PARENTS often worry about their children spending too much time on screens. Others worry about junk food, strangers or crossing busy roads.
Then there are parents whose child is happily playing with a snake large enough to qualify as a minor tourist attraction. Parenting, it seems, comes in many forms.
This week’s viral sensation features a little girl happily playing with what appears to be a reticulated python.
Not a baby snake. Not the kind you see curled up in a terrarium at the local pet shop. This one looks large enough to qualify for its own postcode.
The snake appears to be about 16 or 17 times bigger than the child. The girl, however, doesn’t seem the least bit concerned.
She pats it, walks around it and treats it as though she’s spending the afternoon with an unusually long golden retriever.
Ni kalau jadi apa2 baru nak menyesal kot. Apa pun budak ni mmg berani.
Pernah baca pasal ular sawa yg orang bela besar2 ni.
Ada kajian dari pakar ular cakap, ular besar ni dia buat analisis pasal org yg paling dekt dgn dia, dia kaji saiz org tu sama ada ngam x dgn badan dia… pic.twitter.com/4UUMx6hsjH
— KONGSI VIRAL🇲🇾 (@kongsiviralje) July 20, 2026
Meanwhile, netizens are watching the video through their fingers. The clip naturally raises an interesting question: can snakes actually be tamed?
The short answer is yes, but not in the way most people imagine. Unlike dogs, horses or even cats, snakes have never been domesticated.
Dogs have spent thousands of years evolving alongside humans, gradually becoming companions that greet us enthusiastically after work, comfort us when we’re feeling down and occasionally pretend not to hear us when it’s bath time.
Snakes skipped that entire evolutionary journey. A reticulated python today is fundamentally no different from one living deep in the rainforest.
While captive-bred snakes can become accustomed to human handling and may appear calm around their owners, that doesn’t mean they have formed an emotional bond.
Animal behaviourists generally describe this as habituation rather than taming. The snake simply learns that the large human approaching its enclosure usually brings food instead of trouble. It’s tolerance, not affection.
That’s an important distinction. Your dog misses you when you’re away. Your python simply notices that the food delivery service is running late.
Reticulated pythons, which are native to Southeast Asia, are particularly impressive animals. They’re powerful constrictors capable of overpowering deer, wild boar and other surprisingly large prey.
And let’s get to the most important point, that they are physically capable of killing and swallowing a human, and even more, a toddler.
Our netizens get the point too. Take it from @SilencerMuto who said that it was alright as long they don’t enter the news.
“It’s fun to record. One day the child dies. Record it when it’s time to bury the dead body of the child,” said @Rainism08 in a biting comment.
Also, @Canteen33978132 believes people can make report to Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat.
However, snake whisperer @AmyCourier81 claimed that there are techniques to rear such serpents. Apparently the owner should never give it live feed.
Regardless, we still think that these magnificent reptiles are best admired with a healthy dose of respect, and preferably from a distance where the only thing they can wrap around is your imagination.—July 21, 2026
Main image: @kongsiviralje (X)
