News Archive

Spring 2004

Snake Weighing

On the 21st May 2004 five of our large snakes were moved to a bigger enclosure. The two Reticulated Pythons and three Green Anacondas are potentially very dangerous animals, all capable of causing serious injury or to humans, so needless to say they are seldom handled.

However, this move provided us with a perfect opportunity to weigh, measure and perform a general health check on each of the snakes. Planning is key whenever undertaking such a risky operation. Marc Ormond (Head of Reptiles) spent over a week preparing for the day, to ensure that every eventuality was thought out and that all safety measures were in place.

On the day of the move all of Marc’s planning paid off; the whole procedure went smoothly. It took a team of seven keepers to hold each snake to measure them, the longest being Barney a 20 foot long Reticulated Python, who weighed in at an amazing 51.3 kilograms.

All five snakes are now happily settled in their new enclosure.

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