Pet Expo a wild time
Edmonton Journal - Monday, January 31, 2005 - David Finlayson

  He's called '' Thing ", because when people first see him they say, "Look at the size of that thing", owner Dean Harper says.

Actually Thing, a 36-kilogram Burmese Python, is still a runt in a world where his brethren get as big as 8 meters long and weigh 200 kilograms.

But he still managed to make a big impression at Pet Expo Sunday, even if he did spend most of the day snoozing in his glass case.

Harper, of Wrappin About Reptiles in Olds, uses smaller snakes for the popular photo sessions with Expo visitors at Northlands Sportex, but his message is the same.

"Pythons, or other big reptiles, do not make good pets. People buy them without realizing how big they get, and a lot of them end up in our rescue program," said Harper, who also likes to dispel other myths about snakes.

"They're not slimy, they're not all poisonous and they won't crush you if you hold them."

Michelle Stott, 10, either hadn't heard the myths, or didn't care. "I just love snakes," she said.

"Girls don't usually like them, but I do."

There won't be a big snake in the Stott household any time soon, however.

Michelle's mother Diana said one reason they were at the show was to decide what kind of dog they might buy.

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