Python kills two boys while they are sleeping....

[Natsku]

Sounds very fishy. Poor boys

 

[steph.]

My husband told me about this story and my immediate thought was that something didnt add up. Wouldnt the boys have screamed and woken up the other people in the flat? Unless the python managed to wrap itself around both boys very quickly and constrict them simultaneously.

 

[EmziixBo0o]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wo...boys-did-not-have-permit-for-the-reptile.html

 

[Rhio92]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wo...boys-did-not-have-permit-for-the-reptile.html

 

[impatient1]

It has come out that the owner also had other illegal animals as well.
Such a horrible tragedy. RIP boys.

 

[Wildfire81]

Such an odd thing for python to do, they are not really "strangle then release" reptiles. As somebody who used to have pythons, and having a friend who owned a reptile shop, had all types, including rock pythons, this is just not indicative of a python.

 

[WelshOneEmma]

glad its not just me who found this odd. Could the snake not have curled up on them for warmth and crushed them, rather than constricted? Its very sad, both for the 2 boys who lost their life and also the snake who lost his too.

 

[lhancock90]

Any updates on this story?
I thought it was very strange at the time.

x

 

[Sarahkka]

The boys did die of strangulation, but other than that, I don't believe many details have been released.
The little boys were buried in the same coffin, as their mother said they had always been inseparable. Ugh, I can barely type that without full-on crying my eyes out.
I cannot come close to imagining losing both your children like that in one horrible tragedy. One would destroy me. Both? Not sure if I would be able to function again if that were me.
I always think, too, that we hear these awful stories and we are all thinking of the poor family while it's in the news, but as soon as the story changes, we all move on and that family is still sitting there, trying to deal with the nightmare that is now their life. So awful.

 

[WelshOneEmma]

The boys did die of strangulation, but other than that, I don't believe many details have been released.
The little boys were buried in the same coffin, as their mother said they had always been inseparable. Ugh, I can barely type that without full-on crying my eyes out.
I cannot come close to imagining losing both your children like that in one horrible tragedy. One would destroy me. Both? Not sure if I would be able to function again if that were me.
I always think, too, that we hear these awful stories and we are all thinking of the poor family while it's in the news, but as soon as the story changes, we all move on and that family is still sitting there, trying to deal with the nightmare that is now their life. So awful.

Is it possible the boys were strangled as the python coiled to get heat? I just find it so odd that it would do that but not feed, and then be found in the corner of the room in the morning.

Its heartbreaking. Things like that scare me as i'm not sure i could cope.

 

[Sarahkka]

The boys did die of strangulation, but other than that, I don't believe many details have been released.
The little boys were buried in the same coffin, as their mother said they had always been inseparable. Ugh, I can barely type that without full-on crying my eyes out.
I cannot come close to imagining losing both your children like that in one horrible tragedy. One would destroy me. Both? Not sure if I would be able to function again if that were me.
I always think, too, that we hear these awful stories and we are all thinking of the poor family while it's in the news, but as soon as the story changes, we all move on and that family is still sitting there, trying to deal with the nightmare that is now their life. So awful.

Is it possible the boys were strangled as the python coiled to get heat? I just find it so odd that it would do that but not feed, and then be found in the corner of the room in the morning.

Its heartbreaking. Things like that scare me as i'm not sure i could cope.

I agree that this story is absolutely bizarre in terms of snake behaviour. Apparently, this snake did have a history of aggression (not uncommon in African Rock Pythons), but python aggression is characterized by striking and hissing, not by constricting. The snake had been missing for awhile - not sure how long, but if a few weeks, then it could have actually been hungry... However, there has been no report on whether or not the snake was trying to actually eat his victims.
The owner is facing criminal charges, I believe.
As he should.
A snake that size goes "missing" in your house somewhere and you just carry on? With small children and other pets around? Gross negligence. And the most tragic possible outcome for everyone involved.

 

[JessPape]

They released a few days ago that the owner had blood on his shirt. I have a suspicion that he killed the boys, released the snake as cover up.

 

[steph.]

They released a few days ago that the owner had blood on his shirt. I have a suspicion that he killed the boys, released the snake as cover up.

Me too. When the story first came out my theory was that perhaps he had sexually abused the boys, killed them so they wouldnt tell, and then released the snake.

 

[R_x]

They released a few days ago that the owner had blood on his shirt. I have a suspicion that he killed the boys, released the snake as cover up.

Me too. When the story first came out my theory was that perhaps he had sexually abused the boys, killed them so they wouldnt tell, and then released the snake.

I had a suspicion he may have killed them and released the snake too

 

[WelshOneEmma]

They released a few days ago that the owner had blood on his shirt. I have a suspicion that he killed the boys, released the snake as cover up.

Does sound more plausible unfortunately. And I know this sounds horrible but that makes me even sadder that the snake was put down.

 

[Sarahkka]

So the stuff about the snake being missing for awhile wasn't true? I read that a few days after the story broke, but that could have been based on what the owner said. I hate speculating too much, but I agree that the story raised huge suspicions right off the bat.

 

[R_x]

So the stuff about the snake being missing for awhile wasn't true? I read that a few days after the story broke, but that could have been based on what the owner said. I hate speculating too much, but I agree that the story raised huge suspicions right off the bat.

I'm not sure I remember reading it had escaped out the top x

 

[Sarahkka]

I tried to read back through the old news articles, but I couldn't find anything about it having been missing. Maybe I misread? Sorry!
The newer article about blood on the owner doesn't specify whose blood. It could be the kids', but it could also be his if the python struck at him, or it could have been the python's.
I just really really hope that this leads to a stricter national policy on exotic pets. Not just snakes, either. There are plenty of nutjobs who think a lion or tiger is an appropriate housepet and nothing to stop them legally from having one. Exotics require a lot of research and skill. Not just anyone should be keeping them. And beyond public safety, the animal welfare and conservation ethics also need to be considered. The exotic pet trade has absolutely decimated many species - lots of prime examples amongst the reptiles, sadly.

 

[midori1999]

It sounds odd to me. I own a number of snakes, nothing as big as an African Rock, but some of mine are smaller Pythons and Boas.

Snakes don't strangle their prey when they constrict, they crush it, forcing the air out of the lungs. I suppose it's possible they might accidentally strangle it too, but there would be other evidence, such as broken bones etc.

It's also quite odd for a snake to try and constrict something so large in relation to their size and a child would be a flipping huge thing to a snake that was used to eating rabbits or hares at the largest.

It's horribly sad that these two children have lost their lives and the snake owner has been horribly negligent at best, but things don't seem to add up and I wonder if something more sinister has happened.

 

[JessPape]

and strangely enough, I have yet to see any new news reports on this. I have a friend who knows the family of the boys, but I really hate to ask her.