News Two pythons escape from apartment in Kawasaki

This is uncomfortably close to where we reside.

Two pet pythons, each measuring about 2 metres long, escaped from an apartment in Kawasaki's Tama Ward early on 13 August, prompting police and firefighters to search the surrounding residential area and warn local residents. Kanagawa Prefectural Police said a male company employee living on the third floor of an apartment building in Sugabanba contacted police at around 5 am to report that his snakes were missing.


The two animals, a male and female Albert's python, are nearly black and non-venomous. Both are about 2 metres long and roughly as thick as a 500-millilitre plastic bottle. The owner noticed at around 2 am that the snakes were no longer in their cage. He searched his home and the surrounding area for about three hours before calling police. The cage had a sliding door, but it had not been locked. A screen door leading to the apartment's balcony was also found slightly open, raising the possibility that the snakes escaped that way.

The apartment building is in a residential neighborhood about a 20-minute walk from JR Inadazutsumi Station. Police and firefighters have been searching the surrounding area since the morning and are urging residents to exercise caution. One nearby resident said they initially thought the police activity might have been related to a bicycle theft and only learned later that two snakes were missing. Another resident said the escape was frightening and criticized the owner for failing to secure the animals properly, saying anyone who keeps such pets has a responsibility to manage them safely.

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If you find it, try not to carry it around your neck.

Not typically life-threatening to people, but D'Albertis' pythons can be difficult, defensive animals. They are nonvenomous and are not known to regard humans as prey, yet a stressed or startled individual may bite repeatedly; an adult's bite can cause painful punctures and bleeding.

Practical risk

• Their adult size—often around 2.1 m / 6–7 ft—means they are strong enough to require calm, competent handling.
• The main risk is a defensive bite, particularly with nervous or wild-caught animals; captive-bred individuals are generally better suited to captivity.
• They kill prey by constriction, but a snake of this size is not normally a serious constriction threat to a healthy adult. Still, never let one wrap around your neck, and do not leave any snake unsupervised with children.
• For a bite: gently disengage the snake rather than pulling it off, clean the wound thoroughly with soap and running water, control bleeding, and seek medical care for deep wounds, persistent bleeding, or signs of infection.

They are best viewed as a display-oriented species for experienced reptile keepers rather than an easy, frequently handled pet.

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