After being given temporary custody of over 30 imported non-poisonous pythons, the Karachi zoo is struggling to take care of the slithering reptiles and is unable to provide them with proper accommodation. Three days after being brought to the zoo, some of the pythons have reportedly contracted allergies, while the younger ones have become more aggressive, The Express Tribune learnt on Wednesday.

Red spots have appeared on the yellow-skinned, 10-feet-long reticulated albino python, which has been made to live in an enclosure that was previously occupied by venomous snakes. The enclosure is also littered with mites and other insects.

“The allergy is spreading, and this python would soon become weak,” said a reptile expert on the condition of anonymity. “No one at the zoo is qualified to handle these snakes. As a matter of fact, they don’t even know the names of the species.”

Snake enthusiasts in the city had imported 31 non-venomous snakes, including a boa constrictor, and ball and reticulated pythons, from Oklahoma in the United States. The reptiles had left Oklahoma around three weeks back, and landed at Jinnah airport on Sunday. However, Pakistan Customs handed them over to the Karachi Zoological Gardens, as the importers had apparently failed to provide a no-objection certificate from the National Council for Conservation of Wildlife (NCCW).

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When contacted, Karachi zoo director Bashir Sadozai, told The Express Tribune that he was out of town and was therefore unable to say exactly what had happened to the pythons. “But [they probably caught] allergies due to the change in climate and water.”