While the saying goes ‘you are always within three feet of a spider,’ Amador students must be on the lookout for a much scalier creature. Cesar, the four-foot long ball python and resident of classroom E4, went missing from his tank on Friday, Nov. 15.
“It is the craziest thing. 15 years I’ve had that snake and he’s never gotten out,” said Cesar’s owner and BioMed teacher Amy Turner Bull.
The black-and-brown snake vanished from his tank around noon due to unknown circumstances. He was last seen at approximately 3:45 on Thursday, November 14th. Both the administration and Turner Bull are looking into his disappearance
“At this point, we have no reason to believe that someone removed Cesar from his tank, but we are not ruling out that option,” said principal Malcolm Norrington, in a faculty-wide email.
Administration encourages students and staff to remain vigilant but calm, as Cesar is not dangerous but may bite if provoked. Ball pythons are generally known to be docile and harmless, and their primary defense involves curling up into a “ball” with their head poking out. It is this defensive maneuver that they get their name from. Though ball pythons may bite if handled aggressively, those bites are generally not serious.
“If you happen to see Cesar, please DO NOT TOUCH him and please DO NOT ALLOW a student to touch him…. If you feel more comfortable doing so, please calmly take your class outside the classroom, and we will respond to the location to wrangle Cesar,” said Norrington.
Further details included in the email emphasizes Cesar’s harmlessness, revealing his eyesight has failed with age. Efforts to find and safely return Cesar have yet to be successful, despite administration, faculty, and student efforts. While most are simply on the lookout for the snake, others are actively searching the places he could be.
“Was he taken? I don’t know, but I hope not. This whole thing is so weird!” said Turner Bull.
While the python may not respond to “Caesar,” his disappearance is a feat as mysterious as his namesake. Norrington’s email to the staff contained a reference to the historic Roman Emperor in its heading: ‘Cesar has betrayed us!’“What a great day to be a THON, I mean Don. Go Dons!” said Norrington.
