In their video you see the reptile experts’ collective shock at encountering the big girl on the bridge of the upper level of the boat.
“It was curled up on the upper deck of this boat parked in saltwater in a very nice upper class area, definitely one of my weirder captures!” wrote Gillette on Instagram, with a picture of the massive beast atop his shoulders.
“We weren’t expecting it to be that big,” Scampione told the Miami Herald.
“It’s no joke. This is not a baby,” Gillette says in the video when he sees the snake coiled up near the controls. “You’re ready to play. Crazy.”
The owners, who had only seen part of the tail when they put in the call, were mighty surprised as well.
“When I pulled it out and they saw the full size they lost it,” Gillette posted. “All the neighbors came out and passing boats were stopping, it became quite the spectacle.”
So how did the snake manage to wriggle its way up to the upper level?
“Pythons are skilled swimmers and have no problem swimming in saltwater,” Gillette explained in his post. “Just like you, they can swim in it for days, but eventually need to find freshwater to drink to survive.”
As Burmese pythons are an invasive species, the non-native constrictor had to be humanely destroyed, Gillette added, as recommended by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) guidelines.
The ex “Gator Boys” star asks anyone with questions about these reptiles to refer to his blog, www.crocodilechris.com.
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 11:19 AM.
Celebrity/real time news reporter Madeleine Marr has been with The Miami Herald since 2003. She has covered such features as travel, fashion and food. In 2007, she helped launch the newspaper’s daily People Page, attending red carpet events, awards ceremonies and press junkets; interviewing some of the biggest names in show business; and hosting her own online show. She is originally from New York City.
