There is a problem in Florida. No, I don’t mean their voting machines. There is a huge problem in the Florida Everglades, and it could be coming your way. 

For many years people have been breeding various kinds of large predatory snakes in the United States and then selling them as pets. These include the very popular Burmese Albino Python but other forms of “constrictor” snakes as well. While not in itself a problem it does become a problem as many owners are not well equipped to deal with these animals as they mature and grow very large. How large? Some of these snakes can grow to twenty feet or more in length and weigh more than 200 pounds. Yikes!

As the snakes become too large for the owners to manage, many have been let loose, especially in south Florida where they have found a perfect environment in the everglades. It is now estimated that thousands of these large snakes are living and breeding in Florida. 

Experts are attempting to manage the population and control it’s spread northward but this is proving difficult. The snakes possess various traits making their eradication difficult. They are large and so resistant to inroads by other large predators. They adapt readily to different habitats and can even survive in freezing temperatures. They live in trees especially when young allowing for rapid dispersal through an area. They can live adapt to urban/suburban areas. They are capable of lying in wait for long periods making detection difficult. Females can reproduce without males and sometimes produce as many as 100 offspring at a time. And they can achieve high population densities. Which means a whole lot of them can coexist in one area. Yikes, again!

So must we here in the Midwest states like Ohio and Michigan worry about an encroaching threat?

“Giant snakes on the loose! Run for your lives!” ?

Well, not yet, but there are dangers. And especially to other wildlife. Various species of small mammals are already endangered in Florida, and these snakes provide and especially worrisome additional threat to them.

Which is why Mobile Ed includes special reference to this kind of threat in our school assembly program ANIMALS AND THE ENVIRONMENT. Kids seem especially interested in reptiles and snakes, and some are particularly good at talking unsuspecting parents into a bad purchase in the form of a small somewhat cute snake. Little do they know what awaits them as the creature grows in size. The same thing occurs with other “exotic” pets such as lion and tiger cubs. Mobile Ed school assembly presenters have many times been called upon to “rescue” a creature from a home no longer equipped  for it’s care. But a wiser solution is to prevent the proliferation of these pets in the first place. Which is why Mobile Ed school assemblies featuring live animals always stress to children that exotic pets are usually a bad choice for most homes.

Schools are a great place to get this message across, and an expert presenter from outside the school may often carry more credibility with kids as an expert in their eyes. It is an important and often overlooked message but one that children (and adults) need to learn. Much better to encourage kids and their parents to try stick to dogs and cats. Very seldom do dogs and cats grow large enough to devour their owners, and most are adorable enough to keep for life. Which should be long and healthy barring an invasion of giant dog eating pythons!

Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN