St. Phelomina, Albur, Bohol—Prony at 12 is the world’s youngest and largest python in captivity weighs over 300 kilos, 26 feet long and growing, devours a 60-kilo live pig or two live goats as his sumptuous meal once a month. 

Despite his enormous size, Prony is practically “harmless” that anybody who enters in his specially-made steel cage—accompanied by the statuesque owner and caretaker, Jing “Python Lady” Salibay—is out of harm's way.

Out of curiosity and adventure, this writer entered Prony’s cage, touched his huge body without being threatened of attack, thank God!

Everyday, people including foreign and domestic tourists, motor to the snake pit’s hideaway in this village some 12 kilometers east from the capital city of Tagbilaran, to see the huge python for an entrance fee of  only PhP5 (less than ten cents).

The “Python Lady” recalled that Prony was only five feet long when it was captured by  her brother-in-law Sofronio Salibay, a known snake charmer, in their backyard on Oct. 21, 1996.

The whole village is known as a habitat for pythons since time immemorial “that it is normal to spot pythons and other kinds of snakes hanging on trees and crisscrossing the sprawling forested area near their house anytime of the day and night,” she mused.

“We are used to it,” Salibay said.

She said that she and her husband Eugene and Sofronio are lovers of snakes, especially python that they keep them in cages “but it was only Prony that have stayed with them for nearly 13 years because all the rest escaped during their captivity.”

Salibay said that she takes care of Prony by feeding the python one live pig weighing 60 kilos once a month.

“If we can’t find a live pig, we buy two live goats weighing 27 kilos each as a substitute meal,” she said.

“Prony would not eat any dish other than a live white colored pig or two young goats,” she added.

“At the outset, we fed the snake with a live dog, but animal lovers howled a protest that it was cruelty to the animal, so we shifted to feed Prony a live pig, color white because he does not eat that is black,” Salibay stressed.

She said Charles Winterberg, an official from the Animal World based in London, visited the mammoth python last June and was amazed to see how huge Prony who weighs over 300 kilos and still growing by the day at a young age of 12.

Salibay quoted the visiting foreigner that Prony’s growth is spectacular because normally, a python at the size of Prony weights 300 kilos upon reaching the age of 40.

“The reason why Prony grows this big too fast is apparently due to the love and care we show to him, aside from being fed with a sumptuous meal regularly, compared to other pythons out in the wild,” Salibay said.

She said she spends PhP5,000 per feeding.

At the rate Prony is growing, the young python might hit the scale at a staggering 1,000 kilos by the time he reaches 40!

Pythons are known to have a life span of 80 to 120 years.

“When Prony is starving he is restless roaming around his cage, but would not harm four big birds, including a flying lemur, night heron and a hawk, and six turtles inside the cage. That’s how kind Prony is,” Salibay said.

“The python waits for the live pig to be put inside the cage, then after a few minutes, Prony goes after his prey, chasing the swine around the cage before going for the kill, squeezing the helpless animal before devouring it slowly that takes an hour,” Salibay said.

While other python changes skin every six months, Prony sheds his skin once a month, making him a rare type of reptile, Salibay said.

The “Lady Python” not only feeds Prony but gives him a shampoo bath and showers him with motherly care.

“Prony turns 13 this coming October 21st and like every birthday, Fr. Roque Maguinsay will come to bless Prony,” Salibay said.

“I’m proud that Prony is not only the world’s biggest but the youngest python alive in captivity,” Salibay concluded. (PNA)