What is it with New Yorkers and escaped snakes? Two weeks ago we reported on a corn snake that survived eight months on the loose in Br
What is it with New Yorkers and escaped snakes? Two weeks ago we reported on a corn snake that survived eight months on the loose in Brooklyn, NY. This loose snake story didn't have a happy ending. A New York City photographer last week captured images of a dead and frozen ball python in the city. It is a sad set of images all the way around, but it could serve as a public announcement to make sure your pet snakes are in secure enclosures. Photographer Margot Meyerhoff took some fairly gruesome photos of a frozen ball python (Python regius) that she had seen on the side of the road on the Upper West Side of Manhattan this past weekend.
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The Ever-Popular and Wonderfully Colored Ball Python
How it got there is anyone’s guess but I would like to speculate that it escaped its enclosure and found its way onto the cold streets of New York City, where it succumbed to the cold winter of the Big Apple. The snake looks healthy by the pictures, doesn’t look at all emaciated so I am hoping that is what happened to it. So, if you are planning to keep this species, or already do and you live in NYC (or anywhere for that matter) double check your enclosure.
At any rate, it is sad to see someone’s pet, frozen on the streets of New York City.
Ball pythons are one of the most popular pet snakes due in part to their very docile behavior. At most reptile shows, the ball python continues to be the number 1 snake for sale, and on ReptilesMagazine.com, the ball python care sheet has been the number 1 page on the site for several months.
John B. Virata keeps a western hognose snake, a ball python, two corn snakes, a king snake, and two leopard geckos. His first snake, a California kingsnake, was purchased at the Pet Place in Westminster, CA for $5. His first pet reptile was a green anole that arrived in a small box via mail order. Follow him on Twitter @johnvirata
