Travelling with snakes

I was not joking and I think that we (human beings) decide that wild animals are fit to be pets but, really, we are going against nature. I´m sure your snake will probably live longer than others. And if it has been breed in captivity, of course it is not able to do what other snakes do. Pity. In other moments in history, some human beings were treated as pets by Kings and Highlords. You can see that in paintings. That does not make it right.

I'm sorry, but I sincerely hope you're joking, as I can't even begin to think of a polite way to respond to this comment if not. I'll do my best, I mean no offence, but if this comment was serious, frankly it was ignorant and offensive to me. "the poor snake is in prison already" - so you don't keep pets then? Oh wait, you do (or at least under pets you've put 'German shephards' and 'dogs'). I can assure you, my snake is just as happy as your dogs, and happier than a lot of hamsters/fish etc since they're often bought for kids who don't look after them. She has a large tank, is kept in the correct temperatures and conditions, is provided with food, exercise and novelty. She couldn't possibly survive in the wild if i took her 'where she belongs' since she was bred in captivity and doesn't eat live food. As for 'how dangerous it is to have that kind of pet' - how often do you see a news report of a ball/royal python hurting an owner? NEVER, she'll get to a maximum of five feet, the worst she could possibly do (putting 100% effort in, when fully grown) would be to bite me, where she could draw blood, but it wouldn't be anywhere near as bad as a dog bite. In comparison, badly treated dogs are CONSTANTLY judged for being dangerous - rotts, staffs, dobermans, even german shephards - since they could quite feasibly maul a child. Those dogs are considered 'dangerous' by ignorant people who don't understand that it's the owner not the dog. So I find your accusation of my 'dangerous' pet frankly laughable, as she couldn't do half as much damage as a wound up dog, and half the world keep dogs. Are those people keeping dangerous pets?

You're completely right, I took her in a towel wrapped box with one of those hand warming pads underneath at one end in order to keep the temperature up. We put the box on a pillow in order to avoid bumping and jarring it, and she slept most of the way home. Then we set her back into her tank, and left her alone for a day to find a very active happy snake who'd finished shedding. Thanks for your comments.

Haha yes the plan was definitely to keep them far apart! It's because I'm dropping a friend and his hamster home too, I don't actually own both a hamster and a python - seems a bit mean really! Keeping it dark might work, I hadn't thought of that. I definitely think avoiding bumps is a good plan - we were going to take the motorways even though its a slightly longer route because it's a more consistent drive - pretty much smooth the whole way. Thanks for your tips.

That's a good idea, I hadn't thought of that. I'm thinking I might ask my lecturer tomorrow as well, his speciality is herpetology and he's a big reptile enthusiast. Thanks for the advice!