A Python in the Hospital!

We jumped at the chance to help our friends at the Miami Dade Venom Response Unit with this rather large python that they use for their education programs. We realized however that we may have bitten off a little more than we could chew! At almost 80 pounds this patient was NOT content to be a willing participant in her treatment for an upper respiratory and mouth infection. With a little help and training however, we have figured out a reasonable treatment plan for this animal.

This snake is instrumental in educating people about the importance of responsible pet ownership. Pythons, especially burmese pythons, like this one are thriving in unknown numbers in the heart of the Florida Everglades. They represent the threat of an ecological disaster as they are a super predator that will prey on birds, mammals, and even alligators as seen in incredible pictures circulating on the Internet. How did this happen? People impulsively purchase exotic animals without considering the long term housing and growth patterns of these animals. When no longer able or interested in keeping them, they release them in the wild rather than to find an appropriate home. This particular snake was captured in January in Homestead Florida, the doorstep to the Florida Everglades. It is tame enough to be handled, but still wild enough to show the dangerous nature of these large predators.

Lt. Jeff Fobb (pictured above) trained us on how to safely remove the python from her enclosure and how to secure her head for the mouth rinse that would help clean the infection.

The brown substance in the mouth is betadine, an antiseptic used to clean wounds. Although the mouth is a little scary to look at, it is not what puts the handler at risk. This python could easily kill and digest a small goat kills by constriction, or squeezing, not by venom. Luckily, this particular snake is not overly aggressive and only defends itself against our advances to extract it from its cage and forcibly restrain it as we administer treatment.

Finally after all these treatments, the snake is treated with a nice shower from Lt. Fobb. It seems to enjoy this rather relaxing end. For more information on pythons in the everglades go to http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/10/22/predators.in.paradise/index.html. Also look for the story on this transfer to us on Animal Planet's Animal Cops Miami.