"Sandy" wrote in message
...
~misfit~ wrote:
Somewhere on teh intarwebs "Sandy" typed:
Wrong pattern for a Reticulated, it's actually a Burmese Python.

Yup, it seems you're right. Here's a pic of my Mum with a reticulated:

http://test.internet-webmaster.de/upload/1223194641.jpg

Without wishing to contradict you, the snake in the photo also looks
suspiciously like a Burmese Python to me, and not a reticulated python ;-)

Also, anyone who valued their life certainly would not be sitting there
posing with a retic wrapped around their neck!!!

These snakes have a completely different temperament to other large boids
and can cause a LOT more damage to a person due to the structure of their
jaw/teeth, and also the way in which they restrict and kill their prey. An
attack from one of these snakes would more often proven fatal than not.
Retics really should NOT be kept in captivity by anyone but the most
experienced of snake handlers, and preferably in purpose built reptile
houses.


Unfortunately it's not the first time, and no doubt won't be the last,
that one has been found roaming the UK countryside. People often find
they can't cope with such a large snake once it reaches adulthood and
subsequently struggle to rehome them so instead they let them go free.

Bloody idiots. It's a bit cold for pythons in the UK.

It's too cold for /any/ snake, other than our native species, to survive
for long periods in the wild in the UK. Possibly why the guy in the news
article found the snake on his allotment as it would most likely be living
in a compost heap somewhere close by.



But with milder winters, almost frost-free in the south, and a nice warm
compost heap, and a ready supply of food, like the rabbits to be found on
many allotments, who knows? Come to think of it, at least two cats have
gone missing from neighbouring houses recently......

Steve