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Pythons in Florida

Dr. Cheese

Dr. Cheese

Supporting Member
Mar 3, 2004
57,327
120,662
Metro St. Louis
#1
I'm sure many of you know about the problem with pythons, especially Burmese Pythons in South Florida. In parts of Florida, like the Everglades, Burmese Pythons now number in the tens of thousands, and have seriously affected the ecosystem eating deer, bobcats, woodrats, wading birds, and even alligators among other prey. What is interesting is that some predict the Python will eventually spread throughout the lower third of the United States, especially into areas favored by alligators, the coastal strip Texas to extreme Southern Virginia. Others say the Python will never leave South Florida.

I recently checked out Wikipedia, and the Python does brumate (repitilian version of hibernation) in the northen parts of its range in Asia. If that is the case, I don't see why it couldn't invade places like Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina where it would be warm enough for activity 8-10 months out of the year.

I'm just curious if there are any other amateur herpetologists (or even actual herpetologists) who have an opinion on the possible spread of the Burmese Python in North America.

BTW, nobody talks about it, but I see they are pretty active in Puerto Rico too. I don't know if the Boa Constrictor is native to Puerto Rico, but I know the Boa is in Cuba. That native species should give it competition.:confused:

Here is link with some info:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080812213816.htm
 
#2
Dr. Cheese said:
...What is interesting is that some predict the Python will eventually spread throughout the lower third of the United States,
especially into areas favored by alligators, the coastal strip Texas to extreme Southern Virginia. ...

I recently checked out Wikipedia, and the Python does brumate (repitilian version of hibernation) in the northern parts of its range in Asia.
If that is the case, I don't see why it couldn't invade places like Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina where it would be
warm enough for activity 8-10 months out of the year.
Click to expand...
interesting stuff ...
the spread of the snakes to a warm climate like south Texas , just seems like a no brainer to me .

i read an article where a constrictor { or was it a python , i don't remember ...}
had tried to eat an alligator , and both died in the process .

i used to own a six foot Boa Constrictor , and fed it with mice and rats .
the larger snakes should have no problems finding food , feral cats , dogs ,
or even wild hogs and Javalina pigs .

God help you if one of the larger snakes climbs into your boat in the middle of
a swamp ...:help:
 
#3
david meissner said:
interesting stuff ...
the spread of the snakes to a warm climate like south Texas , just seems like a no brainer to me .

i read an article where a constrictor { or was it a python , i don't remember ...}
had tried to eat and alligator , and both died in the process .

i used to own a six foot Boa Constrictor , and fed it with mice and rats .
the larger snakes should have no problems finding food , feral cats , dogs ,
or even wild hogs and Javalina pigs .

God help you if one of the larger snakes climbs into your boat in the middle of
a swamp ...:help:
Click to expand...


If he got in the boat with me, he would get chopped with my machete.;)
 
#6
There was a segment about this on that new show "Life After People". The Burmese Python is an invasive species that presumably could replace the alligator as dominant predator in the Florida ecosystem.

However it may have some trouble doing that :D

051006_pythoneatsgator.jpg


Dr. Cheese said:
I don't see why it couldn't invade places like Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina where it would be warm enough for activity 8-10 months out of the year.
Click to expand...

I think it depends entirely on the presence of other large predators in the area, including men with shotguns.
 
#7
Bill Nelson was talking about this crap in the senate some time this week. :rollno: I don't understand how we should stop these things. Should we or the government really interfere and try to save things (animals that are getting eaten by snakes) that cannot survive on their own? Looks like the animals getting overtaken by the snakes are looking for a bailout. :D
 
#8
jojobean39 said:
Bill Nelson was talking about this crap in the senate some time this week. :rollno: I don't understand how we should stop these things. Should we or the government really interfere and try to save things (animals that are getting eaten by snakes) that cannot survive on their own? Looks like the animals getting overtaken by the snakes are looking for a bailout. :D
Click to expand...

It depends on if you value your environment. Some times an invasive species can so totally disrupt the ecosystem that it ruins everything, furthermore, it's not like this happened naturally. People who thought it would be neat to have a snake as a pet are the reason why these animals are now crawling all over the Sunshine State.
 
#11
Invasive imported species are a problem - the pythons no more so that, say, feral cats (though cats are cute and cuddly so people don't freak out about them).

Colonial Europeans (I forget which) imported mongoose to a Carribean island to control the rampant rat populations. The mongoose, having no predators, became a dominant species on the island, wiping out a lot more of the local fauna in addition to the rats. They became a huge problem. There are countless similar stories.
 
#12
Dr. Cheese said:
It depends on if you value your environment. Some times an invasive species can so totally disrupt the ecosystem that it ruins everything, furthermore, it's not like this happened naturally. People who thought it would be neat to have a snake as a pet are the reason why these animals are now crawling all over the Sunshine State.
Click to expand...

+1

I'm going to say yes. In the case of the Python there should be intervention to stop or at least try and slow its growth in numbers.

The article stated they could spread to other regions of the south in the same areas alligators inhabit. Snakes are amazingly adaptable animals that can live in a plethora of environments. I do not foresee this snake solely containing itself to the swamps and low lying murky areas where alligators primarily inhabit.

If their population continues to go unchecked and measures aren't taken to control them or perhaps even exterminate them completely they will eventually wind up in rural & suburban areas where they can/will eat dogs, cats, mice, rabbits, pigs, farm animals, and perhaps in extreme cases a small child that doesn't see one when playing in the woods.

These predators also damage/destroy the ecosystem by eating the endangered wildlife found in the areas they live in. IIRC the alligators primary diet is actually fish and turtles. The Florida panthers is all but extinct, but they eat things like deer and other terrestrial mammals. The python eats, the alligator, deer, rabbits, mice, rats, birds, squirrels, etc, which in turn eat seeds, insects, and other small mammals, can lead to explosive population bursts of plants and animals that the pythons prey eats.

It's sad because I really do like snakes. Have since I was 7 and have studied them since. But this is something that really does need some form of control because I do believe they will eventually spread out of south Florida.
 
#14
Dr. Cheese said:
It depends on if you value your environment. Some times an invasive species can so totally disrupt the ecosystem that it ruins everything, furthermore, it's not like this happened naturally. People who thought it would be neat to have a snake as a pet are the reason why these animals are now crawling all over the Sunshine State.
Click to expand...


Are these here only because of pets? Just curious. If that's the case, then I can understand it a little more. Obviously, I don't want snakes eating all kinds of stuff if it's not happening naturally. But if we are trying to interfere with nature, then not so much.
 
#15
jojobean39 said:
Are these here only because of pets? Just curious. If that's the case, then I can understand it a little more. Obviously, I don't want snakes eating all kinds of stuff if it's not happening naturally. But if we are trying to interfere with nature, then not so much.
Click to expand...

From what I understand Hurricane Andrew also played a part because it destroyed some pet stores, and significant numbers of snakes escaped. Since females can lay maybe 80 eggs at a time, and they can grow pretty quickly, it didn't take long for them to be numerous. After about ten years, you have a 10-12, 75-100 lb, snake that can do some damage. By twenty years, a snake may be closing in 200lbs. and be around twenty feet long. A snake that size can kill an adult who is not paying attention.:eek:
 
#16
jojobean39 said:
Are these here only because of pets? Just curious. If that's the case, then I can understand it a little more. Obviously, I don't want snakes eating all kinds of stuff if it's not happening naturally. But if we are trying to interfere with nature, then not so much.
Click to expand...

This is entirely due to pets being released into the wild. People think it's neat to get a snake, then it tops 10 feet and suddenly they don't like the idea of having something that big and potentially dangerous around, so they toss them in the swamp. Thing is, florida is a haven for burmese pythons, so they've bred like rabbits.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I heard about the hurricane thing too. Though I still believe the major contributor is pets being released.
 
#17
cassanova said:
+1
It's sad because I really do like snakes. Have since I was 7 and have studied them since. But this is something that really does need some form of control because I do believe they will eventually spread out of south Florida.
Click to expand...

I love snakes and reptiles too. There is a part of me that thinks it is neat to have pythons in the USA, but I know it is bad for our ecosystem. As a native Southerner who loves the swamplands, I don't want to see them destroyed.:(
 

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