7 Stolen Rare Pythons May Die If Not Returned: Owner

Seven rare pythons have been stolen from an Ohio pet store, and the company's CEO is desperate to get them back because none of them are in great shape, Cleveland.com reports. Five of the snakes lifted from Akron Rattery and Reptile Rescue on Saturday evening are sick with an "unspecified illness," one is badly burned, and one is pregnant, CEO Robin Everley tells the site. "We need to get them back because they're sick," Everley says. "We don't want them to die because they aren't being properly cared for." Everley makes sure to add that none of the young snakes, which are worth almost $6,000, are poisonous and that "there is no danger to the public," per WKYC.

Whoever broke into the store—which doubles as a rare-snake sanctuary—seemed to know what they were after, Everley tells Cleveland.com. They knew "exactly where to find the rare snakes." The burglar or burglars broke in by smashing through a wall after busting into an empty storefront next door, knocking over cages with bunnies, chinchillas, and a chicken in the process. "It just hurts. It really does. We do a lot of this nonprofit," Everley tells 19 Action News. A $2,000 reward is up for grabs for the snakes' safe return, with no questions asked at drop-off, per the news station. (Let's hope they don't end up in someone's couch. (More pythons stories.)