I Met Gamella The Python – Literally

I went to Walmart yesterday to buy some yogurt and oranges, and while I was walking back to my car, I spotted two guys who were carrying what looked like a snake. Sure enough, it was a damn snake. So I did the only thing I could think of doing: I stopped them asked about the snake. She has a name: Gamella

Gamella is a Granite Burmese Python, and I actually did some research. According to the Wikipedia page, this python is one of the sixth largest in the world; the average length of this python is about 12 feet, but they do grow up to 19 feet. Excuse me?! Wikipedia also says something about their skin being attractive, which is why they are common with reptile keepers and the leather industry. Yuck.

 

The way she was crawling up and down their body and doing that thing with her tongue, it made my skin crawl. There is no way on God’s green earth that I will bring a snake home. Who needs snakes when there are human beings who are snakes? And I don’t mean that in the ogbanje kind of way.

Anyway, the guys were kind enough to let me take pictures of them and even record a video. The other guy in the red shirt was just as curious as I was to find out about this snake, including where it poops. Valid question. He (the guy in red) wanted to take pictures, too, but he was so taken aback by this snake that he fumbled with his camera forever and couldn’t get it to work, so he quit. I gave him Verastic’s poster card. Hopefully, he’ll read.

So dog and cat don finish for market abi? Even baboon sef no dey. Na to carry snake come house. Na wa o! Americanah, I throway yansh for you people. For my non-Nigerian readers who don’t speak pidgin and don’t understand this last paragraph, don’t worry about it.