11-foot python missing in East Atlanta Village (again)

Monty, during a previous escape.

Monty, during a previous escape.

Update: Monty has been found.

Original story:

Back in September, a dude who neighbors knew only as "Alex" promised the trouble was over. His 11-foot python was done escaping his East Atlanta Village home and startling residents.

But on Friday afternoon, Alex was spotted knocking on doors asking a familiar question: Have you seen Monty?

Alex, who’s declined to give his last name, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he’s actually not positive the snake isn’t somewhere in his house. But Monty, described by the owner as an expert escapist, got out of the cage again, and this morning, Alex saw a window had fallen from the frame on the aging home.

“Everything should be fine,” said Alex, who says he wrangles snakes for a living. “Hopefully someone will notify me pretty quickly if he is out.”

Hopefully so, since the owner halted the search about four hours after Monty would’ve gotten out. He had a job lined up to catch a different snake.

But Alex said he did a “pretty thorough” search and sealed the house well before he left. Be back soon.

The snake is a reticulated python, a species which is among the world’s heaviest. The nonvenomous constrictors are generally not considered dangerous to humans, but do kill animals.

Last time Monty got out, neighbors in the quirky area off I-20 greeted the situation with a mix of frustration, fear and humor.

They posted on the Nextdoor social networking app. Some wanted Alex’s head; others cried: “SAVE MONTY!”

Monty got a Facebook page and a Twitter account, where he announced he was: "Ssssssslithering through your yards and into your hearts."

Alex said he hopes neighbors know Monty isn’t a danger, if he in fact is out again.

“He’s harmless. He’s a pet. He doesn’t eat pets. He just eats rats. He won’t become naturalized,” the owner said.

But what folks think of Monty soon won’t matter.

The house Alex is renting was recently sold, he said. He’s got to move out. Monty is going to a breeding facility in South Carolina.

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