By Nammi Bhagvandoss
nbhagvandoss@joplinglobe.com
There's no place like home - even for a snake.
After nine or 10 days on the lam, Julius Squeezer found his own way home, to the delight of his owner and family. He was a bit perturbed but in good shape.
The 14-foot-long, yellow and white albino Burmese python turned up shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday. He was placed back in his aquarium. But this time, concrete blocks were put above the locking mechanisms on the metal hood that covers the aquarium.
"The kids found him in the field," said James Johnson, 21, the python's owner. "They didn't catch him. They just (saw) him coming back. ... He allowed me to pick him up, but he was really aggravated."
The python had been missing since June 29 or 30. Johnson said the snake escaped after he left the python's cage unlocked.
Johnson, who has had the python since he was 13 and since the python was 10 days old, had been looking for it by clearing brush near his home in the Greenwood community, southwest of Joplin. He also had been looking for the python at night with a spotlight.
Johnson said his young cousins and neighborhood children were playing outside Sunday, and one of them was alerted by a barking dog.
Jessica, 9, the daughter of Johnson's aunt who named the python, said she saw a dog barking and looked to see what he was barking at.
"I looked over, and there he was," Jessica said. "I screamed, 'Julius is back!' I ran and told them."
Jessica said she was at the entrance to her home when she heard the barking dog. When she saw the python, she went inside and told her family.
"I'm glad he's back," Jessica said. "It just wasn't the same without him being here."
Johnson said he was sleeping when Julius Squeezer arrived home.
"They ran over to see what (the dog) was barking at," Johnson said. "They seen it was Julius and they ran up to the house to wake me up, and they were screaming, 'Julius is coming back. Julius is coming back.'
"I didn't know what was going on. I thought they were playing."
When he got up to see what was going on, Johnson said, he saw the python moving forward and the children walking behind it.
"They were following behind him," Johnson said. "I went out there, and he started hissing when I stopped right in front of him. I put my hand out, and he started moving around. He allowed me to pick him up without any problems."
Johnson said it appeared as if his python was anxious.
"I'm not sure if some animals messed with him," Johnson said.
"I'm glad he's home, back in his cage," Johnson said. "Nobody's been hurt. He didn't get hold of anybody's animals. It takes a lot of stress off. The possibilities of things going bad were endless - whether an animal had attacked him. But, he decided to come home on his own."
Johnson said he believes the python might have been searching for water, and it's likely he did not eat anything because he did not have a wide girth.
"He's not even moving. He's probably glad to be in there (the aquarium)," Johnson said. "After eight years, he's found out that's where he wants to be."
Security check
James Johnson said he called the Newton County Sheriff's Department and local media shortly after getting the python back into his cage.
Newton County Deputy Brad Black went to the Johnson home to make sure that the family had taken precautions so that the python would not escape again.
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July 9, 2006
Julius Squeezer returns home
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