Pythons cuddle man

REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

A man is seen wrapped with pythons, some which include the Albino Burmese Python, as part of a show celebrating the coming Year of the Snake in the Chinese calendar. Spectators look on in Malabon city, north of Manila.

• [Michael Smith]

  My son held a Burmese Python in Malaysia last year. The handler told me that this type of snake is easy to handle and very unlikely to try to feed right after it has eaten.

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    I had one. It’s more like a knickknack than a pet.

    • [Jerril]

      Yep. Friend of mine had two, although they were 15 foot-ish so I’d call them “furniture” or “art installations” more than “knickknacks”. IIRC they eat once every 6 weeks or so, poop once every 6 weeks or so, and otherwise don’t move unless their warm spot gets too warm or too cold. Very calorie conserative, so with constant temperatures provided by climate control, they basically don’t move at all. Interesting, but not exactly stimulating pets.

      EDIT: Amended length after consulting with my friend. I over-estimated… but they were kind of fat :)

• [Lyle Hopwood]

  One or more of his pythons are quite large, aren’t they/isn’t it?

  • [Jerril]

    More like “Many of his pythons are quite small”. Which is a warning to people who buy pythons in pet stores: they get BIG.
    “However, these animals have a rapid growth rate, and will often exceed 2.1 meters (7 feet) in length in a year if cared for and fed properly. By age 4, they will have reached their adult size, though they continue growing very slowly throughout their lives, which may exceed 20 years.”

• [mtdna]

  I want to see him when the year of the rooster rolls around!

• [GOOT]

  Yep, this is my worst nightmare.

• [cdh1971]

  A Priest, Rabbi and an Albino Burmese Python walk into a go-go bar…

• [MarlboroTestMonkey7]

  Snakes. Why’d it have to be snakes? 

• [anansi133]

  I think I can guess what the next novelty sleeping bag will look like…

  • [rattypilgrim]

     Or a big, cuddly sweater.

    • [Antinous / Moderator]

      I searched for a sweater with cable knit / popcorn snakes, but couldn’t find one. That’s surprising. I couldn’t even find a proper 3D Cthulhu sweater.

      • [rattypilgrim]

        It is surprising. It seems like a given. And the snakes could be filled with down or something for added insulation. If I was a knitter I would totally go for it, but I have an attention deficiency problem…knit one, purl two..zzzz

• [HubrisSonic]

  What the FUCK is wrong with people? No white shoes after labor day! 

• [Nathan Hornby]

  He looks comfy.

• [Halloween_Jack]

  Well, he’s no Nastassja Kinski, that’s for sure.

  • [welcomeabored]

    Good catch, Jack.  I had somehow forgotten.

    http://lesanimauxducinema.centerblog.net/27-nastasia-kinski?ii=1

• [Lobster]

  UPDATE: This was not actually part of the show.  It was an unrelated python attack.

  • [Nathan Hornby]

    UPDATE: Everyone continues cheering him on regardless.

• [RedShirt77]

  I am just glad it isn’t the year of the tapeworm.

• [Keith Tyler]

  DAE read the headline and ask, “What is a ‘cuddle man’ and why did Monty Python have one?”

• [aldeka]

  I used to have a housemate who had a young (smaller than these) ball python that liked sitting around people’s shoulders. Apparently they can be quite affectionate if raised around humans from an early age. She was kind of like a cat — she liked people, but mostly only for their body heat. :)

• [Steve]

   Crazy.  if just one of those snakes decides to do a bit of constricting he’d be in trouble.  Two or three?  Dead.  And that big guy’s mouth is way to close to his face/neck for comfort.

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    Well, even if you don’t accept that they’re extremely unlikely to attack a human, I can assure you that they don’t hunt in packs.

• [Mike Meyer]

  They’re cuddling him the same way I cuddle a burrito.

• [katey314]

  That photo kicks asp.