little snake...

[GradStudentLeper]

I see what you did thar. lol

He godwined himself. Which is fine... Now, my response was in jest, however there is a difference between "We have decided what is and is not good, and will force it on the rest of you" which is eugenics and "Natural Selection has acted against you and your stupidity. Now I will engage in my favorite german word, 'schadenfreude' which means 'to take pleasure in the suffering of others'. Leave it to the germans to have a word for that"

The two are entirely different things.

[Stefan-A]

He godwined himself. Which is fine... Now, my response was in jest,

So was my reply, in case you missed the Don't worry, I've said things like that myself, in jest.

[drache]

leave it to an American to love the word "Schadenfreude" with all its nuances removed

[Stefan-A]

leave it to an American to love the word "Schadenfreude" with all its nuances removed

I'm pretty sure it was just a part of the mock quote in his post.

[Didymus20X6]

leave it to an American to love the word "Schadenfreude" with all its nuances removed

I lived in Deutchland for 2 years (1988-1990), and the only Deutch I remember is "Ein bier bitte". That, and I can count to 8 (mostly thanks to Kraftwerk).

[GradStudentLeper]

leave it to an American to love the word "Schadenfreude" with all its nuances removed

Hey, I am not a native german speaker. I know the word because I learned german in high school and early university... Now my vocabulary has atrophied to the point where I can only use it for translating old technical documents (Like a paper from 1927 describing the differences between different mexican ambystomatid salamanders), and comic books.

[charles parenteau]

I think this python was big enough to kill that Jack Russel without underestimating the Jack Russel.Python and boa can escape just like garter snake but more often its a human mistake

[Didymus20X6]

My brother has a pair of Jack Russell's. They're not very big at all. I imagine a 6ft. boa could take either one of them easy.

[jere000]

Keep in mind that this is not a boa it is a burm.I don't think he would last long in the wild in utah.

[jamromhem]

In all fairness, there have been some pet owners in Florida who really should never have been allowed to own snakes. Some hyperactive spoiled teenager, or some drugged-up hippie who goes to the pet store one day and decides that owning a Burmese is "sooo frickin' kewl, d00d!" A swamp full of thriving, breeding giant snakes that are killing off the local alligator population. Yes, neglegent pet owners are also contributing to the endangerment of a local species.

My solution is quite simple: if someone wants to buy an exotic snake, they must be licensed to own it. Just like dog owners are required to license their dogs, exotic reptile owners be required to license their exotics, especially the dangerous ones, like the Burmese. They would have to be required to show they have adequate ability to care for the animal, including a sufficiently large enclosure, with an internal habitat suitable for the animal's needs, and can readily obtain proper food supplies. They should also be able to prove - perhaps by way of academic credentials, a simple test, or prior ownership of other species - that they can actually provide the right care for the animal.

And how can these policies be enforced? Easy: the pet stores and pet traders who make the sales must verify that those making the purchases are capable of caring for the animals in the right way.

A druggie with no experience of caring for snakes, with no enclosure to keep it safely, and no real concern about the animal or others, who just wants one because "It's soo kewl, man!" should not be allowed to buy one, any more than he should be allowed to buy a gun to rob a liquor store with. But an experienced reptile handler or trained herpetologist with a giant plexiglass enclosure for the animal should be allowed to keep it.

Of course, exceptions can be made for people keeping locally available harmless species, such as garters, corns, or milks.

Bottom line: if the species is dangerous, it should be legally treated the same way a weapon is. Is the owner qualified to keep it? Are they able to keep it safely? And is there some assurance that it won't become a threat to the public? If the answers to all these questions is "Yes", then by all means, allow the person to purchase the snake. Otherwise, do not even allow them to make the purchase, because sooner or later, that snake, through no fault of its own, will become a public nuissance and an environmental threat.

I can see owning a snake becoming similar to buying a gun back ground checks and all :P