2 homeless pythons given to Vermont man headed to sanctuary

Source: AP

By WILSON RING

NORTH CLARENDON, Vt. (AP) — Two giant southeast Asian pythons that were rescued by a long-time snake collector and were turned over to state game wardens are headed to a sanctuary.

The larger of the two reticulated pythons picked up Tuesday by experts from the Massachusetts-based Rainforest Reptile Shows with help from three Vermont game wardens was a female between 17 and 18 feet long, weighing about 220 pounds. A slightly smaller male was about 15 feet long and weighed about 150 pounds.

The snake collector, Pat Howard, said after the snakes had been loaded into plastic tubs for their trip to Massachusetts that he's "smart enough to realize that snake is bigger than I can safely take care of."

"Come feeding time is the most dangerous time to be around a snake," said Howard, who has kept snakes for decades and has almost two dozen smaller snakes in his North Clarendon home. "That's when anything goes, and you certainly want to be out of the way. A snake that size got ahold of you, if you didn't have any help with you, you're a goner."

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Mack Ralbovsky, left, of the Rainforest Reptile Shows, gets assistance from Vermont game wardens Tim Carey, center, and Wes Butler as they remove a reticulated python, between 17 and 18 feet long, from the home of Pat Howard Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, in North Clarendon, Vt. Howard got the female snake and a slightly smaller male on Sunday from a person in New York, but turned them over to game wardens because he doesn't have a license to keep them and they are too big. The wardens sent the snakes to the Rainforest Reptile Shows in Massachusetts, which will care for them. (AP Photo/Wilson Ring) (AP Photo/Wilson Ring)

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/1948629f28b04dc4857f53dc9757ca4b/2-homeless-pythons-given-vermont-man-head-sanctuary