2 days ago I got a call to deal with a snake that had been caught by a member of the public. All I knew was that it was a big snake (apparently nearly 3 metres long). Being that long meant that it was probably either a Reticulated Python or a King Cobra.
The Thai Retics are beautiful snakes, and are generally more placid than those of neighboring countries (not sure why, but it is a generally accepted fact), however, as anyone with even the smallest amount of knowledge of snakes is probably aware, a King Cobra is a very dangerous snake indeed, and able to kill an elephant or Buffalo with a bite!
I was hoping that it would be a reticulated Python!!
When I got to where the snake was being held, I saw that it had been caught with a grass ‘noose’ – which was still quite tightly wrapped around the snake, just behind its head. Fortunately for all of us, it wasn’t a King Cobra, but a beautiful 3 metre Retic! However, it was lying on the ground next to where the guys who had caught it were standing… and it wasn’t moving much at all.
When I got to it I could see that the ‘noose’ was very tight, so immediately removed it, with the snake allowing me and making little attempt to escape.
It was great that the guys who found it didn’t kill immediately kill it – which is sadly fairly normal practice, as Thai people are generally extremely scared of snakes… apart from that, snake meat is quite a delicacy, so a decent sized snake can provide a fair amount of food!
However, it was obvious that the snake had been handled ‘strongly’, and had been badly affected by its capture.
As I loosened the noose, the snake immediately vomited about half a litre of clear liquid (stomach juices?) followed by blood.
It was very listless, and made little attempt to complain as I put it into a large sack to take it home.
Once home I checked it again, and found that it had vomited another large quantity of blood… not good.
I was thinking about asking Samui’s real snake ‘expert’ – ‘Snake Phil’ – what to do with it – as it was quite a large specimen – but it was a bit late at night, so I reckoned I would call him the following morning for his advice.
In the meanwhile, I gently put the python in a large bowl half-filled with water for 20 minutes, before drying it off and putting it into a ‘holding den’ I have for just this type of occasion.
Sadly, when I checked the following morning, the poor thing was dead… possibly as a result of its capture, or maybe it was already quite ill when it was caught, I don’t know.
Anyhow, at the moment it is lying in one of our refrigerators’ ice box, until I figure out what to do with it!
A Thai friend suggested that I skin it and then give the meat to him to cook and eat!… but seeing as how I don’t know why it died – and that (for example) it could have been poisoned (or eaten something that had been poisoned) I don’t think that it is fit for human consumption. The skinning sounds like a good idea, but I have never skinned anything before, so I don’t know whether that will happen or not! The idea of a nice snake-skin phone/tablet cover is – I must say – quite appealing though! and this snake could make a lot of phone/tablet covers or cases!! Anyway, I am still not sure what to do with it yet, so it will stay in the freezer until I decide. Very sad though.
NOTE:
‘Snake Phil’ is an English guy who is an expert on snakes (and other ‘pests’) and really knows what he is doing.
If you have a snake (or other potentially dangerous animal) in your home, Phil will come out to you and catch it.
He then releases the animal safely back into the wild – in an unpopulated area where it won’t present a future problem.
He is a great guy, and can be contacted on 089 663 50 85 if you need his help.