Escaped python captured by Waterford Police, returned to owner

A 10-foot-long adult python that escaped its terrarium in White Lake has been returned to its owner after it was captured by Waterford police.

According to its owner, Jack Lauderback, the bright yellow python must've noticed its terrarium door wasn't completely latched and slid it open, slithering out of the family’s home and over busy roads, eventually making its way to neighboring Waterford where it was spotted in a wood pile.

Waterford police captured the snake July 16 during the midnight shift using a catchpole – the long metal rod with a looped cable at its end normally used for catching stray dogs – and took it to Oakland County Animal Control & Pet Adoption Center, where Lauderback quickly came to pick it up.

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In Waterford, it is illegal to own or possess poisonous or exotic animals. The snake, named “Jerry” by the Waterford police and "Mr. Squiggles" by his owner, fell onto this list as a constrictor snake.

While no one was injured or killed, the python was large enough to be dangerous to small children and pets. According to Waterford’s ordinances, if the python had injured a police officer or a resident, it would’ve been killed.

According to The Oakland Press, Lauderback was ticketed and told to return the snake back to White Lake, where there are no specific township ordinances banning the possession of large snakes, and fix his terrarium door.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Waterford police rescue escaped python