A ? For You Guys in FL

[500KV]

A buddy who lives in Naples tells me that there's a regular invasion of
Burmese pythons in the Everglades and other surrounding wetlands.

He said they have even been known to kill and eat some of the native alligators and that they eat racoons like marshmallows.

Is the problem really serious, and is there any program to try and control them? Will they let you shoot them?

Man, I hope those things can't migrate too far north..Plumb scarey to me.:eek: :eek:

[georgepittenger]

Maybe time to go out and buy a Bond Arms Snake Slayer ?! :59:

I love the look of it .
Not too expensive .
Just can't quite justify only a 2 round weapon .................

[500KV]

Maybe time to go out and buy a Bond Arms Snake Slayer ?! :59:

I love the look of it .
Not too expensive .
Just can't quite justify only a 2 round weapon .................

Absolutely.. And you'd have to get too close to use that thing.
I'd have to have some kind of long gun, like something with 00Buck.

[jlottmc]

I favor an M16. I hate snakes with a passion. I hear that they are quite common down around those parts those pythons are. True story, when I was doing works ups before leaving for what would ultimately be Bosnia (22 MEU), I managed to fast rope into a nest of snakes that were not as dormant as they were supposed to be. I caught a ration of it for a long time after that. The pilot said he heard a school girl scream and the unmistakable sound of an M16 going cyclic. I dumped 27 rounds and managed not to hit my foot. I also got run over by the next Marine out the helo (I volunteered to go first). Kinda funny looking back on it.

[bigmacque]

"Invasion"? "Regular invasion?"

No. There are repeated incidences of pythons showing up in the Everglades because people buy these things as pets and then when they get big enough to eat the dogs and children they dump them and run. They do show up with some frequency.

Eating aligators? That python will eat anything it can when it's hungry, no discretion. I would bet that it's not eathing a very large aligator, but there are certainly enough small ones to keep a few of the snakes fed. Raccoons, rabbits, etc. absolutely. As I said they'll eat anything they can when they're hungry.

But a regular invastion? I wouldn't describe it like that.

[O'Dell]

A buddy who lives in Naples tells me that there's a regular invasion of
Burmese pythons in the Everglades and other surrounding wetlands.

He said they have even been known to kill and eat some of the native alligators and that they eat racoons like marshmallows.

Is the problem really serious, and is there any program to try and control them? Will they let you shoot them?

Man, I hope those things can't migrate too far north..Plumb scarey to me.:eek: :eek:

Hey 500KV, they'll have to get past me in Atlanta before they get to Chattanooga. :D

[500KV]

Hey 500KV, they'll have to get past me in Atlanta before they get to Chattanooga. :D
Good point O'Dell.
Hadn't thought of that.
Now don't snooze on me and let one by..I don't like snakes, especially 16 footers.
BTW, you don't know anybody in Valdosta that could keep a lookout do you?

http://i866.photobucket.com/albums/ab225/500KV_album/scared.gif

[O'Dell]

Not to worry - I'll have my whole arsenal deployed.

[CJB]

Pythons are a problem with native species. I cant say they they're eating alligators, but may eat young gators. I dont know about racoons either. They WILL invade nests of birds, dens animals, pick on the old, the infirm... they're very opportunistic. The other thing to remember is it take a BIG snake to go after of of the animals. Some of the pythons they're killing are in the 8 to 10 foot long range. Thats big. When I first got out of high school, I did some duty in a place called "House of Hamsters" which was an pet wholesaler. This was 1976. We sold Burmese Pythons, reticulated pythons, the few boas that we still could legally sell. I'll tell you that a three foot Burmese python isn't much for teeth - a row of fine needles, sharp, numerous, but not too long. They ARE lightning quick and have perfect aim. I've been bitten on the web of the hand between the thumb and index finger more times than I can remember. They're smart too, and its hard to distract them in order to sneak up and grab one. Hence the bites.

[500KV]

I don't know anything about this guy but he seems to have a pretty good knowledge of the issue.

http://www.reptileknowledge.com/articles/article22.php

[Barth]

I've lived in Tampa FL since 1986.
Got a 44 to deal with gators when I moved here.
I've never seen a snake more than about 3 feet long.
No big deal.
Gators are around, but haven't been a problem for me.
My "hand cannon" has been retired to storage...

People always like to exaggerate.
It was that big.
Swamp thing.
Chupacabras.

I did see a TV show on escaped pet snakes here.
But it was more like Monster Quest - LOL!

[MERCTECH]

You guys dont remember the one that ate a big gator, he got him down but the gator wasnt dead and busted out the snake. Also dont forget about the hog problem their having.

[CJB]

We dont have a hog problem. We have a hog hunter problem.

Get down to Flamingo. On the way, stop at a few of the side roads.... if you want to see big alligators, they're there. Heck, over at the Anhinga Trail right at the entry to the Everglades Park... there's usually a few upwards of 12 feet long.

[MERCTECH]

My dad lives a little south of everglades city, in chokoloskee. Best fishing spot in Florida. See's some biggins every now and then. You want to see a lot of big ones go to lake jessup in sanford.