- June 14, 2025
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Ten years ago, Lakewood Ranch resident Michael Duley brought his then 5-year-old daughter to A to Z Reptiles in Ocala as a joke, not expecting her to fall in love with snakes.
But she did.
Camryn Duley was fascinated by their flicking tongues, their bone structure, their scales, and the way that creatures who don't have feet can move.
She asked her dad to take her back to the pet shop.
“By my third visit, they were allowing me to reach into the cage and just grab the snakes,” Camryn Duley said.
The Duleys went to the pet store every weekday for four months. After that, they would visit once or twice a week until the store went out of business seven years ago. Six months after the store closed, the Duleys moved to Lakewood Ranch.
Camryn Duley is now 15 years old and a sophomore at Lakewood Ranch High School. She got her first and only pet snake, a cinnamon pied ball python named Ghost on June 15, 2024 from Exotic Pet Center in Sarasota.
It was far from her first pet. She once had six dogs — five Shiba Inus and one Akita — all at once. She has also had six Chinese striped hamsters.
Her mother, Sharon Duley, would tell Camryn that a snake and her hamsters would not mix well, which is why they never had a snake until the hamsters were gone. Then they went to the pet store.
Camryn Duley said her mom told her, “We're just going to go look at him, but I can't promise anything.”
Camryn Duley said they saw Ghost’s little head poking out from a rock. He was brand new at the store.
After convincing her parents, Camryn Duley was able to take Ghost home for $350, along with $250 for a cage. The cage they have is 55 gallons and has to have a hot side and a cold side, because a cinnamon pied ball python has to self regulate its body temperature.
A cinnamon pied ball python cage has a heating pad on one side while the house is kept cool for the other side. This breed of snake has a possible lifespan of 16 to 20 years.
Her father said that means the snake will be around a long time, “Unless the end of the world comes and we’re hungry.”
The Duleys spend lots of time handling Ghost around the house as well as in public. Camryn will have him around her neck as she’s cooking and her father allows Ghost to sit with him under a blanket.
They have had both positive and negative reactions from people in public when they have Ghost with them. Some are fascinated, others are terrified.
On May 7, the Duleys were sitting outside of Starbucks on Lakewood Ranch Main Street and caught the attention of Lakewood Ranch residents Jennifer Zych and her 7-year-old daughter Avery Zych. They had seen a different black snake earlier in the week and Jennifer Zych wanted to show her daughter that snakes can be cool.
“She's learning about all kinds of animals and I wanted her to touch it and to explore,” Jennifer Zych said.
While Ghost is not a poisonous snake, Jennifer Zych has had to avoid some that are in her life.
“I grew up outside of Gainesville and we had coral snakes,” Jennifer Zych said. “You see a snake there, you don’t even take a chance on it.”
Camryn Duley recalled going to University Town Center Oct. 23 when a 6-year-old girl came up to her and said how much she liked her snake. She asked what his name was and Camryn told her it was Ghost.
The girl replied, “Like a boo? The things on Halloween?”
On the same day at UTC, a lady in her 30s ran away when she saw Ghost. She tried to assure the woman that Ghost wouldn't attack her in any way.
Michael Duley said the snake would only attack something he could fit into his mouth.
“It's almost like a 15-story skyscraper to us, we're not going to try to kick it,” Camryn Duley said.
Michael Duley warns people not to approach Ghost too quickly. He said the snake needs time to warm up to them. The Duleys will allow anyone to pet Ghost, but they usually won't let someone else hold him. The fear is that they will get spooked and drop him.
Like any pet, snakes need to be cared for and fed. The Duleys feed Ghost a small but chunky live rat about every three weeks.
Michael Duley recalls a mixup at the pet store about six months ago. They ordered a small rat and another customer ordered a large rat at the same time. They are put into generic, closed boxes and the boxes were mixed up.
“When we got home, we didn’t think anything of it. We’re trying to get (the rat) out of the box and he’s holding on pretty good,” Michael Duley said.
Since the rat was too big for Ghost, the Duleys brought it back to the store.
Michael Duley described the rat as "Godzilla." He said the other snake that was supposed to get this rat probably thought the other rat was an appetizer.
The Duleys stress to other snake owners the importance of making sure their pet snakes are fed properly. If they aren't, that's when snakes can get aggressive.
Michael Duley said his fascination with snakes was simply from growing up in Florida. He does a lot of research on snakes and shares anything he discovers with his daughter.
“She's good about retaining it,” Michael Duley said. “She'll look up some facts and will tell me and we will communicate with each other.”
When Camryn Duley moves out, Ghost will go with her. Michael Duley said he would potentially get another snake if his wife allows it.
