HOLLADAY — Marty Bone will be sleeping alone. His main "Squeezer" died Tuesday.
Age finally caught up with Julius Squeezer, Bone's 43-year-old Burmese python. The 18-foot-long, 220-pound snake was one of the best-known pets in the Salt Lake area, and it may have been the oldest of its kind to live in captivity.
Bone said his python, which despite its name is female, shattered the previous longevity record of 33 years and 3 months for that type of snake. Most Burmese pythons live 20 to 30 years. "That is amazing," said Jane Larson, animal care supervisor in Hogle Zoo's small animal building, which includes snakes of Julius' age. "A good life span would be in the mid-20s."
Now retired, Bone used to make furniture and built a square wooden casket to bury Julius in on some family property.
"Snakes are his life," Bone's mother, Shirley Bone, 79, said. "He's taught many people not to fear them." During her long life, Julius entertained children from Sandy to Spanish Fork, evaded police more than once, and caused an entire Pacific Island to go into a panic. Bone, 53, got Julius in the 1970s from an acquaintance, when the snake was already 8 years old and 5 feet long. It was thought to be a male until it laid eggs.
Julius lived in Bone's house, having total, complete access. Bone lived alone, except for his snakes, which have included Poly Grip, Alexander the Grip, and Annie Green Squeeze. Bone had even hollowed out a part of his couch to accommodate Julius. Bone also raises rabbits on the side. Julius ate about four of them a month.
The fame of Julius gradually spread throughout the neighborhood.
The snake was a special attraction during the grand opening of The Mayan restaurant in Sandy in early 2000, when Bone was asked to bring it there. It was also a big draw when it visited local parks and schools.
Bone said even people living a mile away would request to see Julius.
The python was also a special feature at some haunted houses each Halloween in Utah County and was made an honorary member of the paramedic group in Spanish Fork.
"People got to know snakes" through Julius, Bone said.
"Just about every weekend she was booked up," Bone said of her public appearances, which were always free.
The snake, which Bone considered one of his children, also caused problems. It escaped at least four times in its Holladay neighborhood, most notably in 1990 and 1999 — and usually during the month of August. On one occasion, county search and rescue teams were called to help find the snake, which could open doors by rearing up, draping herself across the doorknob and then slithering inside. But Bone insists that Julius was never a threat to humans. Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Lee Smith said during the 1990 neighborhood search for Julius, "There are a lot of very concerned people out there who don't like the idea of the kids playing in the front yard with a 180-pound snake lurking in the bushes." Bone was charged with three Class B misdemeanors in 1990, following one of Julius' stints on the lam.
Julius also made big headlines — of sorts — in Maui, Hawaii, in 1998. Burmese pythons shed their skins twice a year, and when Bone sent one of Julius' skins to a friend in the Aloha State, where snakes are illegal, it set off an island-wide panic and snake hunt for a reptile that wasn't ever there. The skin ended up on the governor of Hawaii's desk and Bone said he had to send over a fresh sample of Julius' skin to halt the search.
Bone has an explanation for why Julius Squeezer lived so long.
"It was the love I gave her," Bone said, noting that he slept with the snake. He doesn't believe snakes belong in cages and also credited its freedom as a factor in her longevity. Bone said he confirmed the age record with Guinness World Records, but he said his snake probably will not be listed in the record book because Guinness wanted $600 to officially include it. Guinness could not be reached for comment, and its publications in recent years don't include complete records for all the different kinds of snakes.
"Burmese pythons are real lovable," Bone said. "They have personalities and they bind one on one. … You could see a smile on her face. … At night she'd lay her head on me. … She was my bedmate, housemate. … She was special to me"
e-mail: lynn@desnews.com