9-foot python found in Cedar Rapids gets new home in Illinois

Cedar Rapids — An animal control officer responding to a call this month about a snake in someone’s front yard expected to find just a typical garter snake.

But it turned out to be a 9-foot long reticulated python — which are illegal to own in Iowa, and posed challenges to Cedar Rapids Animal Care & Control to care for it.

“We can't confirm for sure if the python was abandoned, as it's entirely possible that it may have escaped some type of enclosure,” said Animal Care Manager Rae Smith. “But there is potentially some suspicion that it was abandoned, because in my experience, this is a rather common thing for people to do (when) they can no longer care for them.”

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A reticulated python is native to Southeast Asia and typically found in swampy areas. Smith said this particular type of python is the largest in the world and the third heaviest in the world.

Although not so common in Cedar Rapids, it is rather common for other animal control agencies elsewhere to find abandoned reptiles.

Smith said that when Cedar Rapids Animal Care & Control impounds an animal — regardless of species — it must legally keep it on a “stray hold” for five days to allow time for an owner to claim it.

She said they followed the same practice with the python.

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A ‘dangerous’ species

While reticulated pythons are not venomous snakes, they are a constrictor species, meaning they kill their prey by wrapping their bodies around the animal and suffocating it. Smith said that the pythons typically prey on smaller birds and mammals in the wild.

“But that makes it dangerous when you have a very large snake like this in a metropolitan area, because they have eaten chickens and pets like dogs and cats, and they have the ability to also eat a small human,” Smith said.

She said that pythons killing a human is not common in the United States, but is seen more in other countries.

“But that's one of the reasons why they're so dangerous, because of their sheer size and the fact that they could potentially kill a person,” Smith said.

With the reticulated python able to grow up to 20 feet long, it is illegal to own in Iowa under Iowa Code 717F.1 (9 e).

Smith said there are two other snake species illegal to own in Iowa as well, including anacondas and the Central African rock python.

Because the snake is so large and uncommon in this area, Smith said there were some challenges to taking care of it while it was in the agency’s care.

Smith said initially there wasn’t a tank big enough for the python, so she had to acquire a bigger one.

Fortunately, however, the agency did have specific heat lamps the python needed, and they were placed over its tank. Smith said the python needed both UVA and UVB lights, which prevents metabolic bone diseases.

“Without that they won't thrive, so we were fortunate enough to have those things and be able to provide it with a basic necessity,” she said.

Smith said they also had a deceased rat they could give the python for food.

“We really were just trying to do the very best with what we could to give (the snake) the most comfortable environment possible while we were holding it for the five-day straight hold,” she said.

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Finding a new home

Since the five-day stray hold was up late last week — making the python the city’s property — Cedar Rapids Animal Care & Control selected a partner in Illinois — where reticulated pythons are legal to have — to take the snake.

Smith said the agency’s main concern was making sure that no laws were being broken with the transfer, both in Iowa and Illinois.

Smith said the partner has other types of reptiles, but did not want to release the partner’s name for privacy reasons.

“They have experience with handling reptiles, and they actually have other reticulated pythons as well, so they're well aware of how to take care of them and the appropriate type of husbandry that this snake needs,” she said.

Smith said the agency has partners around the Midwest to assist with animals and help with transfers in rare situations like this. Overall, however, Smith said incidents like this aren’t common here.

“We do get complaints and concerns for people who might be harboring monkeys or crocodiles, all of which are illegal to own or harbor within the city of Cedar Rapids,” she said. “But nothing within the past couple of years like this. So that's good news that citizens aren't obtaining illegal animals.”

Smith said that if someone is considering owning an exotic pet, it is essential to think that through fully.

Exotic pets “really do require a lot of specific needs that most people don't typically think of,” Smith said, adding that the care needs of a dog or cat versus a reptile differ vastly. “If you don't have the proper knowledge or experience with being able to handle these animals properly or have the right kind of setup and resources and food that they need, it's possible that they won't live a completely healthy life.”

Olivia Cohen covers energy and environment for The Gazette and is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.

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Comments: olivia.cohen@thegazette.com