Pet python strangled Baby!

that is awful and very sad. I agree such a dangerous pet should not have been kept in the house with a child when it is known that snakes have managed to eat children easily. Although sad for the parents i think for justice for the baby the python should be removed from the house and some sort of punishment should be given just like the stories you hear when a dog killed a child

I had a 9 foot reticulated python when my first child was born. A 9 foot python could very easily eat a 7 lb baby if it was starving. I used to feed my snake a large white rabbit every month and I never had a problem with it. But the very day he got out of his tank and I found him curled up in the stroller (he went there for warmth), to a new home he went. My neighborhood chief of police thinks I should be charged with child endangerment because I own a rottweiler and I have a 2 year old. Yet let a stranger try to get within 10 feet of my daughter and the dog will be going for their jugular. I think the snake crawled in with the little girl for warmth and not knowing any better she hurt it and it suffocated her. A snake doesn't go looking for large prey (like a 2 year old) to eat unless it has been starved...like the snake that ate the alligator they referenced in the story. I think the boyfriend needs a hell of a lot more than just a misdemeanor charge out of this but not every person who owns "dangerous" pets and has children are bad parents.

I agree with you 100%. I have always had pets in my life in facts I could not imagine living without them BUT there are some creatures that are NOT meant to be house pets and can never be trained or trusted to be safe within the family milieu. I think people who allow such a terrible thing to happen should be punished to the full extent of the law.

I heard about this on the news last night because it happened down here in Florida where I am. I also heard the father's 911 call and it was heartbreaking. The snake had been stabbed by the owner several times in an effort to get it off of the child but was still alive when Animal Services removed it from the house. The problem with snake owenership is that there are people who like snakes (I'm not one of them) but snakes grow. My son has an albino python who was about six feet long the last time I saw him...but his cage has a locking top because they are strong snakes. Because the snake was kept in a cage, which did have a lid, the father is not likely to be charged with child endangerment but, as far as I know, it wasn't properly registered so he may be charged with that. Many people may disagree with this but keep in mind that children are injured and even killed by family dogs as well so should every breed that has ever bitten a child be banned? I feel for this family...they have lost their child. Another problem that we have down here with snakes, by the way, is that people often release their pet snakes into the wild when they get too big...often in the Everglades. With few natural predators...and already large in size...they become a danger to communities even miles away as they travel in search of food. We have had many incidents of pet cats and small dogs being attacked and eaten by large snakes who had originally been someone's pet. This is why Florida requires that they be registered and have a chip implanted.

I think the boyfriend should be charged with terminal stupidity. If you have a snake that big, you ALWAYS secure the enclosure. Period. Even if you have NO kids in the house.