What Are the Dangers of Pythons

Bites

• Although pythons are not venomous, they do have strong powerful jaws and teeth that they use to attack and hold their prey. Unlike venomous snakes, which bite and then let go so the venom can take effect, pythons bite their prey hard and then do not let go. It is difficult to make a python release its bite because they have flexible jaws and often have to be pried off of its victim, according to the Nature Escapes website. Pythons have big, curved teeth that inflict a lot of damage to flesh and their mouths contain a lot of bacteria that can lead to infections.

Suffocation

• Pythons kill by wrapping their strong, muscular bodies around their prey and constricting it so that it cannot breathe. Eventually the prey suffocates. Although humans are too large for pythons to eat, pythons do occasionally attack adult humans by wrapping their bodies around the person's neck and suffocating them. There have also been cases of pet pythons wrapping themselves around babies or children and suffocating them, according to an article in "The Palm Beach Post." Pythons usually don't attack humans though and python attacks on households pets such as dogs and cats are more common.

Undomesticated

• Although many people keep pythons as pets, pythons are wild animals that may be tamed, but are not fully domesticated by humans and still retain their natural predatory instincts. Pythons do not understand or demonstrate loyalty to their human owners like cats and dogs do and do not see their owners as a part of their family or group. Pythons will still attack and kill out of hunger or self-defense.

Salmonella

• Most reptiles, including pythons, carry the salmonella bacteria in their digestive tract. The bacteria can be present in the snake's feces which sometimes gets onto the snake's skin. It is possible to contract the salmonella bacteria from handling snakes. According to the author Bonnie M. Ballard in her book "Exotic Animal Medicine for the Veterinary Technician," an estimated 93,000 cases of salmonella are contracted by humans from reptiles every year. Salmonella can cause diarrhea, vomiting, fever and abdominal cramps in humans. Salmonella infections can be life-threatening, especially to children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems.