There are a variety of excellent pets out there, from cats and dogs to ferrets, bearded dragons, rats, frogs, fish, etc. But there are some species that the vast majority of people have no business owning, and the Burmese python is one of them. Thanks to ignorant people who purchased them as pets and released them into the wild, they’re established in the Everglades, a treasure of an ecosystem being ravaged by invasive species and other human-related activities.
Do your research before buying a pet. If you want a pet snake, a corn snake or ball python make excellent pets and don’t get longer than 3 feet long (corn snake) or 6 feet long (ball). A Burmese python can easily pass 20 feet in length. People have no business owning one of these as a pet!!! They can easily kill family pets, toddlers, and sleeping or intoxicated adults, through simple prey drive, and there’s just no reason to take that risk.
Burmese pythons, if raised from hatching with plenty of human interaction, are some of the calmest, most even-tempered snakes a person can own, and if they are handled properly by someone who knows what they’re doing, then a burm should be no problem. The big issues with large snakes occur when inexperienced pet owners decide to buy a baby burm as their first pet. They are not prepared for their pet to grow to a hefty 16+ foot, 150+ pounds. Also, being inexperienced in reptile ownership, they often let their pet roam freely in their house, or don’t give their enclosure proper security, giving the opportunity for escape and attack if the snake gets hungry.
TL:DR - The problems encountered with large snakes are caused by inexperienced owners who have no clue what they’re doing.
P.S - The problem with the everglades is definitely an issue that needs to be sorted out, but “solutions” like the Python Ban are highly ineffective. A GOOD way to prevent pet release is to implant chips into the snake’s head, much like the tracker chips that are used on house cats. Thus, if your snake is detected in a banned area, then the authorities can find it easily and hold the irresponsible pet owner accountable for their careless actions.
