While a 400 pound snake may seem straight out of the movies, this was reality as video below reveals. An 18-foot python named Delilah, which Florida wildlife officials have just confiscated, was indeed someone’s pet.

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Delilah is 16 years old, weighing, as noted four-hundred pounds and measuring 18 feet in length, with a circumference of 36 inches and is a Burmese python. A large snake, to say the least, a photo of which can be seen here. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission took the snake from its owners in Apopka, Florida, as it is being reported that it is unknown whether the owners had a permit for the snake which was living in a cage and fed a diet of rabbits.

Melvin Cheever, according to reports was Delilah’s caretaker, after his brother left the snake temporarily in a move to West Virginia. He is quoted as saying:

“I fed her this morning, gave her seven rabbits. She is as docile as can be. She’s as happy as can be.”

Regarding what is believed to be a proliferation of Burmese pythons in Florida, the Orlando Sentinel quotes a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Joy Hill who said:

“We’ve been getting a lot more calls than we used to. We know, just anecdotally, that they’ve increased.”

In addition to the Burmese python, National Geographic reports that a second, non-native species, the African rock python, is also present in Florida and may cause potential problems. You can read more about the potential threats and concerns here.

Delilah, the 400 pound snake can be seen in the video report below.

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