Your opinion on python strength??

[Magpie]

Pythons are not only very strong, they're designed to kill.
They will often tuck their tails under a coil and hold on tightly with their long sharp teeth so they cannot be uncoiled.
I would say that if a 3m python wanted to kill you, the only way you'd be able to stop it is to kill it first, and then you'd have to realise pretty early on that that was it's intention. Once you are having trouble breathing, you're getting weaker in a hurry wheras a python even with a crushed skull can keep going for a while. The other thing is that a 5kg python has 4kg of very strong muscles that's it's using all of, you may be 100kg, but you are only fighting back with about 5-10 kg of muscle at most and most of us don't keep those muscles real strong either.
Fortunately there is no reason for them to want to kill us and it only happens very very rarely.

 

[bigguy]

Olivehydra,

I believe the keeper who was killed worked for the Venom Laborities at SA, not the CSL. Also, his Scrubby was housed in an enclosure. The only reason it was free ranging his house was its pretty hard to lock it back up when its just killed you.

 

[olivehydra]

Olivehydra,

I believe the keeper who was killed worked for the Venom Laborities at SA, not the CSL. Also, his Scrubby was housed in an enclosure. The only reason it was free ranging his house was its pretty hard to lock it back up when its just killed you.

Thats the media for you, they suggested that that was not the case, and they always do extensive research before speaking :roll:

 

[olivehydra]

Forgot to mention..... it seems "that" scrubbie also shrunk by 3ft on its way to ARP?

 

[NinaPeas]

I used to have a large carpet python, and I had it around my neck/shoulders one day walking around the garden, and I stumbled, then righted myself, but Snaky held on really tight, and I could almost feel my eyes buldging! Wasn't a very nice experience. I'm sure it could asphyxiate me by going round the chest if it tried, but I dont think they would, we are too big for them to swallow, so why bother? Plus if my life was in danger I'm sure I could do something drastic like grab it's head or something (not that I would!)

 

[hugsta]

Kilo for kilo, constrictors are one of the strongest vertabites on the planet. You cannot compare their weight to say a humans. I have no doubt that Tims massive Olive(at say a skepitcal 30kg's :roll:sorry Tim ) would easily be as strong as a 100kg adult humam male.

As for the SA death last year. I was adviced that the Scrub did in fact constrict the keeper and cause the death. This python is now being held at the ARP and when measured was only just over 14ft.

Sorry Bob, I've held Tims olive and it's every bit of 30kilos. I'm no little bloke as you know and I struggled picking it up. It one heavy olive. Not as heavy as his lovely scrubby though.

 

[Slateman]

Yep my girl Olivia is only 10 kilo and I am banking on her good nature when carying her on my shoulders. For safety i have always methylalcohol in spray bottle handy. Man newer know what can happen.
(metho mabe will ease my last minute if nothing)

 

[peterescue]

I find if you plait half a dozen maccies together you can get enough force to strangle any average person.

 

[cwarren72]

My male coastal is a little over 7ft now and just last year he constricted around my wrist and when I went to get him off he managed to coil both my hands together. I am 90kg and he weighs all of about 6kg and I struggled to get free and in fact if it wasn't for the fact he is used to being handled he could have done dome damage if he wanted to. I have no doubt that a good sized aussie python could do it if the circumstances were right. And yes there is some BIG scrubbies out there not to mention some big water pythons and olives. I know an old bloke who used to go out catching wild scrubbies and coatals and he has some pics of some that would absolutely amaze anyone, I am talking enormous... I have no doubt in my mind that there are still big ones to be found. I have a pic of a big burmese that has earen a guy but it wont let me post it?

 

[cwarren72]

I think you also have to look at the way they constrict. They don't crush you as such but instead as their victim breaths out and their rib cage constricts ready for the next nreath the pythons restrict expanion and so you can't get another breath in. It doesn't take much force to stop the rib cage from expanding.

 

[reptililian]

My male coastal is a little over 7ft now and just last year he constricted around my wrist and when I went to get him off he managed to coil both my hands together

Similar to your experience, Colin, my jungle girl is named "3am" because I was with her at this time of the morning when she tied my hands together. I had to make my way through 4 closed/locked doors, turning on lights as I went, to my Dad's house to wake him and get him to release me!

 

[PilbaraPythons]

Off the topic a little , but how is this story? Some of you out there may remember a bloke called John Robinson (appeared in few of the bare footed bush man videos). Well anyway he was once given a gift by some one I won't name. That gift was a 14 foot scrubby in a coal sack. When he arrived home very late at night and tired his girl friend told him that this thing had arrived but after John was already in bed. Instead of waiting until morning he got up casually and then went and opened the scrub python’s bag to have a look. Well that scrubby struck out immediately and seized Johns hand, hung on and coiled completely over its on head and over Johns entire arm. John is a massive man and yet he could not get that snake of his arm by himself. He told me that it took his neighbor and his wife 15 minutes to get it off and the snake had squeezed so hard on its own head that he needed medical treatment at hospital and he ended up with permanent ligament damage. Large pythons certainly need to be treated with caution. I have seen scrub pythons that are 20 feet plus a bit, and at that size they do have reasonable girth and are very intimidating to say the least.

 

[Linus]

Interesting to hear all these stories. I've often wondered what others thought cause even when a 4ftcarpet squeezed my forearm with "feeding response" type constriction I thought I wouldn't want that to be my neck. I'm not a big bloke and certainly wouldn't favour my chances with a big carpet - let alone a big olive or scrubby!

I reckon someone hit the nail on the head earlier - a 10kg snake againstst a 90 kg human isn't really how it is.

It's a 1-2kg bicep (or whatever muscle you are using to remove the snake) against 10kg of muscle designed for squeezing.