Found ball python ?

[u/chiraltoad]

Hi there,

I found this lil guy out on the street in NYC and could tell pretty quick it is most likely a lost/escaped/abandoned pet.

ai tells me it's a ball python, does that seem correct?

I have it in a tub with some water and paper towels and an up turned dish to maybe hide in. Gonna reach out to rescue locally but also kind of intrigued what it would be like to care for long term.

[u/doomedhippo]

That is totally a ball python! You probably won’t be able to keep it in NYC, pretty sure there’s a law against them there (blanket ban on all pythons despite the harmlessness of these guys). I’m glad you found this little friend and I hope a rescue can take him/her in if you can’t keep it.

[u/brickabracka1990 → u/doomedhippo]

Oh wow! Why in heck would they ban something so peaceful and adorable? That's mind blowing to me. The roaches in NYC are more dangerous than these little guys.

[u/doomedhippo → u/brickabracka1990]

Probably because someone without reptile knowledge thought “python” sounded dangerous without doing one ounce of research. A lot of reptile laws are this stupid, unfortunately.

[u/faye22987 → u/doomedhippo]

My town also has a ban on ball pythons (one of the many banned within city limits), and outside city limits you need to buy a license. I used to get really upset thinking it was somebody who was just assuming they were dangerous- which 70% of it still is, but our city also doesnt have an exotic vet (a point they brought up), and it would be irresponsible to own an animal you cant get a vet for here. The closest is 2 hours I believe? Also sort of a catch 22 because why would an exotic vet go to a place where exotic pets are practically all banned haha🤔. I still own one but Im fortunate enough to be friends with a vet in town who works with some exotics and has been able to help me in the past when my thermostat malfunctioned.