A 6-foot ball python — considered one of the most docile of the constrictor snakes — is easy for one person to capture without any special gear, according to Allison Higgins of the Nature Conservancy in the Florida Keys.</p><p>But a reticulated python — maximum length 25 to 30 feet — requires a more direct strategy.</p><p>“OK, if you are an officer and you’ve got a gun, that is your best option at that time,” Higgins said. </p><p>About two dozen law enforcement, county and utility workers attended a training session led by Higgins and members of the U.S. Geological Survey at the government center in Key Largo on Tuesday to learn how to respond to sightings of pythons, boa constrictors and other non-native snakes, which are turning up in the Everglades and recently in the Keys.</p><p>Higgins and members of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s Venom Response Team brought the students outside to demonstrate capture techniques using live snakes, including a 9-foot-long reticulated python.</p><p>The men and women also heard about the explosion of exotic snake populations on the mainland. Up to a dozen exotic snakes a week are being captured in Everglades National Park. </p><p>Several dozen snakes have been found in the Keys since the first Burmese python was found in Key Largo in 2007, but experts aren’t sure if exotic snakes are breeding in the Keys or if the ones being found have traveled from the north. </p><p>“Breeding pythons in the Keys seems very unlikely,” said Ron Rozar of the USGS. “We see a lot of sexually immature males in Key Largo. We can’t draw any conclusions at this point.”</p><p>Members of the Nature Conservancy have seen enough to form five “Python Patrol” teams throughout the Keys to locate and capture the snakes. Residents can call the team at 1-888-483-4681.</p><p>And the teams will likely see even more snakes in the coming months as the temperatures drop and the snakes head to roads, driveways and uncovered areas to warm in the sun, Higgins said.</p><p>“This is a great time to be vigilant,” she said.