Owner hunting for missing Colonel

Colonel, a carpet python, went missing after basking in a back garden

He may not be cuddly, but 10 days after Colonel vanished from a back garden in Newtownabbey his owner is desperate for him to be found.

David Welsh, 20, had brought the five foot carpet python out the back with him during the recent spell of hot weather.

He became lost in a book while his six-year-old reptile basked in the sun. When he put down his book he found that Colonel had gone a-wandering.

Mr Welsh, from Abbots Gardens, said that he has been looking for his lost pet every day, but to no avail.

He acquired Colonel from a pet shop three years ago after a previous owner returned him, because they felt he had become too large for them.

Colonel last ate two weeks before he went missing and Mr Welsh said that he does not pose a threat to children and that people should not worry about dogs or cats going missing.

"About the largest thing he could prey on would be a guinea pig," he said.

Mr Welsh has two other snakes and said that just because they are cold-blooded that does not mean that people who own reptiles feel less for them than people who own mammals or birds.

"He could be under a bush or maybe even in someone's shed trying to stay warm," he said, appealing for locals to check their property.

"He's not dangerous, and doesn't strike, even when he's being fed which you would expect them to do.

"What I really don't want is someone to come across him and kill him."

"For an owner it's just like a dog and when a dog goes missing," he said.

This species is a popular pet among herpetologists - amphibian and reptile enthusiasts - and can live for up 20 years.

Natives of Australia, Indonesia and New Guinea they trap or constricts its prey until they suffocate. They are not poisonous.

Police issued an appeal for people who come across Colonel to contact them last week. They said parents should tell children not to approach it and if it is spotted to contact them on 0845 600 8000.