ED: Reticulated pythons are very strong animals.
They’re very strong apex predators
and they demand respect.
Emilia: Because I like pink.
ED: I don’t think they could eat her.
This is Sonny, and he’s a six year old reticulated python.
And this is ... Cher.
Let us see if she’s in the mood.
Oh Cher, come on.
My interest in reptiles started
around six to eight years old.
And it just snowballed from there I guess.
I suffer from, social anxiety and anxiety issues.
And reptiles,
I don’t know why,
when you hold them, they make you calm.
Even though they’re …
they are apex predators,
I find them very therapeutic, oddly.
Sonny and Cher both have gentle and docile personalities,
but it’s when food is involved,
that’s when
things change.
What I’m doing right now
I’ll bring Sonny
and Cher in
and just handle them
and …
you know and ...
just let them have a little stretch and wander.
My daughter Emilia she’s seven years old,
we started small interactions
with her when she was about a year and a half.
When me and my daughter watch TV,
and have one of the snakes on the sofa and
yeah, the snake’s just quite happy relaxing,
they do like a warm lap,
you know, they feel quite safe and secure.
Once I knew she had the understanding to be gentle
I was more prepared for her
to stroke the snake.
I don’t think they could eat her
but they could quite possibly
you know if they managed to get round her neck or anything like that
they could do a lot of ... a lot of harm.
I would never leave my daughter unsupervised with any animal.
ED: She's going to do a poo.
ED: They’re very strong apex predators and they demand respect.
Emilia: It's part of snake life,
Male Speaker: What?
Emilia: Part of school life too.
Emilia: I'm just going to sit up here,
So I don't get wet feet,
from that wee.
ED: I know I cannot look after these animals by myself.
Doing any activity with my daughter,
I will always worry
about my daughter’s safety,
...
they’ll be risks with everything.
I’m trying to show that
a well handled snake
will very unlikely want to bite.
Interviewer: Is there any other kind of pet
that you would rather have
instead of the snake?
Emilia: A cat.
ED: The relationship between my daughter and the snakes
have got stronger at times.
I enjoy filming
just a gentle interactions
between my daughter and the snakes.
Emilia: Three crowns on Cher.
ED: And it amazes me on a daily basis
how,
how they do behave.
Emilia: Hello?
Did you like it up there?
Stay with me forever Cher.
ED: Finally nice to see a human, a young child,
behaving nicely with
a very demonised animal, essentially.
The life expectancy I think of a reticulated python
is like 20-30 years old.
So I’m going to be …
I’m going to be coming to what? My 70s
by the time I think they pass away.
Emilia: Night night Sonny, night night Cher.
With Sonny and Cher, as long as you don’t frighten them or hurt them
they’re very gentle and docile animals.
Actually nicer than most humans
I’ve encountered actually so ...