If you had read further down, u woulda seen that I said snakes belong in the wild not in captivity. For those that like em as pets Just don't bring it around me

not a problem at all!! your input was relevant to the topic, IMO. It raises all sorts of questions about the pets that are around children...and the safety measures that the parents take or don't!!





that is what I mean...you cannot have your child in the car anymore unless you have them in the appropriate car seat...in the appropriate place in the car...

it said the snake broke out of the aquarium...I wonder how loud the noise was when it did?

I shudder to think what that poor child went thru

...I would never have a snake that big in my house anyhow...but I don't hate them..

reading through your posts made me want to just say
no animal can be trusted as they are animals, pit bulls ARE
dangerous and their owners are to blame as they should keep thier dangerous pet away from anyone that doesnt wish to be around them, this means they should not be walked in public where the opertunity may arise that they MIGHT cause harm to children or for that mater, anyone else. regardless of weather its a lovely dog or not, all terriers are loyal and loveing to their owners. that doesnt mean they wont defere back to their basic instinct without warning.
where i live a person must be 16 to ride a very low powered and slow moterbike and they have to pass a test, yet a 12 year old girl can ride a horse down the public road with no training. what chance is thier that they could control a horse that decides to loose its rag.
and all pit bulls are banned in this country yet staffodshire terriers are everywhere and attacking alot of people and maming alot of kids
laws make no sense somtimes
rant over... as you were peeps

Snakes scare the hell out of me.:That poor child.Children should not die before there parents,especially in should a horrible way .My heart goes out to the family.

Not always. Pit bulls can be domesticated and have been great pets to many families. Snakes however are reptiles with no domestic history....apple and oranges there.

more on the story of the 2 year old that was killed by a snake...

there might be charges of neglect filed...

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/article1015026.ece

Shaiunna Hare was strangled Wednesday by the family's pet albino Burmese python, according to the Sumter County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies say the nearly 8-foot, 6-inch yellow-tinged snake escaped its enclosure at night, slithered into her room, wrapped itself around her as she lay in her crib, repeatedly bit her and squeezed her to death.

The mother's boyfriend, Charles Darnell, awoke to find his pet missing. He found it in Shaiunna's room, on top of her. Darnell, who is not her father, freed the girl by stabbing the snake with a 6-inch knife and a meat cleaver.

Injured, the snake released the child and slithered away inside the home. In a call to 911 at about 9:40 a.m., an unidentified man sobs as he tells the operator what happened.

"The baby's dead," he says. "Our stupid snake got out in the middle of the night and strangled the baby."

**********

Darnell, 32, told authorities he last checked on the snake about 12:30 a.m. It had escaped its terrarium.

He put the snake in a bag and put it back inside the glass case. Then he put a quilt over the terrarium and tied something around the quilt. State law says pythons are supposed to be kept under lock.

Early in the morning, the snake escaped again.

Sumter deputies and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers had to get a warrant to enter the home to find the two snakes Darnell kept in the house. The other was a 6-foot red-tail boa constrictor named Dixie.

Armed with the warrant, nine men entered the home at 4:45 p.m. Five minutes later, two men carried out the unnamed python. TV crews from Tampa to Orlando drove to this rural community an hour north of the Magic Kingdom to watch.

The young snake was nearly 9 feet long and weighed 15 to 20 pounds, officials say. It was injured. Bloody puncture wounds were visible about a foot from its nose. It was taken to a local veterinarian to see whether it needed to be euthanized.

Investigators also carried out a crib, a bloodied mattress, the knives used to attack the snake and a small amount of marijuana.

Darnell and the girl's mother, 19-year-old Jaren Hare, signed over custody of the snake to the state. Dead or alive, it will be kept as evidence in the investigation.

*******

Darnell and Hare were questioned by investigators but not taken into custody. They may be re-interviewed after today's scheduled autopsy on Shaiunna.

"We still have to investigate this case and at some point there could be some negligence charges," sheriff's Lt. Bobby Caruthers said.

Department of Children and Families spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner said the agency has investigated several complaints involving this family during the past year.

A "couple" of incidents were verified, she said, but she did not disclose details.

Caruthers confirmed that a month ago that deputies responded to a "DCF-type call" at the home. Child abuse and neglect investigators will look into Shaiunna's death, Hoeppner said.

Darnell was arrested in May on numerous drug charges. A charge of larceny was dropped against Hare when she was 16.



I wonder if they will be charged with the death of the child?

sadly, there is no law against stupidity...and it is obvious that BOTH "adults" were clearly beyond stupid, IMO.

I have no problem with people owning snakes, pits or what ever...Its none of my business!!! HOWEVER if you own you should have liability insurance on them...

I own my home and cant get homeowners ins if I do so why should some smuck renting the house down the street be able to!!!!

"HOWEVER if you own you should have liability insurance on them..." You should have the common sense to do this but people dont...People wonder why we are losing liberties!!!!!!!!!!

If people are going to have snakes as pets they should take the time to learn everything about them before hand instead of waiting for an accident to happen, like many do.

Any snake or dog should be kept under control around children, there should be no exceptions.

Keeping snakes in a locked environment at all times when you are not with them is the only way to keep them from hurting others even when they seem to be friendly and accepting of others.

They are snakes and there natural instincts can and do take over at at the most varied times, even when the care that people give is outstanding.

here, here I raised pit bulls for years they are sweet look at petey on little rascals they are highly intelligent and it is always the fault of cruel and careless owners

I have to disagree with you there...ANY animal can lose it for any reason!!!!! He!! we humans do!!!

My biggest bit... is HAVE LIABILITY INS...If ya dont ya shouldnt own it!!

I agree...you hear it all the time...

"The dog/snake/bear/lion was NEVER aggressive before...I just don't understand why it attacked and KILLED A CHILD...."

Oh....ok then. However...all the liability insurance in the world is not going to insure against stupid people, like this person was..

"Darnell, 32, told authorities he last checked on the snake about 12:30 a.m. It had escaped its terrarium.

He put the snake in a bag and put it back inside the glass case. Then he put a quilt over the terrarium and tied something around the quilt. State law says pythons are supposed to be kept under lock.

Early in the morning, the snake escaped again."

What good is liability insurance going to do here? the child it dead...and the snake owner is directly responsible for this death IMO...

i dont have any kids but i would imagine most women wouldnt allow their guy to keep a snake that large in the house with an infant child.

anything over 8 feet can overpower an adult.

His own kid got killed so insurance wouldnt do much good...What if it got out of the house and killed the kid next door?

I have a pool so I carry $1,000,000 liability...WHY because I know I cant be in control of that pool 24/7. I have a 6" privacy fence but know some kid wanting to take a dip will if he gets a chance...Its called being responsible....I have neighbors with a pit that gets out...They rent and have nothing(They told me they have nothing)...I own my house and cant own one...Cant get homeowners in florida if you own a pit, rott,or German Shepard unless you fork out big $$$$$$$$ TRY 4 TIMES what I pay even carrying the $1,000,000 I carry because of the pool!!!!!

oh, I see what you are saying now...I get it and YES...it is the responsible thing to do. That child was not his...it was his girlfriends.

It is a sad day that you have taken ALL the precautions...crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's...and yet, people can still come after you.

I would see that as their liability and their responsibility if they sneak into your pool and drown or get hurt. You have done everything that you are supposed to do...

My thing is that neither the mother or the boyfriend were being responsible for the 2 year old child OR the snake that killed her..

and in that instance, even IF he had insurance it would not make the life of the little girl come back...

it is a major difference from what you do...you both A.) act responsibly and B.) carry insurance...

Like I said, I think that the mother and the boyfriend are responsible for the death of the child period.

Couldn't Agree more with you there! I guess I always prepare for the worst and hope for the best...

Like I said I have no problem with people owning them just the ones who arnt prepared and arnt insured...

A very sad story with the snake. Parents need to step up and take responsibility for their actions...