BRADENTON - For more than two weeks, Justin Matthews had been trying to capture a 13-foot-long python outside the Wal-Mart on State Road 64.
Prompted by several calls from people who saw the sneaky snake, Matthews scoured the area three times but came up empty-handed. One caller said he thought he ran over the snake with his car, and another said it slithered across the parking lot in front of Wal-Mart.
But each time Matthews went out to find the snake, it had disappeared -- until Monday.
Matthews, of Matthews Wildlife Rescue, had a volunteer stake out the Wal-Mart starting about 5:30 a.m., after he got another phone call. Almost 12 hours later, the python was found in a culvert.
Within 10 minutes, Matthews snatched up the potentially dangerous female snake.
"She was pretty ticked off, and she was striking pretty regularly," Matthews said. "Now she's acting pretty mellow."
Matthews said the warm-climate snake likely stayed close to buildings where there were warm spots.
Many people who buy pythons for pets find out how much work is involved and try to get rid of them -- sometimes improperly.
"It is illegal to release anything in the state of Florida that is not native," Matthews said.
A microchip will be implanted in the snake to track it if it escapes again.
Matthews will use the snake in presentations to teach people about wildlife, particularly about the dangers of having snakes as pets.
"It's not the right thing to go out and buy one to keep it for a pet," he said. Pythons "have 30 pounds of crushing power per square inch, which potentially means it is stronger than any man on this Earth."
Pythons are indigenous to Southeast Asia and Indonesia and can reach more than 30 feet in length, he said.
All owners and sellers of the snakes must have a Reptile of Concern permit, Matthews said.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement
Advertisement