Texas Girl Safe after Python Puts on Squeeze

A pet ball python wrapped itself around a 17-year-old girl's arm at her Northwest Austin apartment and squeezed tightly for nearly an hour Friday morning, but both the girl and the snake are safe, police say.

Austin police spokesman Richard Stresing said the girl's father called 911 at 5:55 a.m. saying the juvenile python, which Stresing said was 2 feet to 3 feet long and "about as big around as an officer's nightstick," had bitten his daughter's arm and had been wrapped tightly around her arm for 20 minutes. The ball python is a nonvenomous species.

Stresing said the girl, who is the snake's owner, kept the reptile in an aquarium in her bedroom. The python had gotten free in the middle of the night, Stresing said, and when she tried to retrieve the snake, it struck and grabbed onto her. EMS was also on the scene at the 10100 block of West Parmer Lane.

Stresing said a police officer who wasn't afraid of snakes attempted to pull the snake free.

"Every time he tried to uncoil the snake, it bit harder and wrapped more tightly," said Stresing, who once owned a constrictor himself. "The snake was probably just scared. It's not like it was trying to eat her."

Officials did not release the name of the girl Friday. Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services spokesman Warren Hassinger cited patient confidentiality.

One of the 911 call-takers is a snake aficionado, Hassinger said. She already had gone home for the day, but tried unsuccessfully to help by phone before police and EMS arrived, he said.

About 6:15 a.m., Hassinger went on 590 KLBJ News Radio and spoke about the incident.

A snake expert listening called 911, and he was put in direct communication with police and paramedics on the scene, Hassinger said. The man gave tips on how to get the snake to release its hold.

Austin fire specialist David Thrush was finally able to remove the snake from the girl's arm at 6:20 a.m. by using ammonia caplets, said Michelle DeCrane of the Austin Fire Department.

The girl refused treatment by EMS, Stresing said.

Stresing said there are Austin officers who are certified at handling snakes, and the department is looking to train more.

"We just had a call go out for a class on handling snakes," Stresing said with a laugh. "Now, we're saying, 'Hey, we do need officers for handling snakes.'"

Staff writer Suzannah Gonzales contributed to this report.