After a long day of traveling, a complimentary massage may seem too nice to relax, but what if the treatment also includes some snakes to help you unwind? For those who dare, the Cebu City Zoo in the Pʜɪʟɪᴘᴘɪɴᴇs offers a free “snake massage” with four enormous Burmese pythons.
Visitors lie down on a bamboo bed beside the zoo’s main entrance with the four Pythons—named Michelle, Walter, EJ, and Daniel—on top of them as they are brought out of their cages one at a time. The snakes spend up to 15 minutes carefully slithering through their patient’s body while being ᴄʟᴏsᴇly observed by zookeepers. Before the massage starts, the pythons are each given about 10 chickens to assist ease any potential hunger pangs.
Ian Maclean, a volunteer from Hawaii, said that she had massages twice and lived to tell the tale. She had to recline on her back outside on a bamboo daybed. She received instructions on what to do and what not to do while getting a massage.
These guidelines are very important. You are not allowed to blow air on the snake as it is supposedly equivalent to being squeezed on the bum. You can’t yell for aid since the snake can detect your vibration and, depending on the situation, may mistake you for prey or a predator.
Despite their reputation for friendliness, Burmese pythons become unhappy if they sense your tension. Although they are naturally recognized for coiling around their prey, they are incredibly amiable when they are not doing so.
Giovanni Romarate, the zoo manager said that at first, tourists feel ғᴇᴀʀ but most people who try the snake massage say they like it. What about you? Would you want to be massaged by pythons?
