A 13-foot (and growing) python was seized from a New York home and sent to a zoo

NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. (AP) — A 13-foot (4-meter) Burmese python has been confiscated from an upstate New York man who was keeping the still-growing snake in a small tank, authorities said.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation said it received a complaint about an illegally owned snake in New Hartford on Aug. 28.

Environmental Conservation Police Officer Jeff Hull responded and found the snake in a 4- to 5-foot (1.2- to 1.5-meter) tank.

The snake weighed 36 kilograms and was 4 metres long. It appeared to be in good health and was still growing, the Department of Environmental Conservation said in a press release.

The snake was relocated to the Fort Rickey Discovery Zoo in Rome, which has the required state permits for such an animal, the agency said.

The snake’s owner said he was not prepared for the snake’s rapid growth, according to the department. He was cited for possessing wild animals as pets and possessing dangerous wild animals without a permit.

Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia and have become popular pets in the United States. An invasive species in Floridawhere they take advantage of the native fauna.

Burmese pythons can grow up to five metres long. The animal seized in New York, an albino Burmese python, was yellow and had an arrowhead-shaped design on its head.