KAWASAKI - Two pet pythons measuring about 2 meters in length escaped from an apartment in Kawasaki's Tama Ward early on August 13, 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, Tama Ward, called police at around 5 a.m. to report that his snakes had escaped.
The missing animals are a male and a female Albert's python.
Both are described as nearly black in color and nonvenomous. Each is about 2 meters long and roughly as thick as a 500-milliliter plastic bottle.
The man kept the snakes as pets in a cage and noticed at around 2 a.m. that both were missing.
He searched around his home for about three hours but was unable to find them and then contacted police.
The cage had a sliding door but had not been locked. A screen door on the balcony side of the apartment was also found slightly open.
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.
Source: tvk News Link
