Price told the Orlando Sun Sentinel, "I’m used to seeing snakes, but nothing that big…You just don’t expect something like that wandering around your house."
He stated, "It was sitting there, just taking its time, with no worry in the world…We called (Broward County) Animal Control first, but it was too late for them to respond."
Fresh out of options, and with the snake starting to make its way under the hood, Price called the police.
Officer Tony Bernando, who has 20 years experience dealing with wildlife as law enforcement, responded with two other officers, and tried to coax the python from under the Toyota Camry.
It took about 15 minutes to remove the snake, who did not make it easy on the officers with its constant twisting and attempts to escape. When Price saw the snake he said it was "Bigger than I initially thought it was."
Price’s roommate, also a student at Nova, reflected on the close call, saying, "I thought about it later…What if it had crawled up into my car and made its way inside as I was driving?…I don’t want to think about it."
Police spokesman Sgt. Mark Leone suggested that since the python was discovered in a residential area it was likely a former pet, and the snake was turned over to an exotic-animal care facility called Strictly Reptiles.
A video of an officer handling the snake at the police department was posted online, including a Facebook photo with the humorous caption, "My anaconda don't want none of this Davie Officer."
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, reticulated pythons are different than non-native Burmese pythons that are now common the everglades, and are identifiable by the yellow, white and black diamond-shaped pattern on their backs.
