Idaho Snake Charming

Rexburg, Idaho apartment dwellers can sleep easier tonight. That’s because Bessy the 8-foot-long Burmese python has been located after spending 2 weeks on the lam in a 57,000-square-foot apartment complex, according to an Associated Press article.

Kevin Kennedy, the apartment owner, wanted Bessy removed, dead or alive. But trying to find Bessy was no easy task. You don’t just whistle and “Here, Bessy Bessy Bessy!” and expect your Burmese Python to heel. Instead, Bessy was finally located by using a 100-foot-long “snake” with a camera. In “the most interesting plumbing job I’ve had so far,” Kip Salas of Advanced Plumbing located Bessy in the ceiling of a nearby apartment after a 3 hour search. After being lassoed and removed from the ceiling, Bessy was given something to eat, after which she was served with an eviction notice.

Bessy’s adventure began two weeks ago after she apparently escaped through a hole in a bathroom wall. Chelsea Stanford, Bessy’s owner, put up notices around the complex about the missing python, which caused some residents to refuse to spend the night in their apartments. This could have been a long term problem,since Burmese pythons can grow to 20 feet, weigh up to 200 pounds, and live about 25 years. The picture below is of a 16-footer.


I wonder how many other snake-sized holes there are in the walls of that apartment complex. If I lived there, I’d ask Kevin Kennedy some questions before closing both eyes to sleep again.