BREVARD, Fla. -- A 5-foot long python is in an animal shelter this morning after a Sharpes woman found the reptile curled up in her garden, Brevard County Animal Services officials report.
"It hadn't missed any meals and probably was somebody's pet," said Capt. Bob Brown, spokesman for the animal services agency.
"They're not easy animals to keep. Some people might put them in an aquarium with plywood over it and a concrete block to hold it down. But they're pretty clever escape artists," he added.
PICTURES: Inside a 16-Foot Python
The yellow snake, which had diamond-shaped patterns on its back, was spotted by the resident about 2 p.m. Monday in the backyard of a home on Columbine Drive.
It was captured by an animal services officer and transferred to the north Brevard animal shelter. No officials claims have been made on the reptile, which can crush and eat creatures and small as a rabbit or puppy. The snakes do not represent a direct danger to humans, officials say.
Florida state law requires a permit for people who want to keep pythons as pets, Brown said.
Florida Today