AJ
US Veteran
We have lots of invasive species here in Florida. My Grandmother use to call them Yankees.
Florida Python Hunt
- Thread starter PatriotX
- Start date
Fishinfool
Member
I'll toss in my 2 cents since I used to have a "pet" Burmese Python. Started out about the size of a long thick pen, eating baby fuzzy mice. Three years later she was about 10 foot long, eating LARGE rats, or rabbits. Tame and easy to handle, you still had to be on your toes. They are strong. Eventually gave her to a pet shop as she was just too big for me to take care of alone. I now have a wimpy little five foot female Ball Python.
So, Yes, they bite when threatened or are following a food response. As you show in the head skeleton, they have many sharp teeth, that curve backward to hold their prey.
#1 - Control the head.
They wrap to kill, and a large one (usually female) can be incredibly strong. They are going to try to wrap you up when you grab one, hard to prevent when you are controlling the head. Do not let one form a full wrap around your neck or torso. I am thinking a big one - 13 or 14 foot or more, is really a two man operation if you are taking it alive.
Which brings up the question, they are going to be killed after capture anyway, why not be able to take them with a firearm? They are invasive and doing a lot of damage to the Everglades. I would think the primary goal would be their elimination.
Pet owners have been dumping them for years when they get too big, but the major contributor to the problem in the Everglades seems to have been a large, licensed breeder who's building was destroyed during a hurricane, releasing thousands at one time.
Good luck!!
Larry
So, Yes, they bite when threatened or are following a food response. As you show in the head skeleton, they have many sharp teeth, that curve backward to hold their prey.
#1 - Control the head.
They wrap to kill, and a large one (usually female) can be incredibly strong. They are going to try to wrap you up when you grab one, hard to prevent when you are controlling the head. Do not let one form a full wrap around your neck or torso. I am thinking a big one - 13 or 14 foot or more, is really a two man operation if you are taking it alive.
Which brings up the question, they are going to be killed after capture anyway, why not be able to take them with a firearm? They are invasive and doing a lot of damage to the Everglades. I would think the primary goal would be their elimination.
Pet owners have been dumping them for years when they get too big, but the major contributor to the problem in the Everglades seems to have been a large, licensed breeder who's building was destroyed during a hurricane, releasing thousands at one time.
Good luck!!
Larry
OP
AJ
US Veteran
Have a good time. Lots of them to catch. About 5+ years ago I heard an estimate of 30K pythons in the 'glades.
About the most aggressive PYTHON I wanna see..
GOOD LUCK!!
Now THIS is the kind of Python I'd like to find !
Wrong. They will bite and then wrap. None in my area . . . yet. A few iguanas have moved on to their reward though.
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Venom6
Member
I've seen a number of videos on them. Seems almost impossible to find them. The swamp and heavy vegetation combine so you can literally be standing on one and not know it. That's why more folks are training and using dogs to find them.
cherrypointmarine
Member
AJ , I hear you ! If they kicked out anyone not born here , wouldn't be too many of us . PatriotX , at least you're coming down at the perfect time . Unless we get a cold front , count on 70's-low 80's with real low humidity . Get one big enough and you can have a pair of cowboy boots made to , man they are purdy .
Ματθιας;142046394 said:As a desert dweller, I take Chef's advice:
FWIW, I met him (Frederic Forrest) in HS Drama class back in ‘72. Very nice, humble man. Passed away last year, R.I.P.
Sorry about the thread drift...
I got flamed for suggesting stray cats
Researchers turn to possums with GPS collars to track invasive pythons | WLRN
Researchers turn to possums with GPS collars to track invasive pythons | WLRN
I got flamed for suggesting stray cats
Researchers turn to possums with GPS collars to track invasive pythons | WLRN
Why not put a small explosive charge in the collars. It stops moving, then starts again? Fire in the hole!
I will stick to watching "Swamp People."
DWalt
Member
It would take some refinement to ensure that the animal fitted with the explosive collar had actually been swallowed by snake, but that could work. Alternatively some poison deadly to snakes could be released on command.
charlie sherrill
Member
.....and, when they run out of stuff to eat they're going to migrate....or come looking for Fido or Fluffy...or your kids.
Kill them all.
Get it done Mr. Governor.
Use the National Guard and prisoners,
who are rehabilitatable, 24/365.
First time I ran into a 15' snake, I would have preferred
a 12 Gauge, as opposed to my Colt GM/45.
That was in '79, just North of the 8th Street tollbooth, on the rarely used Keys extension.
Get it done Mr. Governor.
Use the National Guard and prisoners,
who are rehabilitatable, 24/365.
First time I ran into a 15' snake, I would have preferred
a 12 Gauge, as opposed to my Colt GM/45.
That was in '79, just North of the 8th Street tollbooth, on the rarely used Keys extension.
Great idea if nothing you don't want to kill is nearby.
Poison can contaminate and cause other issues.
Nice to have a friendly swamp with just Gators,
Moccs and Rattlers.
Currently we got Yotes in the Hood.
From the Swamp to A1a.
People that moved to Heron Bay, early on, got a rude awakening
to a variety of wildlife.
My Swamp handgun for decades.
Wears Hogue Monos in the field.
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Aren’t there alligators in the ‘glades, too? Yeah, stay in the boat and take at least an old double barrel any caliber. And the little garter snakes will snap when you mess with them around here. I never had any fancy snake catching tools when I played with them in my youth. I would just step gently on their necks and then pick them up behind the head. Thinking about it, anything over 6 feet long, count me out. Unless dispatching them with a Bullpup first.
It's inside the snake. Don't need much. A couple of M-80 size poppers will mess up a snake pretty good without killing anything else, I'd think.
