Despite finding the slithery creatures “cute and cuddly,” snake experts in the area still frown upon owning venomous snakes as pets– and not just for legal reasons.

What is a ball python? And why isn't this 'nice cousin' to the Burmese hunted during the Florida Python Challenge? We explain the details.

The Burmese python is one of the largest snakes in the world. Adult snakes caught in Florida are between 6 and 9 feet on average, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Ball pythons are non-venomous, instead killing their prey using their long bodies to constrict the victim until it dies. Zolta the ball python coiled up into a ball.

Residents of the St. Augustine neighborhood are scrambling to figure out what to do with all the pythons, which likely escaped or are released pets.

Ball pythons, native to Africa, are not part of the local ecosystem, and it's believed the four snakes were likely pets abandoned in the Mill Creek Community Association's Nature Reserve.

A file photo of a ball python and a picture of snake owner Mia's hand after her python apparently mistook her for a rat. David Kenny/Getty Images & velvetsaguaro/Reddit Native to western and ...

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Police in Dauphin County have a strange question, but one that needs to be asked: Is anyone in Lower Paxton Township missing a python? The Harrisburg-area police department said ...