Des Moines residents on the lookout for python on the loose

Python spotted in Des Moines neighborhood

A LITTLE BIT. ALL RIGHT DAVID THANK YOU. WELL, A WOMAN SAYS IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE, BUT A YELLOW AND WHITE PYTHON WAS HANGING OUT IN HER BACKYARD. SHE SAYS SHE SAW IT LAST WEEK, BUT HAS NOT SEEN THE SNAKE SINCE. WHAT A SIGHT TO SEE. SHE BELIEVES THE SNAKE IS STILL IN THAT AREA BECAUSE THERE’S A LOT FOR IT TO FEED ON. LIKE SQUIRRELS. ��vlog’S MARCUS MCINTOSH JOINS US LIVE IN THE WATERBURY NEIGHBORHOOD WITH A CLOSER LOOK AT WHERE THAT SNAKE WAS SPOTTED. NICOLE. KAYLA, WE’RE STANDING IN THE 600 BLOCK OF 61ST STREET IN DES MOINES WATERBURY NEIGHBORHOOD, WHERE THE PYTHON WAS SPOTTED IN A HOMEOWNER’S BACKYARD. NOW, WE SPOKE WITH THAT HOMEOWNER WHO SHOWS US EXACTLY WHERE SHE SAW THE SNAKE. LONGTIME WATERBURY RESIDENT BARBARA BO SAYS IT WAS A DAY SHE WILL NOT FORGET. I WAS LOOKING OUT. I WAS LOOKING OUT MY KITCHEN WINDOW AND HE WAS JUST SORT OF DRAPED THROUGH HERE AND THEN LOOKING UP THAT WAY. FIRST, I TRIED TO TALK MYSELF INTO BEING A LIMB OFF A TREE. WELL, THEN IT MOVED AND I THOUGHT, NOT A LIMB, BO SAYS. THE YELLOW AND WHITE PYTHON WAS NOT A SMALL ANIMAL. HE WAS THIS BIG AROUND. SO I’M THINKING HE’S AT LEAST 12FT. BO POSTED THIS WARNING THAT ENDED UP ON THE WATERBURY NEIGHBORHOOD FACEBOOK PAGE THAT ASKED, LOST YOUR PYTHON BO SAW IT HANGING ON A LOW TREE BRANCH, AND FOR NON SNAKE FANS, SHE SAYS IT IS LARGE AND FRIGHTENING. NEIGHBOR M.H. VAN DÜSSELDORF HOPES THE SNAKE IS CAUGHT AND RETURNED TO ITS OWNER, BUT HE LAUGHS AT THE THOUGHT OF A SNAKE SLITHERING ITS WAY THROUGH WATERBURY, A SIGHT THAT IS NOT COMMON. ABSOLUTELY NOT. WE SEE FOXES AND OCCASIONALLY AND RACCOONS AND SUCH, BUT NOT BIG SNAKES. THE BLANK PARK ZOO IS CHIEF ANIMAL OFFICER HAS ADVICE FOR ANYONE WHO MAY CROSS PATHS WITH THE PYTHON. I WOULD JUST REPORT IT. YOU COULD SEE DIFFERENT BEHAVIORS FROM IT. IT COULD JUST TRYING TO GET AWAY FROM YOU. IF IT’S REALLY FRIENDLY, IT MIGHT COME UP TO YOU. THE FACT THAT WE JUST DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE SNAKE IS ALWAYS WHERE MY LINE OF CONCERN IS. THE SNAKE SIGHTING HAS BEEN REPORTED TO DES MOINES TO DES MOINES ANIMAL CONTROL, WHO TELLS US NON-VENOMOUS SNAKES UP TO SIX FEET LONG ARE LEGAL TO HAVE AS PETS IN THE CITY OF DES MOINES. AND AS OF RIGHT NOW, THE SNAKE IS STILL ON THE LOOSE. WE’RE LIVE IN DES MOINES.

Updated: 6:15 PM CDT Aug 1, 2025

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Python spotted in Des Moines neighborhood

Updated: 6:15 PM CDT Aug 1, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

A Des Moines neighborhood is on high alert after a woman spotted a python in a tree in her backyard. Barbara Miller, who lives in the Waterbury neighborhood in Des Moines, said she was looking out her kitchen window when she noticed something long, large, and yellow wrapped around a tree. "I looked at it, and I thought, what is that?" Miller said. "At first, I tried to tell myself it was a limb off a tree … then it moved, and I thought ... it's not a limb."Miller estimates the snake was at least 12 feet long. She believes the snake could have emerged from nearby brush or creek banks during recent flooding. Miller posted a note on a utility pole near her home to alert others. One neighbor, Van Dusseldorf, was unaware of the sighting and was surprised. Despite the shock, Dusseldorf said he’s not overly worried."I don't think it would grab me and strangle me, and I know it's not poisonous." Jay Tetzlaff, the chief animal officer at Blank Park Zoo, says large snakes like this can be unpredictable, and it's best not to approach. "A 6-foot or longer python is certainly capable of biting and constricting," Tetzlaff said. "It’s best to stay away and report it immediately."Tetzlaff noted that pythons are non-native and not built for Iowa winters, especially if the snake is an albino. He says it can survive during the summer, but not the winter, unless the python learns to hibernate. "This snake needs to be found for its welfare," Tetzlaff said.Miller said she contacted Des Moines Animal Control after the sighting, and they returned a few days later after another neighbor called, in response to her flyer. A search was conducted, but they were not able to locate the snake."They didn’t crawl into anything or get too deep into the brush," Miller said. "So, it still might be out here."According to Miller, her backyard has been quieter, with fewer animals than before.“I used to have eight squirrels out here every day. I haven’t seen one since," she said. “I think the snake has been well-fed."He might not hurt you, but he’ll scare you."If you spot the python, do not approach it. Contact Des Moines Animal Control at (515) 283-4811.

DES MOINES, Iowa —

A Des Moines neighborhood is on high alert after a woman spotted a python in a tree in her backyard.

Barbara Miller, who lives in the Waterbury neighborhood in Des Moines, said she was looking out her kitchen window when she noticed something long, large, and yellow wrapped around a tree.

"I looked at it, and I thought, what is that?" Miller said. "At first, I tried to tell myself it was a limb off a tree … then it moved, and I thought ... it's not a limb."

Miller estimates the snake was at least 12 feet long. She believes the snake could have emerged from nearby brush or creek banks during recent flooding.

Miller posted a note on a utility pole near her home to alert others. One neighbor, Van Dusseldorf, was unaware of the sighting and was surprised. Despite the shock, Dusseldorf said he’s not overly worried.

"I don't think it would grab me and strangle me, and I know it's not poisonous."

Jay Tetzlaff, the chief animal officer at Blank Park Zoo, says large snakes like this can be unpredictable, and it's best not to approach.

"A 6-foot or longer python is certainly capable of biting and constricting," Tetzlaff said. "It’s best to stay away and report it immediately."

Tetzlaff noted that pythons are non-native and not built for Iowa winters, especially if the snake is an albino. He says it can survive during the summer, but not the winter, unless the python learns to hibernate.

"This snake needs to be found for its welfare," Tetzlaff said.

Miller said she contacted Des Moines Animal Control after the sighting, and they returned a few days later after another neighbor called, in response to her flyer. A search was conducted, but they were not able to locate the snake.

"They didn’t crawl into anything or get too deep into the brush," Miller said. "So, it still might be out here."

According to Miller, her backyard has been quieter, with fewer animals than before.

“I used to have eight squirrels out here every day. I haven’t seen one since," she said. “I think the snake has been well-fed.

"He might not hurt you, but he’ll scare you."

If you spot the python, do not approach it. Contact Des Moines Animal Control at (515) 283-4811.

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Python spotted in Des Moines neighborhood

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