Pictured: The 22ft python who needs SEVEN zoo keepers to carry her to her health check

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:28 AM on 12th June 2010



While we all tend to dread visits to the doctor – not many of us require seven people to get us there.

But Bali the python is no ordinary patient, and as she measures 22ft in length, the great snake required a team of zoo keepers to carry her in for her health check.

The reticulated python, who lives in Chester Zoo, had her eyes covered to keep her calm as she was checked over.

Long load: Chester Zoo staff carry Bali the 22ft python to a health check
Curator of lower Vertebrates and Invertebrates Richard Gibson soothes Bali ahead of her visit to the doctor

These snakes feed on rodents, small mammals and birds, while larger specimens have been known to eat small primates and pigs – and even reportedly humans.

They have sharp teeth which they use to hold their prey before crushing and suffocating them with their body.

Female reticulated pythons are capable of laying between 60 and 100 eggs at a time, which take between 70 -90 days to hatch.

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Slippery customer: An agitated Bali bears her fangs