Come Back Monty!

People may be intrigued by the pictures of a 5.5 M Burmese python, invading the home of a family in Hampshire. The snake was the escaped 'pet' of a neighbour. Paul Rowley (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine) has suggested that such constrictors can actually be more dangerous than venomous snakes (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/25/escaped-python-hampshire-home-reptile-safe). In the UK, it's thought that, in 2020, more than 500 venomous snakes were kept as pets. Such reptiles, however, have to be registered. There is, however, no such requirement for constrictors. Constrictors are strong and can push the lid of unlocked enclosure open. They can even crack the glass of their tank. Rowley points out that, if you are bitten by a venomous snake, it's generally possible in the UK to get timely access to an anti-venom injection. Once a constrictor has a human, cat or a dog in its coils, its too late to do anything (unless you happen to have some aerosol hand gel handy, to squirt in its mouth). Rowley says it's relatively common for pet snake keepers not to inform their neighbours of their passion. They know that many people are frightened of snakes. Perhaps constrictors should also be licenced animals? Baby pythons grow relatively quickly into 5.5 M snakes!