Humans love having pets. For many, having a pet is a source of comfort, love, and responsibility. It alleviates loneliness and boredom at times when you feel as if you're alone in the world. These pets (at least most of them — I'm looking at you, cats!) offer unconditional love to their owners.
However, there has been a trend of people choosing to own more exotic pets, moving away from traditional options like dogs, cats, fish, and birds. The woman in this video is an example of that. Watching her slowly urge and even physically carry her gigantic albino Burmese python into her bathtub is both adorable and terrifying. The huge snake appears to be enjoying its bubble-bath, but still, would you feel comfortable having such an enormous, dangerous pet?
The albino Burmese python hails from southern and southeastern Asia. You can find them in subtropical and tropical areas near water, as they are at least semi-aquatic — this explains why the python in the video seemed so comfortable in his bubble bath. This species usually has dark colours, with brown spots bordered in black. The albino mutation was bred because it became popular with pet owners.
Burmese pythons are huge — they can reach between 3.5-5.7 metres in length, with the females being bulkier, heavier, and slightly longer than the males. They can also weigh anything between seven and 75 kilograms. They tend to be nocturnal animals. At a younger age, they are comfortable both on the ground and on trees, but as they grow older (and the females give birth) they stay mostly on the ground. They can swim capably and can stay underwater for up to 30 minutes.
Like all other snakes, Burmese pythons are carnivorous animals, eating mostly smaller birds and mammals. It initially uses its front teeth to latch itself onto its prey, and then slowly wraps its body around it. While it squeezes its victim, it also contracts its muscles, killing its hapless victim with constriction.
Besides when they're hungry and on the hunt, Burmese pythons tend to be rather docile creatures, which is why a lot of exotic pet lovers go for them. That being said, releasing them in the Florida everglades became a very common phenomenon from owners who couldn't handle the responsibility. They are now considered an invasive species in southern Florida because they are preying on the everglades' native species, disrupting the ecosystem there.
Having a pet demands a lot from its owner, even if that is an animal with millennia of domestication like cats and dogs have been. Deciding to add an extra layer of difficulty to that by choosing an exotic pet could work for some people, but you need to ensure that you're one of those who can weather the storm. After all, a python is for life, not just for Christmas!