Snakes belong in the wild. However, it’s no secret that many snake aficionados keep them as pets at home. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as you know how to look after them. But a video of a newborn baby being wrapped up with a pet python while his father does nothing to stop it drew significant outrage online.
A man in Florida has a 13-foot Burmese python named “Nay-Nay.” Those who have seen the video believe that the father is putting his child’s life in danger. This all began when the father uploaded a video of his son ‘playing’ with the snake.
In the video, Jamie Guarino is seen talking to his daughter and the snake in a baby voice. However, because of the video where Nay-Nay wraps its body around his 14-month-old son and he was recording it while not even concerned that the snake might harm the kid, many people are angry. According to Guarino, though, he has been raising Nay-Nay since it was only as big as a rubber band.
Guarino is a snake handler as reported by ABC7News. He believes he has the gift of being a ‘snake charmer’ since he was a kid.
According to Wikipedia, “snake charming” is the art of making it appear as though you’re hypnotizing a snake (usually a cobra) by playing and waving about an instrument called a pungi. Handling the snakes or performing other acts that appear to be dangerous is also common in these performances, as well as other street performance standards such as juggling and sleight of hand.
When people saw his video, he remarked, “When people see this clip they mostly react with fear or negativity. And I don’t understand why. This is an embedded fear, and I think people are brainwashed.” He stated, “To those of you who might see this video as irresponsible or dangerous, please take a minute. Don’t judge based on fear or something you don’t understand. Snakes can be, and are, loving animals.”
Since the father is a snake enthusiast, he gets his point. However, many people disagree with him.
If you have never felt the strength of a python, remember that these snakes are pure muscle and can squeeze and crush very quickly. It’s not that pythons are aggressive, but squeezing is just something they do instinctively. And when triggered, there is no doubt that it can cause major injury to this child. And this is where the concerns of those who have seen the video are coming from.
According to National Geographic, pythons are typically docile. Attacks on handlers, which sometimes result in fatalities, are not uncommon. Burmese pythons are meat-eaters that subsist primarily on small animals and birds. They kill by constriction when irritated, grasping a victim with their sharp teeth, coiling their bodies around the animal, and squeezing until it suffocates.
Despite the naysayers, Guarino claims that his daughter was never in danger thanks to the python.
