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A snake catcher believes the 10-foot-long Burmese python is someone's missing pet.
By TAMARA LUSH
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 16, 2000
HOLIDAY -- Tracy Metzler was taking her dog on a late night bathroom break in her yard Monday night when she saw the snake. A fire hose-sized, stretched out, yellow and white snake.
"It kind of glowed," said Metzler. "Something like that, you see on TV."
Metzler screamed, grabbed her dog Duke and ran inside. She called the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, which called for backup: Terry Carpenter, a local snake catcher.
Carpenter, armed with only a mesh bag, knew exactly how to deal with the 10-foot-long Burmese python.
He gently picked it up by its head, paid no attention to the hissing and hoisted it over his shoulder like one would a garden hose. Its skin was smooth and cool to the touch.
The reptile wasn't hard to miss -- being an albino, it has white skin patterned with bright yellow marks. It has deep pink eyes and doesn't like to be in the sun. It also has a short tail, which means it's a female.
The snake isn't generally dangerous to humans, he said, but could do some serious damage to a small animal, such as a rabbit. Pythons kill their prey by squeezing them to death.
Burmese pythons are not indigenous to Florida, Carpenter said. This particular python could grow to be 15 or 20 feet, but it has a docile disposition, he said.
"They make good pets," Carpenter said.
On Tuesday morning, hours after its capture, the snake slithered out of a bag onto the lawn of the Pasco Times, seemingly happy to have a few minutes of freedom.
But that's what got the creature in trouble, said snake-catcher Terry Carpenter, who dropped by the newspaper's office on Tuesday in hopes of publicizing his find and locating the owner.
"It was probably a pet that escaped," explained Carpenter, who kept an eye on the snake as it headed for a nearby shady spot.
It didn't mind being stroked by a half-dozen reporters, but hissed softly when it was picked up.
Carpenter, who has owned a business called Reptile-Wildlife Recovery for 20 years, said he will hold onto the python until its owner claims it.
Metzler said she's glad the snake is gone, but is still wondering how it slithered into her yard.
"I know all my neighbors and no one has a pet like that around here," she said.
Where to call:
If you think this Burmese python may be yours, call Terry Carpenter on his pager at 993-1990.