17-foot python on loose in Bay

BAY ST. LOUIS - A 17-foot fugitive is on the loose in Bay St. Louis, sending police and animal control officers combing through the 200 block of Union Street.

A man living in an apartment complex a block north of Bay Catholic Elementary called for help when he discovered his 110-pound Burmese python missing.

Baby, an 11-year-old python, has lived with Keith Berg for about five years. He said the snake is docile and easy to handle. The snake ate sometime last week and should not be hungry again for another three weeks, he said.

The female python, brown and gold with black streaks, eats four rabbits at its once-a-month dinner, but the rabbits are killed before they are fed to Baby, in hopes that she will remain non-aggressive.

"If I'm around, I would say she would be fine," Berg said. "But if I'm not there (when the snake is found), I just don't know." Berg said he noticed Baby was gone Thursday night when his girlfriend left the bathroom door open.

Assistant Police Chief Dave Stepro said he was unaware of any city ordinance in Bay St. Louis against owning rabbit-munching pythons or any other herpetologic species.

Police believe the giant serpent slithered through a floor-level access door in the apartment and may still be inside the complex.

If the python managed to make it out of the building it could be anywhere, officials said. Most of the homes on Union Street are raised about a foot off the ground and there is a large ditch at the north end of the street. Several apartment tenants and neighbors said they plan to stay with family or friends until Baby comes home.

Link to Story

September 29, 2004 (BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss.) — Baby's back. Keith Berg's pet 17-foot Burmese python is back home.

The snake slithered out of Berg's apartment in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, Thursday.

To get it back, Berg took advantage of Baby's weakness for rabbits. The smell of some rabbit dinner was too much for the big snake to resist. Lured by the bait, Baby emerged from some insulation in the apartment building's attic.

Now, Berg's neighbor Julie Lawhead is looking forward to a good night's sleep. She lives across the street with her three young children. With the big snake loose, Lawhead says she was looking under the kids' beds at night.

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Does it mention if the snake was kept in a cage or just in the bathroom?? If the snake is free roaming in the bathroom... grrrr

It doesn't say, but the way it reads it sounds as if the snake just lived in the bathroom. She left the bathroom door open and the snake escaped.
Few people would keep a cage in the bathroom to begin with, but imagine the size the bathroom would have to be to hold a cage large enough for a 17 foot burm and still allow any room for human use.

This is what happens as a result of inattentive owners. The snake escapes, is found four days later, then the rest of the people in town form the lynch mob with a petition to demand laws against them.
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The 17 foot long snake that got loose in an apartment complex in Bay St. Louis continues to spark controversy in one Bay St. Louis neighborhood.

As we first reported about two weeks ago, the large Burmese Python names "Baby" was missing for four days. It was later found by its owner in the attic of the apartment building.

Now neighbors are asking city leaders to step in to ensure this never happens again.

Joy Galloway lives about a block away from the apartment complex where "Baby" escaped. She says the anxiety and fear she and her neighbors felt when they heard a big snake was on the loose, remains fresh on her mind.

"When we found out it had escaped, my next door neighbor left because she was afraid to stay in her house. She went to a motel just to get away until it was caught. When a 17 foot snake escapes people become frightened," Galloway said.

Galloway and her neighbors are circulating a petition asking city leaders to adopt an ordinance banning exotic pets within the city limits.

"We have ordinances for everything else, why not snakes? Not just snakes, exotic pets."

Bay St. Louis Resident Mike Robertson, agrees with Joy.

"When you're in a community or township, you suspect that all those things are taken care of, but this one must have slipped through the cracks. And this is the first time, maybe, this has happened."

The snake's owner has said the reptile doesn't live in Bay St. Louis. She lives in Mobile with two other large snakes. "Baby" was only in town for safe harbor during Hurricane Ivan.

But Galloway told WLOX NEWS, "It doesn't make any difference if he homesteads there or not, it shouldn't be there period."

Residents will present their petition to city leaders at an up coming city council meeting.

"I would suspect the Mayor and or the City Council would first approach the Municipal League to survey any other ordinances in the State of Mississippi that may exist at this time, that have already stood the test of court challenges. I'm sure there are constitutional issues that might have to be considered . I'm sure there are rights involved on both sides," Bay St. Louis Cultural Affairs Director, Mike Cuevas said.

Cuevas says the hope is to come up with something that satisfies all everyone.

by Al Showers

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Legislation resulting from the python escape is on its way.

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BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. - Bay St. Louis officials are discussing whether they should adopt an ordinance governing the ownership of exotic animals.

The discussion comes after a pet 17-foot Burmese python escaped from an apartment building and wasn't found for four days. Residents in and near the apartment complex have led a campaign against owning exotic animals.

Paulette White, who lives next door to the apartment building, said she felt uneasy when the python could not be found last month.

"If you lived in our neighborhood last month, you were absolutely terrorized," she said.

City council members say they have researched other cities' policies to find a solution that is fair, but they want to continue looking at options before adopting an ordinance.

Councilman Bobby Compretta said he understands why the issue is important to some residents.

"I'm scared of a 6-inch green snake, much less a 17-foot python," Compretta said. "I think we should have something prepared in about four to six weeks."

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thats crazy. GRRR stuff like that makes me mad. sooner or later someone will screw up in my city too. i kno somone who owns a full grown american alligator and it lives in a spare bedroom. i would hate for the day it escapes....

i also knew a girl who out of anger of her boyfriend set his 5 ft python lose into a park, she didnt even seem to care with what she did either.

its only a matter of time, heck thanks to peta i read you cant own exotics in cleveland.

I just happened to see this here on Fauna. I live in Biloxi, which is 3 cities over form Bay St. Louis where this happened. I had talked to the guy who owns the snake back when it was loose (in an attempt to help him think of places to look). He had been keeping it in a bathroom because he had left Mobile when Hurricane Ivan was coming. He didn't want to leave the snake there to die if something were to happen to his home, and its enclsoure was far too large to bring with him. So he did the best he could in the situation. I did basically the same thing. When I left here to go to GA when Hurricane Ivan was coming, I had one suitcase of clothes, a photo album and the rest of my car was full of reptiles and reptariums to use as temporary enclosures (a great idea to have reptariums to use a temp enclosures for anyone in a high risk for hurricanes area).

I sympathize with the reptile owners in Bay St. Louis. They are basically being persecuted for owning ANY sort of reptile (corn snakes, bearded dragons, iguanas, etc.) The whole thing is just ridiculous. If they ban owning exotics they need to ban owning dogs too. There have been several dog attacks and children injured or killed in that city in the past couple of years. There are ZERO cases on record for injuries due to captive-kept reptiles (although there have been a few reports of people being bitten by native species in their yards).

Over all though, I feel lucky to be a reptile owner in Mississippi. I moved here a bit over a year ago from Georgia. The reptile laws in Georgia are too harsh regarding what you can and cannot own and selling your own captive bred reptiles. When I moved to Mississippi, I was thrilled to find out from the State Fish & Wildlife that there are practically NO laws here regarding what sort of reptile you can and can't keep (except for some native species). You don't even have to have any sort of animal permits to run a pet shop, unless you carry birds. I guess that could be both good and bad though since pet shops here are not really held accountable for the condition of their shops.

Just wanted to share what I knew about this story.

I'd hate the be the person who "caused" stupid legislation against exotics.

I, too, am fortunate to live where, so far, there are no laws pertaining to exotics. I live waaay out of town.

Karen