Fife

"Fife"

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14th September 2004

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DATE:	ANIMAL:	LOCATION:
4th March 2002	MEDITERRANEAN GECKO	Kirkaldy
15th March 2004	CARPET PYTHON	Rosyth

Dunfermline
CARPET PYTHON
A carpet python is missing in Dunfermline after being taken from her owner’s home.
Owner Richard Clark is heartbroken by the loss of three-year-old Babe, and has appealed for help from the public to find her. He says Babe is so tame he used to take her to the pub and play pool with her draped round his neck. The seven-foot long snake is dark coloured with yellowish patches.

Babe went missing after Richard had some friends round to watch the Australian Grand Prix on television. One of his friends admitted taking Babe from the house, but says he then lost her.

Richard is concerned that Babe will not survive in the cold weather. He said: “Pythons like Babe need to be kept warm and, with the frost we’ve had this week, I haven’t got much hope. If anyone finds her she’ll be asleep at best.”

“My only hope is someone has stolen her who knows how to look after her.”

Police have arrested a man in connection with Babe’s disappearance, and have warned people to keep away from the snake.

16th March 2004
(Source: Daily Record)

Written by: Lisa Willow

Ref. No: 1212

UPDATE
A garage mechanic asked to trace the source of a strange smell in a Fiat Punto was stunned when he found a seven-foot python coiled under the dashboard.

Duncan Ronaldson, who works at Arnold Clark in Halbeath, Dunfermline, found the snake wrapped round the speedometer of the car.

He said: “When we got the car, it stank to high heaven.I got the short straw as none of the others wanted to deal with it. I realised there was something dead in there somewhere and it was just a case of trying to find it.”
“When I finally discovered the snake behind the dashboard, I couldn’t believe it.
It was oozing and I just about lost my lunch a couple of times due to the smell. It must have gone in there trying to get to the heat.”

The snake was identified by car owner Richard Clark as his carpet python Babe, who went missing a few weeks ago after being taken from his home.

Richard said: “It’s very upsetting because I had looked after her since she was a baby. When she disappeared, the weather was freezing.”

”I've had snakes all my life. They are great pets, totally friendly and they never cause any bother.”

Police said yesterday a man had been charged with theft.

16th April 2004
(Source: Daily Record)

Written by: Lisa Willow

Ref. No: 1213

Kirkaldy
MEDITERRANEAN GECKO
Stowaway lizard found in baby's bib
A tiny lizard with a taste for travelling has turned up in a pile of baby clothes. Walnut the Mediterranean gecko came all the way from Egypt and found himself in a baby clothes factory in Kirkaldy, Scotland.

How far Walnut went
Staff at the factory were surprised to see him and they called the Scottish Society for the Protection of Animals, who took the two-inch lizard to the Scotland National Aquarium.

Spoiled rotten
Now Walnut, as staff have called him, is adjusting to his new home, and is making friends with lots of frogs.

A member of staff at the Deep Sea World in the aquarium said: "Walnut is settling in well to his new surroundings and we have made him as comfortable as we can."

Walnut is the only gecko at Deep Sea World so it looks like he's going to be spoiled rotten after his long trip.

(Source: CBBC News)
4th March 2002