Finding a good Colorado home for one Australian python is tough, but placing two could be a nightmare for the state’s Reptile Humane Society.
After one 5-foot jungle carpet python became a ward of the charity on Oct. 22, after 14-year-old boy spotted it in a park in Longmont, an almost identical snake Saturday landed in the group’s lap, so to speak.
A Greeley couple saw the colorfully striped nocturnal snake slither under their shed Friday night, and lured it into a trash can with a heating pad Saturday.
The first python went unclaimed for the required five days, and it’s now up for adoption. Next Thursday, the second snake could be, too, if its owner doesn’t come forward.
The Colorado Reptile Humane Society, at 12 years old, receives snakes, lizards, turtles iguanas and other animals each week, but it’s never had to find adoptive parents for two carpet python at once, said board member Jonathan Scupin of Longmont.
“The larger snakes are had to find homes for sometimes, but we’ve never had anything like this,” said Scupin, who rescued the first carpet python from a willow tree in Jim Hamm Nature Area in Longmont.
“Hopefully, the publicity will stir enough interest that we can place both of them before winter.”
The organization has an adoption application, guidelines and things potential owners should consider on its website, .
Carpet python are commonly sold at pet stores, but as a native of a tropical environment, the struggle to survive at temperatures below 70 degrees, according to online herpetological guides.
Releasing a snake to the wild in Colorado is a death sentence this time of year, as night-time temperatures often fall into the 30s.
The python also can disrupt habitats, competing with other species for shelter and food such as rodents, birds and small rabbits, according the snake sources online.
The species grows to 5 to 7 feet and can live up to 30 years.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
