Columns: No Limits, No Kidding!

CARPET SNAKES RISK TO DOGS

If you heard about this new trend in exotic pets and are thinking about having a pet snake but you have a dog, you might want to weigh the risks first.

June 29, 2022

Col. Sam Harper, Dogsport Reconnaissance

The Carpet Python is a novelty right now but if you have small children or other pets keep the snake caged because when grown, it can swallow a 20-pound dog. My daughter says in 2022 a carpet python in Australia had to have a dog harness removed from its stomach.

She said what was “really sickening” is that they assumed the dog had already been digested and passed. See video below.

A Carpet Python may be an interesting pet right now but keep your head. A snake doesn’t know or care if you like it. Cute name or not, it will grow and then what? I dodged enough jungle snakes to serve me a lifetime.

We found something online where a 16-foot python appeared to actually stalk a small dog. The owner watched while the snake “hunted” his 20-pound mixed breed dog. It said the guy finally scooped up his dog and left.

I don’t get it! If you ever see a snake in your yard, make sure your dogs are inside and kill it if you are armed or have a handy tool.

My daughter objected when I said that. She suggested it was better to drop a bucket over the snake until you can relocate it. Sure, then I’ll call whoever wrote that and have them come get the snake and take it away from our property!

Some dogs would ignore the smell or a rustling in the grass but most will check it out and that could be deadly. My old hound set up a ruckus a few years back. He didn’t seem to know whether to bark or bay and when I got out there, I saw a snake coiled tighter than bark on a tree.

I told him to “get back” and when he did that snake took off like his belly was on fire. I had to laugh but my old dog didn’t think it was funny. He gave me dirty looks all day. I heard him say he meant to kill that thing and I spoiled his fun.

One of my buddies is a reptile expert so I called him. He says carpet pythons are known to be mild-mannered snakes. I asked him why anyone would own a snake. He laughed like he did when someone in the squad asked a particularly stupid question. My friend said busy people with taxing schedules tend to favor snakes as pets. “They are quiet, don’t have to be walked, and don’t have frequent bowel movements.” OK, we laughed.

I had him on speaker and my kid observed that snakes don’t show affection. He agreed but said they will snuggle in your lap to watch TV. Huh!!? He explained that they like your body heat. She nodded, then said but they don’t “do” anything. He laughed, “that’s why people find them easy keepers.”

I reckoned there’s a reason why dogs are still the most popular pet. He gets it. I looked it up just now. There are an estimated 76 million owned dogs (apparently strays don’t answer census reports) and 38% of households own one or more dogs according to the American Veterinary Medical Assoc. (AVMA) statistics.

So I guess that settles that. Reptiles are pretty much non-responsive and like my bud said “Some people like it like that.”

Visit Video Theater and meet "Pablo" And The Vets That Saved Him or meet this Giant Florida Rattlesnake that eats dogs.

TheDogPress.com EST 2002 © Jun. 2022 https://www.thedogpress.com/Columns/carpet-snakes-risk-to-dogs-col22H063.asp

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