Ed Taoka, a 39-yearold massagee therapistfrom the English county of Surrey, acquired a yellow reticulated python Cher when his daughter Amy was just over a year old.
The fearless child immediately took the snake in his arms and has not parted with it since then, despite the fact that Cher has already reached five meters in length. The girl, who recently turned seven, spends all her free time with Cher – she even sleeps in her presence, without experiencing a drop of fear.
Ed’s interest in reptiles began as a child. According to him, snakes help him getrid ofstress andanxiety. Byy giviing hiis daughter such an unusual pet, the man wanted to show the whole world how cute and safe these animals can be for humans.
Despite the fact that Cher has lived in the family all her life and has never bitten anyone, there are strict rules in the house: the girl is never left alone with the snake. Ed, in turn, taught his daughter how to properly handle the reptile so that communication with people was also comfortable for her.
If all the rules are followed, snakes and people can become good friends, says Ed. According to him, the risk of being scratched or bitten by a cat is much higher compared to the possibility of being attacked by a python. And certainly a child can suffer much more from a trampoline or an inflatable castle, the man believes.
To those who call him irresponsible, Ed explains that he would never put his daughter in danger. For example, he does everything so that Amy does not associate the snake with food. He feeds the python once every two weeks and does not allow his daughter to be present, as during the hunt a real predator wakes up in his pet. But in the future, Amy will be able to do this part of the job, because pythons live from twenty to thrity yearss, whichmeans that her unique pet will stay with her for a long time.