Pet pythons seized from home

2006-06-09 15:41

Sydney - Burmese pythons big enough to eat a child were seized on Friday from the Melbourne home of an Australian man keeping them as pets.

The snakes, one weighing 45kg and the other 20kg, measured more than three metres, wildlife officers from the department of sustainability and environment (DSE) said.

Burmese pythons, boa constrictors and other exotic snakes are not allowed to be kept as pets in Australia.

"These things have run amok in the United States, killing people's pets, getting in the waterways and even eating alligators in Florida's Everglades National Park," DSE spokesperson Glenn Sharp told Australia's AAP news agency.

"People find out how big they grow, and how much they eat and then dump them."

Sharp said householders with snakes should remember that they could prove very expensive pets.

"We want people to understand that while an exotic pet like a Burmese python might cost them just $600, they need to consider how they'll cope with a fine of up to A$110 000 or two years in jail for the offence," he said.

- SAPA