ORRINGTON, Maine — A week after he was found at an Orrington greenhouse, the 4-foot-long python that slithered away from his Johnson Mill Road home more than three months ago has died, his owner said Thursday.
Valerie Nason said Mr. Smithers died on Thursday morning. He had been scheduled to see a veterinarian specializing in exotic pets on Monday of next week, she said.
The ball python made headlines in early July, when a post asking people in the community to keep an eye out for the missing snake appeared on a closed Facebook page for Orrington residents.
After several months had passed and the chilly fall weather arrived, Mr. Smithers turned up at Ledgewood Gardens Greenhouses, two doors down the road from Nason’s home, on Wednesday of last week.
Karen Ramsey, owner of the business, said last week that she found the python at one of the greenhouses while cleaning up and putting the greenhouses and garden beds up for winter.
Ramsey and Nason both said that Mr. Smithers was barely responsive when he was found. Nason said Thursday that he never recovered from his ordeal, which included, among other things, several frosts.
“He may not survive. He’s in very, very, very terrible shape,” Nason said when Mr. Smithers was found.
“He will not eat or drink,” Nason said. Attempts to force feed him raw egg were not successful.
Nason said Thursday that she does not plan to get another snake, adding that she became a somewhat reluctant owner when her older son, who originally owned Mr. Smithers, gave him to her younger son, who later decided he did not want the large snake in his bedroom anymore.
She said she didn’t know exactly how old Mr. Smithers was, but pointed out that he was an adult when he arrived at her home eight years ago.