10-foot python found slithering around neighborhood sidewalk

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF/Gray News) - A driver spotted a 10-foot python in a South Carolina neighborhood Monday night.

Tracy Stout said she was driving home around 9 p.m. when she saw something in the road.

“When I first saw it, I was like, ‘was that a snake?’ Because I’ve seen plenty of snakes around here, but nothing like that, so that’s why I pulled a U-turn because it was big; he was huge,” Stout said.

Stout did not know if it was someone’s pet, so she called a snake wrangler.

“When I looked at him, I was like, that’s a python,” Stout said. “So, I didn’t call the police or anything, but I didn’t want anything to happen to him. I figured he was somebody’s pet, so I called the snake chaser.”

Stout was instructed to stay with the snake until help arrived.

“He sent two of his workers, and the snake was really mellow up until that point, until they went to grab him, which I’m sure anything would be,” Stout said.

Handlers secured the snake in a bucket, and it is now being cared for.

The Snake Chaser’s lead technician, James Sargent, said the size of the python was unusual for the area.

“We’ve had several calls over the years of pythons and boas but nothing ever that big,” Sargent said. “So, it was surprising to see one actually that big. Most people exaggerate, but that woman was right; it was over 10 foot.”

Sargent said pythons cannot survive winters in the area.

“They can’t do it here; they already proved they would die over the winter, so we don’t have to worry about them becoming invasive in our area, but it’s still not good to be dumping animals out so they can die during the wintertime, so it’s all around not good,” Sargent said.

Stout said she felt bad for the snake.

“It’s a domesticated pet, I guess, in their eyes, and either it got away on them, and they didn’t mean for it to get out, or it got too big for them to handle which, when I looked at him, I thought I’m not attempting to do anything with him,” Stout said. “Which isn’t good for the snake or for here because Florida has that issue.”

Pythons are not native to South Carolina, and state law makes it illegal to release any non-native wildlife.

Sargent said the owner of the snake has not been found, but the snake will be rehomed to a place that can care for it.