Python 'may have been attracted to body warmth'

Following the deaths of two boys in Canada after they were strangled by a snake, ITV News spoke to London pet store owner Nick Traquair to find out how animals of this kind should be kept:

• Snakes tend to be attracted to warmth. It is very unusual for them to attack a human or to see humans as food.

• A snake as long as this would need a room-sized enclosure - approximately 10x10ft or larger. Many owners of snakes this size convert rooms to jungle habitats in order to keep them.
• Only experienced handlers should keep African Rock Pythons.

• Snakes this size should be fed a frozen rabbit or large rats at least once a week. In the wild they can wait for months before eating.
• To keep a 4.5m snake in a glass tank, it would need toughened glass around 10/15mm thick.