African pythons are new pets in Kerala

College student Hisham claims that King Cone, Milk Snake, Blood Python, Carpet Python, Green Tree Python, and Kenyan Sand Boa are some varieties in his possession and claims that pet culture has changed drastically in Kerala.

Kannur: Among Malayalis, the concept of an ideal pet has now shifted from dogs and cats to foreign snakes. College student Muhammed Hisham, a native of Pazhayangadi in Kannur, who has been buying, breeding, and selling snakes says, “The trend of pet sales in Kerala has changed. The demand for African pythons has gone up.”

Hisham boasts of a collection of such snakes in his house. Apart from passion, he is also earning extra bucks as people approach him for purchasing such snakes. The price of these snakes varies from Rs 25,000 to Rs. 4 lakhs, he adds.

King Cone, Milk Snake, Blood Python, Carpet Python, Green Tree Python, and Kenyan Sand Boa are some varieties that Hisham has in his possession. "The government has not given us permission to rear them without registration. Now, we are asked to register on 'The Parivesh app. I bring these snakes only after registering on the app," says Hisham.

What made pythons a favorite of Hisham is that they are easy to manage and are non-venomous. "I bring them here from Delhi and keep some of them and sell some. It is a hobby and fetches me some extra income," Hisham says.

Hisham is also keeping rats in a separate cage as feed for his favorite pets. He also has exotic birds and Australian Gliders in his collection. Hisham is a BSc food technology student at P A College in Mangalore.