#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Farming & Gardening In Thailand >  >  > Thailands Zoos and Animals >  >  We thought it was a big snake!

## Sumocakewalk

And you know what? It turned out to be a pretty big one!

Last night I was sitting at the computer at around 10PM when the dogs began to make a big commotion out front. Turns out it was the neighbor from across the soi trying to get my attention. This is the same neighbor who assisted me with a cobra capture earlier this year (https://teakdoor.com/thailands-zoos-a...ml#post2786682).

He was very excited and talking rapidly in Thai, which I mostly cannot understand. I eventually made out the words ngu (snake) and yai (big) and figured that he needed my help to capture a snake at his house. I went to grab the snake catcher tool that we used for the cobra and brought it to show him. He gestured to his thigh and said yai again, indicating he thought the snake catcher was not big enough. So I went back and grabbed the larger king cobra sized catcher and went along with him to his house with both catchers in hand.

When we got to the back of his house, there were already 4 or 5 people trying to get at the snake beneath a pile of wooden beams. I could see that it was a kind of python called a reticulated, based on the pattern on it's body and orange colored head and eyes. This type of python can attain the greatest length of any kind of snake if it's a very large specimen (6+ meters according to wikipedia). The pattern and iridescent sheen of its skin makes for a beautiful animal if you appreciate such things.

The neighbor motioned to the trees overhead which led me to believe someone had spotted it while it was coming down to ground level. I asked that they not hurt the snake and the neighbor seemed to know what I was talking about and pointed to a burlap bag. I handed the king cobra sized catcher to the neighbor's brother and went back to my house to grab my camera.

When I returned, I was able to get several photos of them trying to work the snake from under the beams. They managed to get the catcher around the snake's neck after a while, but still could not get it to budge. Then someone tossed a cloth over the snake's head, which seemed to disorient the snake and calm it. From that point they were able to gradually work it out by steadily pulling it from the front.

After it was extricated, it was carried out to the soi in front of the house where I got several photos before it was put into the burlap bag. I estimate the length of this one at 4+ meters, which is average for an adult. The body girth was as big as my thigh and a snake of this size is a dangerous thing around a house with 3 small children! I began to wonder what might have been the fate of some of the cats that have been roaming the neighborhood.

When the retic was placed safely in the burlap bag, the snake catcher loop was released and removed. The snake in the bag was placed into the back of a waiting pick-up truck. Since I cannot speak Thai, I could not determine where they intended to take it, and hope they knew of a good place where it would be out of harm's way. My adrenalin was up for the remainder of the evening!

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## thailazer

Sumo.... Nice photo!  I stopped swimming in the Ping River after seeing several of these caught over time.   They use the rivers and canals as highways and they love chickens.   Two pythons a bit larger than the one you have a photo (and much darker in color) of were caught in the overhead rafters of chicken coups.     Another friend has had a few episodes of cats having stand offs with them on the road between the river and the fields.    They are definitely common around waterways.    Wife's cousin says that every four or five years, they catch one about 9 meters long near the Ping River.    Could be a fish story, but I am sure they run larger than 4 meters.

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## snakeeyes

Here's a snake ,  :Smile:

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## Yasojack

Have the monks been around today.? :Smile: 

Everytime a snakes found in a house around here the monks are called for some stupid ceremony or other.

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## Necron99

> and hope they knew of a good place where it would be out of harm's way.


I'm sure they did.....

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## Klondyke

For these people I saw the other day at floating market it has not been so exciting - quite a boring day:

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## misskit

Beautiful snake. Sure hope he didn't end up in the soup!

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## Your name here

I found one of those in my toilet this morning.

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## Sumocakewalk

^
Typically, if someone reports a snake sighting, I would request a photo to help identify the specimen. In this case I think I'll skip the photo request.

That must have been one mother of a bowel movement!

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## Neverna

Lovely markings.

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## Sumocakewalk

^
Yes, for those that can look past the fact that it is a snake, the color and markings of this one are very nice. For a moment I thought about speaking up and asking to take this one to try and keep it. But  better judgment prevailed and I let the neighbors deal with it.

I have heard that reticulated pythons can be more temperamental than the Burmese variety that someone posted photos of in this thread - they're more prone to aggression. The Burmese in those photos are domesticated and thus used to being around their keepers. A wild reticulated is a whole different situation. I think the markings and coloration of this reticulated are much nicer than the typical Burmese python, although the albino variation is interesting too.

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## SiLeakHunt

I'm not great with snakes, I'd have been away faster than shit off a hot shovel

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## Bettyboo

> The pattern and iridescent sheen of its skin makes for a beautiful animal if you appreciate such things.



Nope. Kill it as quickly as possible before it eats your testicles...

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## Dillinger

> For a moment I thought about speaking up and asking to take this one to try and keep it.



Bollocks!!! 

you've already virtually mentioned  leaving 6 Thais in the lurch, to run back to the house to change your shit stained grundies...

albeit in this guise....







> I handed the king cobra sized catcher to the neighbor's brother and went back to my house to grab my camera.


yeah right,  you chicken shit  :rofl:

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## Sumocakewalk

^
Ghee, thanks for the compliments there Dillinger.

No chicken shit about the situation. There were already enough people climbing over the wood pile working on extricating the snake. Another would have just gotten in the way. While the snake was lying on the soi, I was the only person with the gumption to go and lift the cloth from the snake's head to check to see that the noose around its neck was not too tight. I even attempted to insert my finger between the noose and it's neck to confirm. Afraid? I don't think so.

I admire such creatures for having to put up with humans encroaching in their environment. I treat them with respect, which I would not define as fear.

I'll be waiting to see your post of an original thread dealing with saving rather than destroying wildlife, along with some decent photos.   :Smile:

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## Dillinger

What camera is that you are using there Sumo ?



Takes a great photo on 50 x zoom  :Smile:

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## Sumocakewalk

^
Get up on the wrong side of the bed today Dillinger? Or is this your usual personality showing through?

No zoom involved at all. A reasonable attempt was made to get the scene into the frame.

Camera details, if you must know:

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## thaimeme

> Originally Posted by Sumocakewalk
> 
> The pattern and iridescent sheen of its skin makes for a beautiful animal if you appreciate such things.
> 
> 
>  
> Nope. Kill it as quickly as possible before it eats your testicles...


A very human characteristic - kill for the sake of killing.

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## somtamslap

Yes, I like snakes about as much as I like drinking non-alcoholic lager - but it has to be said; that is a fucking handsome reptile.

Did it taste nice?

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## Dillinger

^^^ I'm only kidding Sumo.  :Smile: 

To be  honest, I would have told them  I was off to get the camera also.... then got home and passed the Canon to the Missus before steadying the nerves with a few swift scotches. :Smile: 

Did you ever find out what happened to the snake ?

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## somtamslap

> Get up on the wrong side of the bed today Dillinger?


 Bollinger doesn't ever leave the bed, much less get out of the fucker. We have photographic evidence that he not only eats KFC in his pit but also drinks, wait for it... Strawberry Bacardi Breezers in there. This alone leaves him vulnerable to any homosexual-related abuse you wish to hurl.

I'll start...

Bollinger you poof  :Yup:

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## Sumocakewalk

^^
Not sure where the snake was taken. When I tried talking to the neighbor the next day I could not get any info from him that I could understand.

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## FloridaBorn

Saved a baby reticulated Python from he locals in Villa market parking lot on Cheang Wattana road, it must have climbed up into someones car and rode there and then got out and was curled up next to the parking stop. My eagle eyed son saw it when we were waling by and initially I didn't believe him because well............ You know kids? But not only did he spot it, he even knew it wasn't poisonous and it was some sort of constrictor, made me proud as I've been teaching them about snakes and other dangerous and no s dangerous creatures since they were small and it's good to see the do listen when you think they aren't.

I snatched a material bag that covers a folding chair from my trunk, went to pick it up and the Thai security guards freaking out about the farang picking up the snake. I calmed them  and told them I know what it is and how to handle it, picked it up, no drama, dropped it in and tied the string around the end, put it back in the trunk for temporary safe keeping and turned around to a crowd of Thai onlookers which I had no idea had gathered as my focus was 100% on the snake and not wanting to get bitten. 

While not poisonous they do have a nasty bite and can be really hard to get off your hand without ripping you good and have parasites in their teeth that can cause some nasty infections. It was about 3 feet long, took it home and kept it for awhile as a teaching tool to the locals and the kids mostly (read, scaring the bejesus out of people  :Smile:  ). 

We had a nice big 50 gal cracked aquarium I converted to a nice cage for it. The problem was I couldn't find any place that sold mice or rats for food, only hamsters and I couldn't feed it cute, soft and cuddly hamsters  :Sad:  , I was amazed I couldn't find somewhere that sold rats or mice? I bought some live frogs at the local market and fish too which I put in a small dish for them to swim both of these are usually appealing to pythons, but in this case the frogs ate the fish but the snake ate neither. 

After a few weeks and ironically just before I was going to let it go as I couldn't find a consistent food source for it and I was soon leaving to head back to the states anyway, I found it a wild mouse outside of our house and managed to catch it alive,(long story). I put it in the cage and both the mouse and the snake were well aware of the impending result. 

The mouse ran underneath a broken clay pot I had placed there for the snake to sleep in and the snake bolted in head first immediately under the pot. The rest is obvious from there, it was a first rate meal for the snake I just wanted the boys to see it but I had to feed it late at night being as I had the mouse but it was injured and if it died the snake wouldn't eat it and it would have been a waste. We kept the snake a few weeks longer and then let it go in a nice swampy field outside of town.

Beautiful creature and a vital part of our eco system, we're the threats not the snake, people are smarter and we just need to use our intelligence to live with them and that shouldn't include panicking as soon as as we see one. without them we'd have much worse pests to deal with believe me.. I agree though if it's close to your house it has to be dealt with and if they eat it, well, that's part of the food chain, but to kill for the sake of fear or out of ignorance is sad, they can always be relocated back to nature safely away from your property.

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## SiLeakHunt

> What camera is that you are using there Sumo ?


I'd have used Google Earth

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## Bettyboo

> Did you ever find out what happened to the snake ?





> KFC





> When I tried talking to the neighbor the next day I could not get any info from him that I could understand.


... K... F... C...

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## Sumocakewalk

^
To be accurate, I suppose that would be KFS, or more specifically KFRP even though some might be fooled into thinking it's KFC. The menu opportunities could be a limting factor there, so perhaps USTSFB&RC* would expand on that opportunity for the Thai market.

I think many would prefer a steaming bowl of goat stew over those suggestions though. Lot's of recipes to be had on Google for that.

Maaaaa









* uncle Somchai's Thai style fried boiled & raw critters

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## Sumocakewalk

My wife, who had been out of town when the snake capture took place, had a chance to talk with the neighbor recently and we learned of the fate of this big python.

Some might be aware of the common practice in Thailand of dropping off unwanted animals at Wats. Most of the time that would include dogs and cats. In this case, the drop off was a little unusual, the big snake in a bag. The Wat the python was taken to is in a secluded locale up a dirt road, about 3 kilometers from town and surrounded by wooded hills. Aside from the monks and a few dogs, there doesn't seem to be much going on in the way of visitors or activities  based on the couple of times I've ridden my bicycle up the road.

The snake was released into the woodlands in the hills near the Wat, and hopefully will have a chance to live out its life in a safe environment.

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## Scottish Gary

We thought it was a big snake  


                                       [/QUOTE]  That sounds like my first katoy experience  :Confused:

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