prey items to hunt and people are intruding in their areas. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/10/26/indonesia-python-snake-eats-woman/

 

[Yithian]

Some outlets are reporting the woman was "eaten alive". She was very dead. The Washington Post noted that these encounters are increasing as the snakes have fewer prey items to hunt and people are intruding in their areas. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/10/26/indonesia-python-snake-eats-woman/

Do you mean to say she was dead when the snake found and consumed here, or that the snake killed and then ate her?

The article you link to says the latter.

 

[Sid]

Do you mean to say she was dead when the snake found and consumed here, or that the snake killed and then ate her?

The article you link to says the latter.

Other media states that she was eaten 'alive?' So, presumably she was first constricted by the snake then consumed?

 

[hunck]

I think the consensus is she would’ve been crushed/asphyxiated before being consumed.

 

[Erinaceus]

"You breathe in and your body gets smaller, it tightens its grip, and you can’t breathe out"

Isn't this the wrong way round?

 

[Yithian]

"You breathe in and your body gets smaller, it tightens its grip, and you can’t breathe out"

Isn't this the wrong way round?

'Gets smaller' is badly expressed.

Your diaphragm contracts and flattens while your chest and shoulders rise and your back straightens as you inhale; this briefly decreases your width in the middle of the torso.

You don't shrink...

A tighened grip at this moment stops the diaphragm returning to its resting position with exhalation.

 

[Sharon Hill]

Do you mean to say she was dead when the snake found and consumed here, or that the snake killed and then ate her?

The article you link to says the latter.

I suppose she could have died then been eaten but the snake constriction action killed her first. They can't eat large wiggly prey still trying to escape, obviously.

 

[hunck]

18 foot long python found with 5 foot alligator inside

In Florida.

The python had been euthanized by workers in the field. They called in more researchers to dissect the snake when they realized it had a large object in its stomach.

‘It honestly surprised me how little people knew about the invasive pythons in Florida and their impacts on our native populations down there.’

Short video at link.

 

[Jim]

18 foot long python found with 5 foot alligator inside

In Florida.



Short video at link.

congrats to the gator. Large gators are florida's only predator to eat - kill those invasive Burmese pythons, who ruin the ecosystem.