WSU veterinary college takes custody of python

An 11-foot long reticulated python, believed to have been abandoned by renters in a house near Colfax, was captured Tuesday, Oct. 8, by WSU College of Veterinary Medicine, but it died some time Saturday night.

It is the second large snake which law enforcement requested the college’s assistance with during the past month.

The owner of the house called the Whitman County Sheriff’s office which contacted Nickol Finch, the veterinarian who heads the exotics and wildlife service at the WSU veterinary college.

While its length is impressive, the python is not a monster like the escapees recently hunted in the Florida Everglades. The snake was slightly undernourished and weighed a reasonable 22 pounds.

The snake had suffered moderate burns which were sustained when it curled around an electric heater in the rental property.

WSU pubic information officer Charlie Powell said Tuesday the snake was dehydrated and had some muscle wasting.

“It’s hard because we had no history of the snake,” Powell said.

He said that veterinary staff did a post mortem Monday and will know the results in a couple of days. He said there was no definitive cause of death.

“We may never know what happened,” Powell said.

Finch, staff and students cared for the snake with fluids, antibiotics and topical ointments. The cost for care was estimated at more than $100.

“These things are professionally frustrating for us and frankly offer little in terms of teaching value,” Finch commented.