oh you!
http://www.snopes.com/critters/snakes/measured.asp
FALSE
Examples:
[Collected on the Internet, December 2007]
I'd be the first to admit that this sounds like one of those internet horror storys that always happen to a friend of a friend of a friend of... The person that told me says it was her sister.
The sister has a pet python which stopped eating. After a while she got concerned and took it to the vet who could find nothing wrong. He wasn't worried and explained that snakes like this can go quite some time without eating and suggested she take it back home, keep a close eye on it and if it still wasn't eating in a week or two to bring it back in again.
So Tuesday of this week she goes back to the vet who can still find nothing wrong and asks if there has been any unusual behavour. She says no. The only thing odd was that a couple of night ago she woke up to find the snake on the bed beside her. She just picked him up and put him back in his tank. Wondering if the snake was seeking warmth he asks if it was curled up on the bed. The girl says "No, that's what was odd. He was lying straight, up and down the bed."
"Oh." says the vet. "I'm afraid he'll have to be put down."
"Why? What's wrong with him?" my friend's sister asks.
"There's nothing wrong with him." The vet says. "He's just starving himself in preparation for a big meal. It's perfectly normal."
Confused she asks why he has to be put down.
"That night, on the bed."
"Yes?"
"He was measuring you!"
Read more at
http://www.snopes.com/critters/snake...glITip8su9b.99