If by chance residents happen to spot a nearly two-metre-long blood python in the downtown Chilliwack area, don’t worry, he’s a cuddly reptile.
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| A blood python reported missing by its owner in the downtown Chilliwack area on August 6, 2020. (Facebook) |
Owner Chelsie McMunn posted on Facebook group “Lost and Found in Chilliwack” that her large pet snake went missing after midnight on Thursday (August 6) in the Yale Road area between Menzies Avenue and Quarry Road after her roommate left the windows open.
Should residents be concerned if they see the snake? Not according to McMunn.
“He’s my baby,” she wrote. “He’s shy of six-feet and, no worries, he’s more loving and gentle than a lil’ kitten.”
She posted three images of the snake, which has a large girth, two shown next to a pet cat.
“His BFF Tundra my cat is miserable and sad,” she wrote.
While the snake’s owner says it is “loving and gentle,” snake experts say blood pythons have a reputation for aggressiveness, and they might hiss and even bite when approached.
Some blood pythons do, however, calm down over time, according to California-based website RightPet.com.
“Adults are not suitable pets for children,” the website states.
Blood pythons are not on the Wildlife Act’s Controlled Alien Species Regulation listed as a “restricted” reptile, unlike boa constrictors or several other python species.
• READ MORE: Seven-foot boa constrictor briefly on the loose in a Chilliwack neighbourhood
The BC SPCA has a broad opposition to breeding and keeping exotic or wild animals at all. There are a number of reasons why, including that many are acquired for status and owners do not have consideration for specialized needs. There is also the fact that few veterinarians possess the training and experience to deal with needs of exotics.
One of the main concerns is the reality that because exotic animals are often obtained for status or the “cool” factor, some exotics become unwanted after the novelty wears off.
“The result is poor animal welfare, a high rate of euthanasia, and widespread abandonment of these animals,” according to the BC SPCA. “The Humane Society of the United States estimates that in the United States alone, 90 per cent of exotic pets die ‘within the first two years of captivity.'”
McMunn is asking anyone who finds her snake to call her at 604-316-9301.
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