Despite their slithering creepiness, cold-blooded nature and deadly potential, John Vanek, 25, insists that snakes make great pets. He owns six, including a 6-foot-long pine snake and 6-foot-long jungle carpet python. "Snakes are beautiful creatures ... You can connect with them," he says. "The more you hold them, the more comfortable they become with you ... and they respond to training."
The recent tragedy in Canada, in which two boys were found dead in a family friend's home, strangled by a 100-pound African rock python that had escaped, was a somber reminder that housing snakes can be dangerous. But local snake owners say the tragedy could have been avoided and that when properly managed, some snakes can be great pets.
VICTORALCORN.COM
John Vanek has six pet slitherers, including this pine snake.
Vanek, an ecology grad student living in East Northport, Long Island, has come across many people who simply did not like the idea of snakes as pets, including a former girlfriend whose aversion meant the end of their relationship. "You can sense a stigma coming from people who don't understand them," says Vanek, who feels that national news stories such as the Canada incident fuel such attitudes. "Like with anything, irresponsible owners give responsible ones a bad rep."
African rock pythons, along with Burmese pythons and reticulated pythons, are among the largest and most threatening nonvenomous varieties of constrictors. They're deemed wild animals and illegal to have as pets in New York state. Canadian laws are similar. "There is no reason for anyone to keep an animal like that in captivity, unless in a zoo or private collection where accidents cannot happen," says Dr. Anthony Pilny, a veterinarian at the Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine on the Upper West Side.
Within the five boroughs, snake laws are even stricter; owning or selling any kind of python or constrictor is prohibited.
But Pilny says that smaller, legal varieties of snakes are not usually dangerous and can be ideal pets. They require minimal maintenance, needing only a small amount of space, typically have low sensitivity to temperature and light, and need to be fed (and thus defecate) only once a week. "There are many types of snakes that are not aggressive toward humans such as king or corn snakes," says Pilny, who has had a pet king snake for 11 years.
Bob Scheben, 49, owner of Repxotica, a reptile pet store in West Islip, Long Island, says that under the right ownership, even larger snakes like the ball python, which is illegal to sell or own in the city, are safe.
"It's a very shy, nonaggressive and as trustworthy a snake I've seen," he says.
No matter what kind of snake, Scheben says, secure housing for them is essential. He recommends an enclosure with six sides, a lock and additional padlock. "If you are negligent, they will get out," he warns.
Because of snakes' Houdini abilities, many city landlords will not allow them. E. Wang, who has managed properties for over 25 years, has a firm no-snake policy. "They aren't like dogs and cats," he asserts. "If one escapes, it can live a long time with minimal food or water and can be very difficult to find. That's not something I am willing to risk."
pets@nypost.com
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