New concerns are being raised about keeping pythons as pets after two separate snake discoveries in the Halifax area in the past month.
A woman was shocked to find a ball python slithering through the grass in her Hammonds Plains neighbourhood as she walked her dog Tuesday.
While such a discovery may be unsettling for some, wildlife experts say ball pythons don’t pose any threat to humans.
“I think people confuse this snake with the larger species,” says Hope Swinimer of Hope for Wildlife. “This one only gets to be about five feet long.”
Still, some Hammonds Plains residents say the discovery has them on edge.
“It’s scary. I’m not usually afraid of snakes but exotic snakes I don’t want in my neighbourhood,” says Sandi Benoit.
But the snake is back in her neighbourhood. The woman who discovered it took it to an animal shelter and the python was returned to its owner, who picked it up Thursday morning.
It’s unclear how the snake escaped, which makes Benoit feel uneasy.
“If he’s not reliable enough to keep it in its cage then we don’t want it running around our neighbourhood, that’s for sure,” she says.
Swinimer says it’s unfortunate the snake managed to escape but insists no one was in danger while it was out in the neighbourhood.
“Ball pythons do not pose a threat at all. They are legal to have in our province as pets and they are actually quite beautiful and make lovely pets for some people,” says Swinimer.
This is the second discovery of a ball python in the Halifax area in recent weeks, and the fifth python seized in the Maritimes this month.
On Aug. 8, a small python was found in an apartment building in Truro, N.S. and a week later, a reticulated python was seized in Yarmouth County.
Those incidents came after an African rock python strangled two young boys in Campbellton, N.B. on Aug. 5.
“I think too many people have exotic pets,” says Hammonds Plains resident John Langille. “They have no idea how to look after them and they’re careless.”
Anyone who crosses the path of an exotic snake in Nova Scotia is advised to contact animal services.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Alyse Hand
