SNAKES: Say whoa to the boa

I am sure Jon Chrysler is a very nice young man and takes very good care of all of his reptiles and would never turn one loose.

I have spent a few hours in reptile houses in zoos in Chicago with my daughter, who really liked snakes and was really fearful that one of them could get loose. Thankfully, that never happened.

I am totally against importing these constrictor type snakes into the U.S. and also against transporting them across state lines. In my opinion, many people purchase these snakes as pets when they are about 1- 2 feet long. They grow very quickly, and soon are at least 8, if not 15 or 20 feet long. A snake of this size requires a very large enclosure, and most snake owners will not pay $2,000-$6,000 for the proper enclosure to house their pet. So, they turn them loose, and this is very dangerous in any warm area. They thrive in the heat and hibernate to some extent in cold weather.

There have been about six documented deaths from owners being "hugged to death" by their pets who got loose or during routine cage cleaning between 2003-2009. Two of the deaths were children aged 7 months and 2 years. In both cases the snakes escaped their cages. The other four were adults ages 23-47, and one occurred during cage cleaning. These snakes do not belong in our homes. Visit these big guys in zoos!

JAN SAVILLE

Post Falls