The internet went wild after a Facebook video of a 4-year-old girl watching television with her family's pet python went viral. Ed Taoka shared the video of his daughter lounging with the snake to prove a point that not all 12ft carnivorous reptiles have a desire to eat humans. Pretty ironic, don't you think? The video will make you cringe as much as his reaction to this major parenting fail.
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Embedded content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYnX1spYswwThe original Facebook post is no longer available to the public, which means the dad probably changed his privacy settings. However, the video still lives on Ed's YouTube channel and has gotten over 230,000 views.
Scary Mommy previously shared a screengrab of Ed's post, with a caption that read,
My daughter is perfectly safe. Interaction with any animal and child must always be supervised. No, it is not sizing her up. That is a stupid myth. Neither snakes have any desire to bite or eat us. Do you know what this snake loves to eat? Rats. She loves rats. Won't eat anything else. For the love of god I have tried rabbit but she is a really fussy madam. She just eats defrosted rats.
It may be true that this python has no interest in human flesh. According to the Humane Society, there have only been 17 related deaths by a python in the U.S since 1978. That certainly says something, but still why would you take the risk as a parent?
One month ago, he also shared this video of his daughter playing with the python. "Bestest friends," reads the video description. I warn you, it's going to make you cringe.
Embedded content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2WD0xBkCCI
If this is the case, why have your child play with this animal? I get that you may really love snakes. Hey, I love monkeys and sharks, but I would never consider keeping one in my home. It's still a wild creature in my book and those are meant to be kept in zoos or the wild.
The fact is that pythons aren't harmless and this is just as bad as playing a game of Russian roulette with your child. Just don't do it.
