nonTT

Admin · December 1st, 2008, 09:53 AM

Original story is here.

Woman finds 14 baby pythons in bedroom

FANNIE BAY, Australia, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- An Australian woman says she hated snakes even before she found 14 young carpet pythons in her bedroom.

Esther Honegger of Fannie Bay told The Northern Territorian she first noticed some of the snakes as she prepared for bed Wednesday night.

"I hate snakes and as I walked backwards and forwards I would see another one," she said. "They were everywhere -- there was one curled around my bedhead, another around the bottom of the chair, and when I went outside there was one in the hallway, another on the railing and another on the step. It was like I was having a nightmare."

Snake catcher Geoff Brouff removed seven of the baby pythons Wednesday and was summoned back to Honegger's home Thursday, when he found seven more.

Brouff believes a female python living on the roof laid her eggs there and the babies slithered down through air-conditioning vents. Since carpet pythons usually lay 25 to 30 eggs, Honegger could have some more unwelcome guests.

"I've never had a call out for so many snakes before, so I thought it was a joke for sure," he said.

**Aubrey Hepburn** · December 1st, 2008, 10:00 AM

Carpet Pythons are one of my favorite snakes! That would have been a thrill and a half if it were my home.

Baby Carpet pythons sell for over $125 a piece, too. People love them. lol

Zoe · December 1st, 2008, 11:19 AM

I guess she had a phobia though, and that really could be nightmarish! Are they harmful? They probably bite... even the babies...

Mothra · December 1st, 2008, 12:44 PM

OOOh, that would be so cool!
Carpet pythons are very beautiful. I would keep the best natured one and sell the rest ^_^ Cha-ching!

**Aubrey Hepburn** · December 1st, 2008, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by Mothra

OOOh, that would be so cool!
Carpet pythons are very beautiful. I would keep the best natured one and sell the rest ^_^ Cha-ching!

Precisely what I was thinking!

Zoe, they are absolutely harmless, non-venomous constrictors. They can definitely bite...but unless you are bitten by a large adult(max out at about 6-8 feet)...it won't hurt much at all.

A picture of the species:

-Ra- · December 1st, 2008, 05:29 PM

You say they aren't venomous? Why the colors then? Don't yellow and black, and also red and black mean "Beware! I'm poisonous!" in the Natural World?

Ra,

Zoe · December 1st, 2008, 06:00 PM

Originally Posted by -Ra-

You say they aren't venomous? Why the colors then? Don't yellow and black, and also red and black mean "Beware! I'm poisonous!" in the Natural World?

Ra,

I think that's red and yellow that's poisonous... Iunno, AUBREYYYY!

-Ra- · December 1st, 2008, 06:14 PM

Originally Posted by Zoe

I think that's red and yellow that's poisonous... Iunno, AUBREYYYY!

No, I'm sure it's black and red, and yellow and red. Hence why hornets or yellow jackets for example are yellow and black, and poisonous frogs have red and black patterns.

Ra,

**Aubrey Hepburn** · December 1st, 2008, 09:51 PM

Lots of harmless creatures have black and yellow bold coloration. When seen on a harmless/venomous animal, it is usually mimicry. They want you to think they can hurt you, therefore, you leave them alone.

Hornets do have black/yellow coloration...but so do other harmless mimic insects. There are plenty of Poison Dart Frogs with blue, green, and other unexpected warning colors. Lots of caterpillars are very edible but very warningly colored. Monarch Butterfly caterpillars are a great example, black and red. They may taste cruddy, but they are making you think they are much more dangerous than they really are.

There is no specific rule about dangerous color combos except this one in North American snakes: "Red touches black, poison lack. Red touches yellow kills a fellow." That helps you to differentiate between our harmless tricolor Kingsnakes and our venomous Coral snake. Rattlesnakes...which we know are dangerous...are exempt from that rule, having drab colors, but they are so recognizable it is usually not an issue. ^_^

-Ra- · December 2nd, 2008, 01:20 AM

Oh, neat! ^_^ Thanks so much for that Aubrey!

Ra,

Mothra · December 2nd, 2008, 04:55 PM

I grew up around all sorts of snakeys. From a young age I remembered "red next to black is a friend of Jack"
"red next to yellow can kill a fello"
There are a couple of exceptions to the rule but yeah. It's mostly used to tell king snakes from coral snakes.

Admin · December 3rd, 2008, 09:59 AM

I love having an animal expert around!

**Aubrey Hepburn** · December 3rd, 2008, 11:08 AM

If you're talking about me, I love having a place where I can discuss animal stuff without feeling like I'm driving you guys crazy.

Zoe · December 3rd, 2008, 11:36 AM

Originally Posted by Aubrey Hepburn

If you're talking about me, I love having a place where I can discuss animal stuff without feeling like I'm driving you guys crazy.

We're already crazy.

**Aubrey Hepburn** · December 3rd, 2008, 12:29 PM

Originally Posted by Zoe

We're already crazy.

Birds of a feather... ^_^

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