Overview

• On August 5, wildlife rehabilitator Joseph Hart climbed into a dumpster at a downtown LA apartment complex wearing only jeans and a T-shirt to secure the 20-foot, 65-pound python named Apples.
• Veterinary assessment revealed that Apples is suffering from a bacterial mouth infection known as mouth rot, which likely prompted her abandonment.
• Apples is currently receiving antibiotics at Hart’s Riverside facility and is expected to make a full recovery in about three months.
• Hart has launched a fundraising campaign to cover costly veterinary care and to build a proper long-term enclosure for the snake.
• The viral rescue video has spotlighted enforcement gaps in Los Angeles’s exotic pet regulations and underscored the critical role of specialist rescuers.