Bryan Christy

This week the US Geological Survey issued its much-anticipated report Giant Constrictors assessing the impact of 9 “giant” snake species on the country’s “ecology, economy, and domestic tranquility.”

It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to realize a 200 pound reticulated python (or anaconda, burmese python, afrock, etc.) can seriously f#$% up the average voting citizen’s domestic tranquility.  It likewise doesn’t take 323 pages to know South Florida is perfect habitat for jungle reptiles.  (more…)

Well, the Burmese Python–the same species I got when I was thirteen by telling my mother “Socrates” would grow no bigger than my ten gallon aquarium–hit the Today show this morning.  The Burmese python is the snake that got me and alot of other snake kids off the ground.  It’s also the species that launched designer reptile breeding, turned a number of hobbyists into millionaires, danced with Britney at the MTV Awards,  fueled a decade of wildlife smuggling, and killed a child in Florida a few weeks ago.

Here’s the TODAY show report.  The snakes reporters get excited about are tiny compared to what’s out there.  Below is my version of a Burm, and an annecdote from behind the book. 

Bryan Christy Walking a Burmese Python

The Burmese python in this photo came to Strictly Reptiles one day while I was working there.  A local stripper (Stephanie “the water cannon” Evans) had used the snake in her act, but her husband felt it had grown too big for her to handle so he brought it in to Strictly Reptiles to sell.  Mike bought it for around $150 and sold it before the guy was out of the parking lot.   Of course, there are bigger ones out there.

(Updated 7/31 below) The reptile keeping world is up in arms over a House Bill, HR 2811, which would ban all python imports.  According to PetHobbyist.com:  “Congressman Kendrick Meek of Florida has authored a bill, HR 2811 , that would ban the “species genera Python” from being imported or sold across state lines. While in response to the recent Florida death of an infant by her parents’ Burmese python, the law is written such that it appears to also ban snakes such as the ball python — an animal usually included on zoo, herp society, and pet information resources as a good snake for first time pet owners.”

Ball pythons can make good pets and there are some great overseas breeding and ranching projects of chondro and other pythons, too.  Banning all pythons will no doubt increase black market trafficking of not only pythons but of other wildlife, too, and will put legitimate reptile breeders and dealers here and abroad out of business.  There are better legislative options than a blanket ban on all pythons to improve protection of the environment, the public, and the animals.

Unfortunately, some leaders in the reptile industry (e.g., USARK) are lobbying Congressman Meek and others to change the bill language to ban only imports of Burmese pythons.  This is a silly proposal which ignores (more…)