Man warns neighbors pet python that can eat cats and dogs has escaped

A man has warned his neighbors because his pet python that can eat cats and dogs has escaped.

Alex Villalta, of Chatsworth, in Los Angeles, California, asked the Facebook community MyChatsworth to warn residents to look out for his beloved pet, which measures 15 feet long. The reticulated python named Big Mama escaped from her enclosure on July 3 and was last seen in Villalta’s backyard.

Villalta said in the post that the snake is “friendly to humans” and about 8 inches thick. The python had just eaten before she escaped but still posted a danger to people’s pets, including cats and small- to medium-sized dogs.

Villalta asked fellow residents not to kill the snake if she is spotted because she has been a beloved family pet for “many years.” He said that his son is also “extremely sad” that they lost her. “Please help us get her back,” the owner added in the Facebook post. The reticulated python at large is very light in color, although Villalta said she is “not albino.”

Reticulated pythons are one of the largest snake species in the world. They kill prey by constriction, meaning they coil their bodies around it and squeeze tight until it suffocates. The snakes will then move their flexible jaw over its prey, and swallow it whole.

Pythons are not venomous and generally not a danger to humans, but they can become aggressive when provoked, like any snake species.

Some fellow residents were sympathetic to Villalta’s loss, but others were not.

“Please let us know when you find her, some of us are really hoping she is found soon for your peace of mind and ours because we are terrified of snakes,” one Facebook user wrote.

“Thank you for letting us know! I hope you find her,” someone else posted.

Another Facebook user wrote: “Poor baby girl. She’s probably terrified. look under the houses crawl space if you can.”

However, some people feared for the neighborhood’s cats and dogs. “Wait so you’re telling me I should try to spare her life even though she is danger to the neighborhood cats and dogs, because her owners let her out. Accident or not, I’m team save the cats and dogs,” another Facebook user commented.

Villalta also made an appearance in the Facebook comments, saying that the family still had not found the pet.

Do you have an animal or nature story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about pythons? Let us know via [email protected].