Salt water and pythons

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MissFuller

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Hi all,
After reading an interesting thread on a not so above board group on facebook I'm curious as to whether anyone can pin point the exact issues with taking a coastal carpet python to the beach and allowing it to swim out in the ocean and letting it slither back up on the sand.
Not looking to be flamed as no I obviously do not do this but am curious what health issues exactly there would be

Thanks in advance
 
Last edited:
Shark attack would be a health issue!!

Sorry. Couldn't help myself :p

But honestly, I am very curious as to the reason why someone would do that?!




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Haha birds may be interested in it? :p
Apparently the snake "loves it"
It gets taken down the beach, it swims out into the water then slithers back up the beach to "find the owner for comfort"
He also takes the snake into the bank with him where the "local national parks guy" sees no issue and asks to hold it.
That's off topic though haha
 
While I can't find anything online (probably because there is no reason to research such a ridiculous thing!) I would imagine the biggest issue due to salt water might be damage to eyes/scales. Perhaps sand stuck in the heat pits also?

Having said that, that's only a guess since I've never felt inclined to take a snake for a quick dip at the beach!

Most pythons are fairly capable swimmers as far as I have read/learned but would be interesting to know if there is any danger of toxicity due to swallowing the water.


I did find this in my searching though..... Absurd!
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/...ng-jungle-python/story-fni6uo1m-1226838212363

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isn't it a breach of license conditions taking a snake off premises to the beach?, i would imagine the sand could get stuck in its vent if it pooped, or could get into heat pits
 
Wow that's ridiculous! The snake performs with him?!

Yep it's a breach of conditions! But his response was "I can do what I want, the beach is my backyard so not breaching anything"
The beach is apparently also cleaner then most people's enclosures I learned :s

I'm inclined to think that sand could get stuck in pits and vents but that there would be parasites in the sand as well. Not to mention the effect salt water has on human skin, I can only imagine what it would do to scales
 
Taking it to the beach? Taking it into the bank? The owner is obviously just an attention seeking idiot.

George
 
In relation to the link posted - since when was a jungle python not a carpet snake? LOL!
 
Were they saying its because they absorb water through their skin and that would raise the salt levels in their body? I doubt a quick swim in salt water would be bad for them but I wouldn't know.

Scales and salt water should be fine considering fish have them too.
 
Taking it to the beach? Taking it into the bank? The owner is obviously just an attention seeking idiot.

George

hit the nail on the head there.
He also keeps a spotted with a carpet python because they ate buddies....
 
Were they saying its because they absorb water through their skin and that would raise the salt levels in their body? I doubt a quick swim in salt water would be bad for them but I wouldn't know.

Scales and salt water should be fine considering fish have them too.


No it was my assumption that it would be bad for them, which is why I thought I'd ask on here to see if there was any actual detrimental facts (I was expecting the answer I received of - why would anyone research it? Lol)

I assumed fish and snakes scales would be a different material I guess :s

There's alot of questionable practises however my intention wasn't to get into yet another debate over this keeper lol but rather interested in any factual observations about pythons in salt water
 
Bockadams swim in salt water all the time. Can't see any difference. Humans aren't salt water specialists but we can swim in the ocean
with no negative effects, I suspect it would be the same for pythons. As for the sand annoying them. Pythons in the wild swim in fresh water all the time with no ill effects from sand.
 
I've seen Darwin carpets at Cobourg Peninsula NP swimmimg/ sitting in the salt water. The biggest danger is Sea Eagles. On both occasions after a while they cruised back up the beach and into the Monsoon Forest. So it does fall within the range of their natural behaviour.
 
I've seen Darwin carpets at Cobourg Peninsula NP swimmimg/ sitting in the salt water. The biggest danger is Sea Eagles. On both occasions after a while they cruised back up the beach and into the Monsoon Forest. So it does fall within the range of their natural behaviour.

Your not wrong about sea eagles, a friend of mine saw a sea eagle or what he thought was an eagle, drop the head and neck of a carpet onto repton beach northern NSW.
 
i take back what i said about the sand
 
ignoring the fact that said person is obviously a show off, trying to make up for god knows what messed them up.. short term id see no negative as long as it did not swallow too much salt water or stay out in it for long periods, then again there is no real need to take a python for "walkies" on the beach, or to put them in the ocean. there are no health issues with me putting an eraser between my butt cheeks, does not mean its a bright idea, same goes for this really.
 
isn't it a breach of license conditions taking a snake off premises to the beach?, i would imagine the sand could get stuck in its vent if it pooped, or could get into heat pits

I'm pretty sure it is. Where ever the licence is registered is where the snake must stay at all times unless it needs vet attention.
 
Pythons and other snakes are frequent inhabitants of mangroves, and in Laurieton on the mid-north coast there is a Carpet that is frequently seen sunning itself on rocks on a groin that fishermen often use. No harm need come to the snake on the beach, even beach sand wouldn't be a problem because it has no clay content, so wouldn't collect in heat-pits etc - when it dries out it just falls away.

But anyone who does this is an attention-seeking fool...

Jamie

- - - Updated - - -

ignoring the fact that said person is obviously a show off, trying to make up for god knows what messed them up.. short term id see no negative as long as it did not swallow too much salt water or stay out in it for long periods, then again there is no real need to take a python for "walkies" on the beach, or to put them in the ocean. there are no health issues with me putting an eraser between my butt cheeks, does not mean its a bright idea, same goes for this really.

There might be for the next person to use the eraser :)!

J
 
As Jamie and others have said, no harm and so what really. You could look at it at another angle, this crazy is exposing the concept of keeping pythons as pets to others who may have previously viewed them in a negative way. Too many people these days make mountains out of mole hills lol
 
we relocated an injured 4metre reticulated python from the gili islands to lombok
its scars are quite distinctive
2 years later it was back in the gilis

have seen big burmese a long way out to sea
some of them may have been washed out to sea by floods because they looked and acted disoriented
but others were in pristine condition and heading towards islands
 
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