Pretoria - A shy baby ball python is on the loose in Garsfontein and her teenage owner is heartbroken.
Ozzy, said to be a shy but loveable “girl” somehow got out of her cage on Friday last week and is nowhere to be found.
Her owner, Zuraida Venter, 14, told the Pretoria News she was at the end of her tether with worry about her beloved Ozzy.
“I have three wonderful snakes as my pets. My eldest ‘child’ is called Alexa and she is a corn snake. Her bonded partner is Axl, also a corn snake. And then there is Ozzy, my most beautiful brown ball python baby of about 10 months.”
Zuraida said she was very upset a week ago while the family was getting ready for a camping weekend, when she noticed Ozzy was not in her cage.
She wanted to check-up on her and say goodbye, but there was no Ozzy.
While no one knows is sure how Ozzy escaped, the family are pointing fingers at another family pet – an eclectus parrot named Jewel.
“She’s my father’s bird and known to be very naughty. We suspect she somehow opened the cage, enabling Ozzy to slither out. We immediately started searching for her but could find her nowhere. I cried bitterly all the way to our camping spot.”
Zuraida said a week later, Ozzy is still missing, but the family are hoping and praying she has found a warm spot somewhere in the house or nearby, hiding.
Zuraida’s mother, Christina Casquilho-Venter ( known as “Snow”), bought a mouse to try to entice the snake back to her cage when she gets hungry. The mouse has not yielded success yet and even escaped from the hamster cage where it was kept as bait.
The mouse was found the next morning on Ozzy’s heating pad, next to her cage. She is now in Ozzy’s cage, waiting for the latter’s return.
Zuraida is pleading with anyone who saw her “baby” to please contact her mother on 082 880 5704.
“I’m pleading with anyone who has seen the most beautiful ball python around Johnny Claassens Street to let us know.”
The family live across the street from the Garsfontein police station, but they doubt Ozzy would reach the men in blue, as these snakes are lazy and do not move around a lot.
But if he does, the family gave the assurance that Ozzy is a lover, not a biter.
“She is very loveable and shy. She will never harm you and will be afraid of you. As long as you stay calm, she will stay calm,” Zuraida said.
And no, she will not consume Bailey, the Staffie who lives two houses down the road, Zuraida assured neighbours. She said Bailey’s owners are abroad and concerned their dog will become snake food.
“Ozzy is very small. Only about 38cm long.”
Pretoria News