BYRON, Ga. — The docs at Critter Fixers Veterinary Clinic in Byron typically see dogs and cats like Gracie.
Kodee Anthony is on staff, and his pet is a little more exotic.
"Nessi is a Burmese python. She is two years old and weighs about seven pounds," he calculated.
Anthony is passionate about pythons.
"I've always wanted a bigger snake. These guys get pretty big," he joked.
Dr. Terrence Ferguson agrees these snakes can get big, especially unchecked in the Florida Everglades.
"They get huge down there. You're talking ten to 12 feet long," he said.
Yes, giant Burmese Pythons cannot be contained down in the Florida Everglades.
With that in mind, Georgia legislators added six species to the Wild Animal list.
This means you can't own them, but people like Kodee are grandfathered in with a clause.
"If you look right here, there is a real small chip the size of a rice grain," Terrence said while holding a card with a sliver inside.
Nessi and snakes like her must wear a chip and then register with the state Department of Natural Resources.
"We get these different species coming in, whether they tegus or pythons, they're cool when they come in, but at the end of the day, we want to make sure the owners that have them are responsible and make sure they take care of them" Ferguson explained.
Get to the vet if you own Nile monitors, African helmeted turtles, Chinese softshell turtles, Argentine black and white tegus or the Indian rock and Burmese pythons.
The list does not include ball pythons, which are much smaller.
Nessi came through with flying colors and went back home to her enclosure. She's got a long life ahead of her within safe boundaries.