NEW HARTFORD, NY — A 13-foot (4-meter) Burmese python was confiscated from a New York state man who kept the still-growing snake in a small tank, authorities said.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation said it received a complaint about an illegally owned snake in New Hartford on Aug. 28.
Environmental Protection Officer Jeff Hull responded and found the snake in a 1.2 to 1.5 meter long tank.
The snake weighed 80 pounds (36 kilograms) and measured 4 meters long. It appeared to be in good health and was still growing, the Department of Environmental Conservation said in a news release.
The snake was moved to the Fort Rickey Discovery Zoo in Rome, which has the state-required permits for such an animal, the agency said.
The snake’s owner said he had not been prepared for how quickly the snake would grow, the department said. He was ticketed for keeping wild animals as pets and keeping dangerous wildlife without a permit.
Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia and have become popular pets in the United States. They are an invasive species in Floridawhere they prey on native wildlife.
Burmese pythons can grow to 16 feet (5 meters) long. The animal seized in New York, a Burmese albino python, was yellow with an arrowhead-like design on its head.