They are also found on islands in the Caribbean and off the Pacific coast. They are found throughout the Americas, ranging from northern Mexico through Central America and into Peru on the west side of the Andes and south to Argentina on the east side. People were asked to donate money that would be sent to the World Wildlife Fund and a conservation group called the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.Boa constrictors are New World snakes, meaning they live exclusively in the Western hemisphere, according to the ADW.

It seems like every few years a person is killed by a large boa constrictor or python, usually a captive snake, but once in a while a snake in the wild,' adds Moon.Ī JustGiving page was set up after Brandon's death. 'We know large constrictors can be dangerous to people. 'So it's possible that the snake constricted Brandon because of being startled or shifting to predator mode,' he said. He adds that there are two common reasons pet snakes constrict their owners-they may constrict out of fear, or when they smell prey, and their predator instincts are triggered. 'They may become familiar with their owners or keepers, particularly by their smells, and may rest on them for warmth or just climb on them for activity whenever they are being handled,' he says. Moon agreed that snakes don’t show affection in the same way the word is used to describe cats or dogs. 'If they're in a tree and suddenly a branch moves or breaks, they're going to try to grab hold with the part touching the tree.' 'They attempt to grab onto things because they feel nothing is supporting them,' he says. Snakes, and other reptiles in general, aren't known to typically show these behaviors.īoback offers another theory: It's possible, he says, that Tiny felt she was going to fall.

While the coroner hypothesized that Tiny was showing some sort of affection, Boback says that's likely a mischaracterization.Īffection, as we refer to it, generally refers to physical contact to express some sort of bond. 'The constriction pressure would have caused asphyxiation, compounded by the faster effects of disrupted blood flow and possibly disrupted neural function,' says Moon. He adds that constriction around the torso can put pressure on internal organs and damage blood vessels like the hemorrhages found in Brandon's eyes. 'Disruption of blood flow and brain function can cause unconsciousness and become lethal much faster than suffocation alone,' says Brad Moon, a National Geographic explorer who's authored several papers on how snakes kill by constriction. 'Your brain is such an oxygen hog, that if you deprive it of oxygen there's a mechanism in your body that just sort of shuts off,' he says.Įxactly how long it takes for constriction to cause death isn't quite known, but a person can lose consciousness from this in seconds. With eight feet of muscle, constrictors can constrict blood flow to the brain in a matter of minutes. It suggests they kill their prey by cardiac arrest.' But, he adds, 'The scientific evidence to date would suggest snakes don’t kill by asphyxiation. 'Is it impossible? No,' says snake expert and Dickinson College professor Scott Boback. They don’t, despite popular misconceptions, typically kill by suffocating their prey. These pythons are a type of snake called a constrictor, which kills by cutting off blood circulation. In 2013, a snake of the same species killed two boys in Canada. It's the largest snake in Africa and can grow to be 20 feet long. Tiny is an African rock python, a species of snake with an especially formidable reputation. 'He made clear he did not believe the snake had been aggressive towards its owner, but the most likely scenario was that the reptile had been coiling around him in an affectionate way,' the Guardian reported. Still, the coroner concluded that the python was involved in Brandon's death. This lung and eye damage could have been caused by pressure applied to the chest or neck, but Brandon was found without physical markings in either area. The pathologist indicated these were signs Brandon died by asphyxiation. Authorities immediately suspected Tiny was the culprit, but it wasn't until this week that a coroner confirmed that cause of death.ĭuring a postmortem exam, a pathologist found that Brandon's lungs were heavier than expected and that he had pinpoint hemorrhages in one eye. The Coroner's Reportīrandon was an experienced snake owner who had kept them for years. It's the same snake that would be found on August 25, coiled in the corner of his room while Brandon laid dead on the floor.īrandon's mother, Babs, tells the Guardian that she was making dinner in their home in Hampshire, England, when she heard a thud come from Brandon's room.

Yellow boa constrictor pet rihanna