women killed by retic....

[DrJ]

Eleven known cases of people killed by pet pythons in the United States since 1980
• 2008 (Virginia): A woman was killed by a 13-foot pet reticulated python
• 2006 (Ohio): A man died at the hospital after being strangled by his pet python.
• 2006 (Indiana): A 23-year-old man was killed by his 14-foot pet reticulated python.
• 2002 (Colorado): A man died after his pet Burmese python, who was wrapped loosely around his neck, suddenly constricted.
• 2001 (Pennsylvania): An 8-year-old girl was home alone when she was apparently strangled by her father's pet Burmese python.
• 1999 (Illinois): A couple's 7.5-foot African rock python escaped from an enclosure and killed their 3-year-old son.
• 1996 (New York): A 19-year-old was killed by his 13-foot pet python.
• 1993 (Colorado): A 15-year-old was killed by his brother's 11-foot pet python.
• 1983 (Missouri): A man was crushed to death by his 16-foot pet Burmese python.
• 1982 (Nevada): An 8-foot python escaped from his cage and killed a 21-month-old boy in his crib. The snake belonged to an unrelated man who lived in the house.
• 1980 (Texas): A 7-month-old girl was killed by her father's 8-foot pet reticulated python. The snake had forced his way out of a covered aquarium.*

However crazy this may seem, it is a result of owner failure to comply with safety precautions. I am completely surprised that only 11 deaths have occurred since 1980. One study concluded that there are at least 12 dog-related deaths per year. Read this article here: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00047723.htm

279 deaths were reported in a 15 year span due to dog attacks. So, why should anyone care about a snake related death? Due to the rarity? I don't know. But, I'd much rather take my chances with a snake (1 death every 2 years - or less, apparently [11 in a 28 year span]) as opposed to a dog (at least one death per month). And, dogs are supposedly man's best friend...perhaps snakes are man's "better" best friend. lol.

I'm not promoting the banning of dogs, as I like dogs....provided they don't bark at me, shed on me or any of my belongings, drool on me or any of my belongings, urinate or deficate on my floors, or any of that other nasty stuff they seem to enjoy doing from time to time. Other than all that, dogs are fun and there are people who really love them. I love my snakes and tarantulas, and probably feel the same way about them as most people do their dogs. Dogs are more interactive, and I enjoy other people's dogs...just not sure I'd want one of my own. Personal preferance, and I think everybody has the right to own whatever pet they want.

 

[J_dUbz88]

Does anyone now if this is a reputable news cast/website? something about it seems like a farce to me. Just the way the website is layed out and how the snake started at 10 feet long and ended up being 13.

 

[DrJ]

Does anyone now if this is a reputable news cast/website? something about it seems like a farce to me. Just the way the website is layed out and how the snake started at 10 feet long and ended up being 13.

When it comes to snakes, many news agencies and reporters somehow seem to change the size of the snake throughout the story...like they don't think people will notice that it grows from one paragraph to the next. In all reality, the snake probably was 10 feet.

I know a lot of news will talk about a 12 foot boa constrictor...for once, I'd like to actually see one in real life that is 12 feet long. Never seen one pass 8 foot. I know people that I trust say theirs is 10 foot, but haven't made it up to their facility yet....

Moral of that story...stick with the smallest measurement given. It's usually the right one. Even though Retics are commonly known to be 18 feet...still, 10 is big enough to kill a person.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Did the article get changed overnight? I don't remember the last paragraph about the snake being euthanized "in accordance with the owner's wishes."

Because the snake totally knew what it was doing and it wasn't the woman's fault at all, and the animal is evil and deserves to die. Yep. That's sure what happened here.

I hate everything.

 

[ballpython2]

Did the article get changed overnight? I don't remember the last paragraph about the snake being euthanized "in accordance with the owner's wishes."

Because the snake totally knew what it was doing and it wasn't the woman's fault at all, and the animal is evil and deserves to die. Yep. That's sure what happened here.

I hate everything.

This was a perfectly fine snake. it was just reacting normally as if it was precieving a threat. there is no reason at all why she couldn't wait to do that later until she could have gotten some help.

What a beautiful snake.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

This was a perfectly fine snake. it was just reacting normally as if it was precieving a threat.

This is what gets me. They might as well euthanize a cat for chasing small moving objects, or put down a crocodile because someone walked into its enclosure at the zoo and sat on the ground while hitting its nose with a stick. :wall:

 

[crpy]

Did the article get changed overnight? I don't remember the last paragraph about the snake being euthanized "in accordance with the owner's wishes."

Because the snake totally knew what it was doing and it wasn't the woman's fault at all, and the animal is evil and deserves to die. Yep. That's sure what happened here.

I hate everything.

Take a deep breath and keep fighting the good fight...now if someone could only tell me that lol

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

when you have personal freedoms the first sacrfice you make is usually your own safety. i dont' care if people keep these snakes, they should understand the risks.

just out of curiosity has anybody ever been killed by a ball python?

 

[crpy]

when you have personal freedoms the first sacrfice you make is usually your own safety. i dont' care if people keep these snakes, they should understand the risks.

just out of curiosity has anybody ever been killed by a ball python?

it probably could happen if it hasn't already it doesn't take a big snake to asphyxiate you if its around your neck.

When I was 14 I had a 5 foot rat snake around my neck and my friend tried to get it from around my neck and it tightened so much I couldn't breath. My friend thought I was playing and only when I dropped to the ground did he help get it off but it wasn't easy.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Take a deep breath

I think I may have to take a break from the internet for a bit, that's how mad I am.

just out of curiosity has anybody ever been killed by a ball python?

Like crpy said, it probably COULD happen, but I don't think it has. They don't usually get over five feet (most are around 3-4 feet, especially males), and six feet plus is usually considered the danger zone for larger snakes, although crpy's five foot rat snake sounds like it was pretty enthusiastic. A big female BP could probably give an adult human a good scare if she was around the neck, though.

A young child or infant...I dunno, a fatality would be physically possible, but ball pythons are such weenies I can't see one not trying to get away the first time a flailing hand smacked it in the face.

I got my BP as a hatchling so small he couldn't even touch his nose to the tip of his tail if he was around my neck, so I'd let him perch there while I did my homework. I think he only ever startled me once, and that was when he'd wandered so that the middle of his body was against my throat instead of the back of my neck - it was just a mildly uncomfortable sense of pressure, and he was only holding on to his perch, but that was when I knew he was getting too big for neck time.

Now I still let him get on my shoulders, but I've always got a hand on his back half and he is never in a position to wrap anything.

 

[johnharper]

Its always sad when someone dies of from a constrictor. All I can say she should been more careful and had her husband or more people helping her with it. I have considered retics before but the amount of space they need and their strength has made me not want to keep them. I am content with my jungles and coastals. I just hope snakes don't become illegal someday.

John

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

honestly as long as firearms are legal i really can't see snakes being illegalized unless they prevent a serious environmental threat somewhere.

when you look at the numbers, like the ones we've seen on this thread, the amount of people killed by these animals is miniscule compared to the amount of deaths caused by other personal freedoms we enjoy:guns motorcycles, alcohol, and even other animals like horses, as was mentioned. the list could go on forever.

the only problem i could see are that people are usually socialized to be terrified of snakes and that fear does not lend itself to logical decision making, whether it comes to government or any type of regulation.

 

[dtknow]

Ok, now we have the snake death stats....can someone compare the number of snakes kept compared to dogs?

If everyone had a pet burmese/retic...you'd see alot more of these stories. The appearance of dogs being more dangerous than snakes is simply due to the number of big dogs. Both deserve respect...and its a shame that these uneeded accidents happen.

But in honesty...who needs a pet reticulated python...particularly in some funky color morph? How far do ya havta go to get your critter fix?

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

That's a fair observation, and not one often taken into account in these sort of conversations. I've used the "more people are harmed by X annually than people are by Y and yet they want to ban Y!" argument myself. And now that I'm thinking about it, I believe you are right. It isn't a fair comparison.

 

[pitbulllady]

Ok, now we have the snake death stats....can someone compare the number of snakes kept compared to dogs?

If everyone had a pet burmese/retic...you'd see alot more of these stories. The appearance of dogs being more dangerous than snakes is simply due to the number of big dogs. Both deserve respect...and its a shame that these uneeded accidents happen.

But in honesty...who needs a pet reticulated python...particularly in some funky color morph? How far do ya havta go to get your critter fix?

That's a very AR argument-we don't actually need MOST of the animals we keep, therefore it's unethical/cruel/stupid/wrong/etc. to keep them. Do we need fluffy little dogs with short legs and pug noses? Do we actually NEED to keep bunny rabbits? Fish? Llamas? How many of us keep animals, from Leopard Geckos to tarantulas, because we need them? I don't need tarantulas, snakes, dogs or cats in a sense that I can't survive without them, but having them certainly makes my life better in that keeping them provides me with enjoyment, with something to take my mind off the less-pleasant aspects of life, so if that constitutes a need as such, then yeah, I need Retics, and Colombian Boas, and other large snakes, with or without "designer" morphs.

So, not accurate to compare the captive snake-related deaths to those caused by dogs, because dogs are much more numerous, eh? OK, I'll buy that one-so lets compare deaths caused by captive snakes to those caused by an animal whose current numbers in the US are closer to those of snakes, the horse. According to the latest horse census in the US, taken by the American Horse Council in 2007, there are 3.9 million horses kept in the United States. The American Veterinary Association conducted a general pet census last in 2001, seven years ago. At THAT time, their statistics showed there to be an estimated 2.8 million snakes kept in captivity, excluding accredited zoos and aquariums, in the US, and given that reptile popularity has increased markedly since then, it is not at all unreasonable to estimate that the number of snakes kept as pets in the US currently rivals te population of horses, if not exceeding it. Of those snakes, constricting snakes six feet or longer make up a fairly large percentage, if numbers at reptile shows, plus advertising on the internet, are any indication. Looking at the Classifieds on Kingsnake.com, for instance, ads for large constrictors far outnumber those for Corns and other Colubrids, and certainly form the real base of the reptile industry, so I don't feel in the least out-of-line for suggesting that the current population of privately-owned snakes in the US is roughly 3 to 3.8 million, with a significant percentage of those snakes being boids.
Now, as I stated before, there have been 11 human deaths attributed to large snakes since 1980, a 28-year period of time, and at least one of those deaths is suspicious, NOT counting the most recent incident. Horses, meanwhile, account for an average of 34-38 human fatalities PER YEAR. I'll let you do the math and figure out what the statistical likelihood of being killed by a horse, vs. being killed by a constrictor snake, are per year, given that the populations of both are pretty darn close. No, I'm not suggesting banning horses, but using that same argument, do we really NEED them? I'm sure that if you're the owner of one or more of those 3.9 million horses, that answer will come pretty easy, just as the response from anyone who owns or breeds large snakes will not hesitate to answer that question as it pertains to OUR animals.

pitbulllady

 

[snakequeen1978]

i used to own a retic and she was very cool untill she got about seven feet and became very agressive i had to get rid of her.

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

i think you make some good points pitbulllady.

my opinion has been that personal freedoms are always more important than personal safety. so regardless of how dangerous these snakes may be i believe people should have the right to keep them.

 

[dtknow]

XBurntbythesunX: I like that opinion/philosophy, and it works in theory, read down for my worries though.


Hello pitbullady.

Good arguments all around. In fact, you're far more qualified to have an opinion on this than me, but nevertheless.

The numbers thing first. I will definetly concede that horses are quite dangerous. But this topic is not about horses vs snakes. It is about dogs, which are the most normal pets(I think it is just as novel when someone tells me they keep horse(s) as it when they tell me they keep snake(s) if not more so). Since you know quite a bit about dogs, a comparison would be most interesting.

On the need argument, yes, we do not need these animals(actually, I agree with you that I need animals around!). But I think it is quite odd the quantity of these snakes being produced. Are that many people out there capable of taking of them? You'll have to have a friend or two around that is also very into snakes that will be willing to help you during maintenance. I won't be surprised if we get a gamut of retics being chucked at zoos/shelters the way Burmese pythons are now. At least Burmese don't get quite as big, and I hear tell are calmer. With designer morphs, their are going to be a lot of "bum normal snakes" being passed around that are produced while making a morph. I'm just worried that these guys, while they are suitable only for dedicated and experienced people(with a lot of extra time and money that will be around for a while!), are going to become too easy to get. It is my opinion that this is simply a pretty far length to go to scratch that pet/cool/specimen snake itch...you get what I mean? Whats wrong with an African house snake, or a BP, or one of the cool smaller snake species? Or if you need a big snake...maybe one of those FL Everglades Burmese pythons? Or to quote Johnharper"I am content with my Jungles and Coastals."

But some people(and I can see why, I have my own tastes, such as preferring other plants even if pothos would work just fine) are just drawn to retics, and have the ability to keep them well. Just remember y'all is a minority, but the market soon may not reflect that! Actually, the poster above's story(no offense) is something that I hope doesn't start happening more often.

In no way am I suggesting banning retics, but the story with Burmese pythons could be repeating itself...and retics are a more dangerous snake than a burmese. Also, unlike a horse, anyone can buy and keep one for a short time, and then sell it when it gets too big(and with the demand now, perhaps even turn a profit doing that...which will make the problem worse).

 

[Crusaderwithgat]

Title says womEn killed. Was it more than one womAn killed?

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

dktnow i'm sure there are enormous problems by allowing these type of animals in the pet trade, but you can either allow them and have problems and human fatalities or not allow them and take away that freedom. i don't think you can have it both ways.

the big problem with regulation, imo, is where do you draw the line? how do you decide what snakes are acceptable to keep, and which aren't. its like saying is it ok to allow people to keep full automatic machine guns, or semi-automatic machine guns. they both kill people, and neither one or safe, so where do you draw the line on those sort of things. and when you do draw a line, its always someone else setting that regulation for you, not you deciding for yourself what is safe and what isn't.

there is just no such thing as personal freedoms and safety both.

the main thing that bothers me about reading that list is the children that were killed by the snakes. i know even responsible pet owners have escapes, and if you have children, the possibility of a large snake killing a child in the home is always a danger. even a much smaller snake like a rat snake etc could represent a serious threat to a small child. but on the same token a person is statistically far more likely to shoot a family member with a gun than with an intruder. we can't outlaw everything that is dangerous and problematic.