Slippery Thief Grabs 14 Exotic Pythons

It’s not your typical item in the lost-and-found notices, but Jeff Houston doesn’t care. He just wants his 14 stolen snakes back.

The exotic ball pythons were taken from Houston’s home in Anaheim Hills when it was ransacked on a recent Thursday night. The problem isn’t that Houston is out of snakes; he has about 100 more. What really hurts, he says, is that the value of the missing reptiles is about $75,000.

“That’s my retirement,” the 32-year-old pool contractor said of the rare snakes he has been breeding for 16 years. “They took the really expensive animals and left behind the miscellaneous stuff. They knew exactly what they were doing. I’m hoping that someone’s kid, boyfriend, girlfriend, roommate or buddy came in with lots of snakes.”

In hopes of reaching that “someone,” a friend posted Houston’s story on the Internet. And now, Houston said, snake lovers worldwide have promised $50,000 as a reward for information resulting in the return of the pythons and the arrest of the snakenapper.

“These are really stunning snakes,” Houston said. “Even people who don’t like snakes see them and are amazed at the beauty of the things.”

The problem came to light when Houston and his wife returned from work Jan. 29 to find their house in chaos. The kitchen table, couches, book cases, stereos and a desk had been overturned. Jewelry, cameras, cash and other valuables were all still in place. But when he walked into the snake room, Houston recalls, every cage had been emptied and turned upside down.

“It took me a couple of hours to figure out what was missing,” Houston said. But it took a week to round up the dozens of snakes loose in his house. Houston said none of his snakes is poisonous or dangerous.

“I found the last one yesterday behind one of the snake racks. They are crafty little guys.”

More than crafty, though, the missing serpents -- mostly exotic breeding males 2 to 3 feet long -- are valuable. One, he says, is worth $22,000. And together they represent the snake breeder’s future.

“My wife and I have lived here for two years,” he said, “and instead of buying new cars or couches, we’ve put all our money into snakes.”

Realizing the reptile collection represents their life savings, Houston said, he tried to get financial protection, “but no one was willing” to insure.

“We’ve been looking at property in Washington state to move up there and breed full time,” he says. “Now our whole plan is devastated. Our goal is completely gone.”

Anaheim police spokesman Sgt. Rick Martinez says the department has no clues. Anyone noticing an unusually large number of snakes, he says, should call police detectives at (714) 765-1935.

Houston, meanwhile, is coping as best he can. “It’s heartbreaking,” he said. “I’m in there first thing every morning cleaning their cages and changing their water. It takes an incredible amount of effort to raise a snake from a baby.”