This was in Mondays (12-18-06) edition of the Boston Herald and I thought it might be of some interest.

Pet Snake Kills Owner

Cincinnati - A 13 foot Boa Constrictor throttled its owner to death Saturday, police said.
A friend found Ted Dres, 48 inside the snakes cage, the Hamilton County Sherriff's office said.
The snake still had a strangle hold on Dres when deputies arrived, and the officers had to work with members of an animal protection group to remove it. Dres' snake will be kept at an animal shelter, said Andy Mahlman, spokeman for the Cincinnati Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"People who keep these type of animals as pets should know excatly what they're doing and what they're capable of", Mahlman said.
People who pose with snakes around their necks "don't realize they could be a few seconds away from death", he said.

- Associated Press


Comments anyone?

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Smile and the world will think that you are up to something!

Steve

I read somewhere that it turned out to be a python, species wasnt specified.

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

very sad....but i'm happy they didnt kill the snake....so many people get pet boa's and python's thinking their harmless and safe to handle alone....but its just the sad reality that these are animals with wild instincts and in their eyes their just defending their selves..even though the owner thinks his/her snake is "tame"...its just not possible to "tame" a snake..some may get used to being handled but their instincts will takeover when they feel in danger...i love all snakes but you must respect them as a wild animal.just a reminder that we all have to be careful..

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I'm with Awthentic. Hey, this stuff happens when you don't know what you're getting into. Even experienced keepers can get into bad situations like that sometimes. It comes with the territory, but the danger's minimalized with knowledge. I'm just glad they didn't get rash and kill the snake.

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+5 bonus points to whoever finds me a job!

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

I too was surprized they spared the snake.

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

Wow!!! That is nuts.... It it was a python, It must have been Retic (sp) I know I have been warned about that alot, But I only have Bp's....

That's sad but I am glad too that they didn't kill the snake!! You def. should know the species and be aware when owning one of these ond should be and experienced herper.

This is precisely why I will never have anything larger than a Black Rat or Ball Python (okay, maybe one day a Cribo). Not only do I have kids in my family, but I know enough to know that I have NO business with a Retic, Burm, or even Boa.

I know that individuals keep these all the time, and I am not going to tell anyone what animals to keep (I DO think keeping Tigers and Lions is asking for more trouble than a Python), but for the general Herping society I believe these are best left in Zoos.

It takes special PEOPLE to handle these things. 13 foot long, you don't go in the cage alone.

It's not always the huge size of the snake that can make the difference. Talyn was just about 7ft long, but rainbow boas are very strong constrictors. She'd just be holding onto my arm and my hand would go numb and tingle.
I had her around my neck for photos once and she was just trying to keep from falling but held on soooo tight, I got really dizzy and almost fell! I had to lie down and I needed Martin's help to unwrap her.
After that, he said he would prefer if I never took her out when I was alone and always let him know when I was handling her. I also never let her above my shoulders again!
There were no killer instincts involved in my case: just a big snake trying to hang on and balance herself on my spindly little neck!
General good advice: don't put snakes around your neck at all!