In Greek mythology, those who looked directly at Medusa would turn to stone. In Kansas City, Missouri, USA, those who look directly at Medusa may not do that – but they certainly come to a stone cold stop. That’s because the Medusa you find at the city’s Full Moon Productions isn’t some mythological figure of yore. It’s the longest snake ever in captivity.
Medusa, a reticulated python, clocked in at 7.67 meters (25 feet, 2 inches) long in its official world record measurement, on October 12, 2011. Reticulated pythons – named as such because of the grid-like pattern of its skin – are on average the world’s longest snakes, but adults normally grow an average of between 3-6 m (or, 10-20 ft). But there is nothing normal about Medusa. The 10-year-old snake required 15 men to hold her at full length in order for her record measurement to be taken, and her diet consists of a combination of rabbits, hogs, and deer served biweekly. She’s been known to eat a whole, 18-kg (40-lb) deer in one sitting. Medusa herself weighs 158.8 kg (350 lbs).
