Watch a Man Grab a 15-foot Python in the Middle of the Night with His Bare Hands

If you love snakes, then you might go out herping with friends. However, if the herping is unfamiliar, it is an activity that reptile and amphibian enthusiasts undertake to explore the local environment and try to find cold-blooded animals, taking photos and videos along the way.

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Yet, finding a 15-foot snake of any species, let alone a potentially dangerous reticulated python, could leave many people shaking in fear.

But not this guy.

Known as fishingarrett on TikTok, this animal-loving explorer is in Puerto Rico, looking for a 20-foot python. However, he doesn’t find one on this trip. Only a 15-foot reticulated python. We’re not sure that most people would say, “Only a 15-foot python,” but when you know that these snakes can grow more than 30 feet long, it fits.

As fishinggarrett casually walks through the brush at night, he spots the snake. As the man reaches down to grab the 15-foot python, he briefly describes the snake, then continues along his way.

Later in the video, he shows a good handful of reticulated python hatchlings, and some of them look like specialty morphs. How an expensive snake with the genetic traits it passed on to its offspring got loose is a mystery.

Where Are Reticulated Pythons Native?

Reticulated pythons are native to south and southeast Asia. They are the longest snakes in the world, and often one of the first to colonize new locations in their region. Does a new volcanic island need animal volunteers? There’s probably a retic or three on the way. They’re excellent swimmers and wild individuals can be extremely cranky — especially the bigger ones.

Why Are Reticulated Pythons Living in Puerto Rico?

This species, like many other snakes, is a popular pet. Reticulated pythons are beautiful and captive-bred individuals can be gentle giants. Breeders have worked with them long enough to have developed many different color patterns, called morphs. These specialized patterns include albino, leucistic, pied, cow, and more.

The video clearly shows different color morphs, which indicate that at least one of the parents carried some specialized genetic traits — things that can make the snakes very expensive. So why are they roaming around free from captivity?

Just the Burmese python problem in like Florida, reticulated pythons have colonized the area. No one knows whether they were released accidentally or deliberately, but it’s likely a combination of the two.