12ft (3.7m) python kills toddler

[Dark Matter]

The snake dosnt know any better..........Its a snake, not very smart!

 

[Colin1]

Fighting dogs make up for only 50% of all dog attacks, so the other 50% come from normal average every day dogs

There's a Freudian slip in there somewhere

So what's the breakdown for snake attacks? What constitutes a normal average every day snake?

Or are they, as I suspect, all the same instinct-driven creatures that want to sneak out at night and forage for suitable live prey?

 

[Dark Matter]

A 2-3 ft snake sounds normal to me.

 

[Colin1]

Why? Explain please. Birds belong in the wild, lizards belong in the wild and fish belong in the wild.

Snakes harm less people than dogs or cats...

Should we banish all dogs and cats to the wild?

Cats and dogs can be domesticated
Fish don't sneak out at night and strangle your kids
Keeping birds is pretty damned cruel if you ask me
I think lizards belong in the wild too but anything unlikely to nip a curious child's finger or arm (most lizard bites are loaded with bacteria) passes with me

You need to bear in mind none of this is 'when I rule the world...' it's simply my opinion

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

There's a Freudian slip in there somewhere

So what's the breakdown for snake attacks? What constitutes a normal average every day snake?

Or are they, as I suspect, all the same instinct-driven creatures that want to sneak out at night and forage for suitable live prey?

I don't know the demographics, but a quick search says that a little over 6000 people were bitten by pet snakes in the United States and only an average of 2 were killed each year. That is way less than many common pets.

Do snakes live off of instinct? Yes. Can they be "domesticated"? Not really, but they can grow used to the handler. They learn the "smell" and "taste" of your skin and if you regularly handle them, they are not afraid of you. When I put my arm in the terrarium of my snake, she comes over and rests her head on my hand and sometimes even slitters up my arm so that I can take her out.

Again they are not bad animals, and because 2 or 3 people die a year, does not make them unworthy of being a pet. If so, then we need to stop allowing dogs and cats. Facts are facts, they hurt more people. Lets keep it fair to the other animals.

Cats and dogs can be domesticated
Fish don't sneak out at night and strangle your kids
Keeping birds is pretty damned cruel if you ask me
I think lizards belong in the wild too but anything unlikely to nip a curious child's finger or arm (most lizard bites are loaded with bacteria) passes with me

You need to bear in mind none of this is 'when I rule the world...' it's simply my opinion

Okay...

How often do you hear about a snake "sneaking" (the word "sneak" makes it sound like they are "evil" and on the hunt to eat your children "Oh let me go and find a child to eat tonight!" ) out and killing a child?

I promise you it hardly ever happens, and it happens a lot less than your "domesticated" pets...

Opinions are one thing (You are entitled to yours) but fact is fact. A person with a snake is less likely to be bitten by the snake, then they are to be bitten by a random dog on the street.

I think lizards belong in the wild too but anything unlikely to nip a curious child's finger or arm (most lizard bites are loaded with bacteria) passes with me

That is an issue of parenting. If you teach a child the proper way to act around a lizard, they too can make wonderful pets. Harmless wonderful pets.

 

[Dark Matter]

Some dogs are okay.
Some @sshole dogs that bark nonstop and bite a lot are the ones that shoudnt be around.

 

[Doughboy]

"Do you really think that snakes are the only pets that have harmed people? 4.7 million Americans are harmed by dogs? Should we stop having dogs as pets????! "

I'm sure most of those people were harmed by fighting dogs (like the Pitbull).

 

[Dark Matter]

Not all pitbulls are bad, I met a really nice one once.

 

[Colin1]

Not all pitbulls are bad, I met a really nice one once.

Yeah me too
at least, she seemed nice
She got my car, my house, my...

Kidding guys...

 

[Butters]

As Adler says, non-venomous snakes are no more inherently dangerous to children than many other household hazards. Children die of choking, falling down stairs and out windows, electrocution, being run over in the driveway, household toxins,drowning in tubs and pools, strangled by curtain cords, and in the jaws of the family dog. All such deaths are preventable, and the risks can be minimized by conscientious parenting.

A large python is a danger to a small child, but so is a powerful dog. It could be argued that the dog poses more of a danger because it is not usually recognized as a threat, whereas a big python is. But how many children have been seriously injured, or killed by the 'loyal' family dog? Plenty...and it's not just Rotties, Dobermans, and pit bulls doing the damage. Any good-size dog is capable of seriously harming a child. Even the ubiquitous Golden retriever...

I've never owned a really big snake, but I've handled quite a few of them, and even baby-sat a couple while their owners were on vacation (I used to breed chameleons, so I know a lot of herp keepers). Secure caging for a big snake is easily accomplished, and the fact that they can pose a threat to children merely places them in the same category as any other potentially lethal household hazard. Singling out big snakes smacks more of an emotional response than a rational one.

JL

 

[Colin1]

Singling out big snakes smacks more of an emotional response than a rational one

Nope
think you'll find it's a rational one
When a 12ft python starts fetching my slippers I'll concede that it sees me as something more than a midnight snack

 

[Butters]

A gun won't fetch your slippers or love you either, but I suspect that you don't think that they should be outlawed., or only permitted in childless homes. Despite the fact that they are involved in the UNINTENTIONAL deaths of far more children than dogs or big snakes combined...

JL

 

[vikingBerserker]

IMHO(WIR) regardless of what pet you want to keep, use some dam fricken common sense!

Unless the snake was a master picking locks or could use a blow torch, the owner was careless to some degree.

 

[syscom3]

Another thing that really pissed me off is that snake escaped into the wild. Now we have mega sized snakes slithering around in an environment that cant control them.

Exotic imported animals do not belong out of their cages. Period!

 

[Doughboy]

" Now we have mega sized snakes slithering around in an environment that cant control them."


That don't sound like fun.....

 

[GrauGeist]

I am a former snake owner. I had a Red-tailed Columbian Boa. It was the most docile animal on the planet, until it became hungry or agitated by strangers. In time, it became too large for me to keep, and I donated it to the San Diego Zoo. As long as I had it, it never attacked myself or anyone else, I kept it well fed and in a stress-free environment.

I think that having children bears additional responsability, no matter what you might have in the home...dogs, snakes, weapons, swimming pools, vehicles, etc...

Not too long ago, while a mother stepped into the other room, her child choked on Fruit Loops. So again, the responsability falls on the parents to make sure the child is in a safe environment. I don't think it would be fair nor logical to attack the makers of Fruit Loops and have them banned or restricted all because the parent was negligent which created a tragic situation.

 

[syscom3]

Gaugreist, you are missing the point.

You have a large snake in the same home as children, you take precautions to make sure both are secure.

This has nothing too do with cherrios.

Its about a dangerous snake who will do what it is genetically programmed to do.

 

[GrauGeist]

I got the point and I agree!

The Fruit Loops (breakfast cereal) was just an example of how inattention by a parent created a tragic situation with something considered pretty innocent.

...having children bears additional responsability, no matter what you might have in the home...dogs, snakes, weapons, swimming pools, vehicles, etc...

 

[gumbyk]

Another thing that really pissed me off is that snake escaped into the wild. Now we have mega sized snakes slithering around in an environment that cant control them.

from the story...

An invasion of giant Burmese pythons in South Florida that made national headlines last year was "rapidly expanding" and expected to reach Central Florida, according to a University of Florida study.

Looks like you already have "mega sized snakes" in the wild.

If anything, this guys stupidity is shown by the fact that he didn't have proper caging forthe animal, and I suspect, may not have been feeding it enough.
Most wild animals don't kill for pleasure.

I agree with you Sys, if you have kids in the house, you should take precautions, but millions of dog owners all over the world don't, and one snake owner obviously didn't.



P.S. where did the extra 4 ft of snake come from?

 

[Soren]

There's absolutely nothing wrong about owning a snake, or a birdspider for that matter, as long as you take the necessary precautions. I wouldn't ever let either one near a toddler though. A 5 year old child? Sure, if the animal isn't a 5 foot snake or poisonous ofcourse.

But Colin1 is right about one thing, and that is a snake cannot be domesticated, and it doesn't grow a tie or bond with its owner as a cat or dog will. And if a snake even for a moment gets the idea that it can eat you for lunch, then it wont hesitate to give it a try. It's simply the nature of reptiles.