PYTHONS...ARE APPARENTLY WHAT'S SHAKEN

Dawn Boyle

What is the story with people and their fascination with Pythons?

A few months ago, Marion wrote a story called Pet Python. It got hits the day it ran, but nothing earth shattering. Since the original post date Pet Python has been in the top ten of the highest traffic source. Marion wrote again about the horrible story of a young child being killed by the snake and the parents going to jail...again - BAM! People are all over Delayed Reaction Lounge in search of information and/or stories about Pythons.

What gives? What is the draw? Tell us you python lovers out there....we will be more than happy to give you more snake stories if that is your desire.

I hope while you are reading Marion's Python tales you poke around...we have something for EVERYONE here at DRL....don't miss our very own Buxom Blogging Temptress Jillian. Grab a laugh with Tony. Marion's other stories of ghostly happenings and her love for nature and it's creatures, or check out what Barbara and I have to say in our posts. Rumor has it Jenn Copp will be back soon as well!

Thanks for stopping by the Lounge, grab a drink and hang for a while...we LOVE the company!

Below are some interesting facts about pythons...and also links to our writers and their favorite stories!

Pythons are a group of large non-venomous snakes that belong to the family Pythonidae. They are found in the continents of Asia, Africa and Australia. About 26 species of Pythons exist in the world. Pythons are ambush predators. They attack their prey all of a sudden even before their presence is witnessed. A typical python kills its prey by a process called constriction. Python grasps its prey and wraps its body around it. Without any hesitation, it increases the number of turns around its prey. As a result, the pressure on the prey increases and the prey is forced to stop inhaling. This eventually kills the prey or makes it unconscious. The python then easily swallows the unconscious prey. It may take several days for the prey to be completely digested.

Dawn Boyle - SOCIOPATH....
http://delayedreactionlounge.blogspot.com/2011/07/aka-sociopath.html

Barbara Ward
http://delayedreactionlounge.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-do-you-want.html#more
Jillian B. Hart
http://delayedreactionlounge.blogspot.com/2011/06/business-trip-part-vii-harts-desire.html
Tony Walker
http://delayedreactionlounge.blogspot.com/2011/03/catholics-confirmations-and-churches-oh.html

Marion Ambrose
http://delayedreactionlounge.blogspot.com/2011/04/demlicans-or-repubicrats.html
Jenn Copp

http://delayedreactionlounge.blogspot.com/2011/03/rather-kiss-frogsprince-charming-is.html

Toddler Killed by Python : Justice for Shaianna

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

A few months ago I wrote a story for Paranormal Pub called “The Pet Python”. http://delayedreactionlounge.blogspot.com/2011/05/pet-python.html

Never in a million years would I have believed I’d see the same title as a news headline with an innocent, toddler for a victim!

Officials remove the 8 foot python that killed a two year old

Tragically, 2-year-old Shaianna Hare was strangled Wednesday by her family's 8-foot-long pet Burmese python. Shaianna was already dead when paramedics arrived at about 10 a.m. according to Lt. Bobby Caruthers of the Sumter County Sheriff's Office.

Charles Jason Darnell, 32, the snake's owner and boyfriend of the child’s mother, said he discovered the snake missing from its terrarium and ran to the toddler’s room, where he found the snake wrapped around her. Darnell said he stabbed the snake several times until he was able to pry the child away while someone else called 911.

"The baby's dead!" the sobbing caller from the house screamed to a 911 dispatcher in a recording. "Our stupid snake got out in the middle of the night and strangled the baby." "She got out of the cage last night and got into the baby's crib and strangled her to death," the caller said.

Authorities removed the snake from the home Wednesday afternoon. Once outside, the snake was placed in a bag and placed inside a dog crate. The snake was still alive.

"It's a tragedy," Sumter County Sheriff Lt. Bobby Caruthers said outside the home. Authorities said it's "a definite possibility" that the python may have been trying to ingest the girl. Blood was found on the mattress and teeth marks were found on her head.

Darnell did not have a permit for the snake, which would be a second-degree misdemeanor, according to Joy Hill, a spokeswoman with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The snake was said to be malnourished, weighing only 13 and a half pounds, when a full grown python should weigh 140. Officials believe the snake had not been fed in over a month. 

The Humane Society of the United States said including Wednesday’s death, at least 12 people have been killed in the U.S. by pet pythons since 1980, including five children.

On Thursday, a Florida jury found Jaren Hare and Charles "Jason" Darnell guilty in the python strangling death of Hare's 2-year-old daughter, Shaianna. The couple was found guilty of all charges, including third-degree murder, manslaughter and child neglect. Hare and Darnell could be sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Pythons are not native to Florida, but some residents keep them as pets, especially Burmese pythons, which can grow to more than 15 feet and weigh more than 150 pounds.  When the snakes become too large, some owners release them into the Everglades and other wild areas, Florida officials say. One killed an alligator and then burst when it tried to eat it.

"It's becoming more and more of a problem, perhaps no fault of the animal, more a fault of the human," said Jorge Pino, a state wildlife commission spokesman. "People purchase these animals when they're small. When they grow, they either can't control them or release them."

The fast-growing population of snakes has been invading southern Florida's ecosystem since 1992, when scientists speculate a bevy of Burmese pythons was released into the wild after Hurricane Andrew shattered many pet shop terrariums. Scientists don't have an accurate estimate of how many pythons are in Florida, but estimates range from thousands to hundreds of thousands.



Shaianna



Caylee



So here’s what we want to know:

*Do you believe the jury was correct in throwing the book at these parents and finding them guilty of murder, manslaughter and child neglect?

*Do you think the perceived lack of justice in the Casey Anthony case had anything to do with this jury’s decision?

*If you disagree with this jury’s verdict, what would your verdict have been?