Store owner tells his snake-attack story

The reptile store owner who police said they found unconscious and wrapped in the coils of a 20-foot python Monday in Newport is recovering Thursday and is now telling his story.

Instead of a typical "lucky to be alive" tale, Terry Wilkens is telling his friends, family and social media followers that accounts of the attack were overblown and partially untrue.

In a video posted to the Captive Born Reptiles Facebook page, Wilkens downplayed the attack by the 125-pound snake at his Monmouth Street store and showed off his healing wounds.

"As you can see there are no bite marks on my face," Wilkens said in the video. "The snake was never wrapped around my neck."

Wilkens added that there was a "tremendous disconnect" between his recollection of the attack and news reports.

Wilkens, who was released from hospital Tuesday, did credit police with doing a "fantastic" job getting the snake back in its cage.

Wilkens has two Captive Born Reptiles stores, one in Newport and one in Columbus. The Newport store appears to have opened in August, according to posts on the stores Facebook page.

Newport Police Chief Tom Collins said Monday that two officers pulled the snake off Wilkens. Collins the snake was wrapped around Wilkens' head, neck and torso and Wilkens was not breathing when officers were trying to free him.

"It was only by the grace of God that one of the officers knew how to deal with snakes," Collins said Monday.

An officer grabbed the snake by the head and worked to uncurl it off the Wilken's body, Collins said. Collins and other officers said they pulled Wilkens by his legs to free him.

Wilkens states in his Facebook video that he used hot water to free the snake from his arm. After freeing the snake, Wilkens said he slipped on water on the floor and was knocked unconscious -- twice.

"When I blacked out the snake was 10 feet away from me," Collins said in the video post.

When asked Thursday about Wilkens' comment, Collins said, "I'm not going to debate this guy."

"Our business isn't debating with someone in the news," Collins said. "This wasn't even a crime. It was a medical issue.

"In order for us to lie, we would have had to fake everything. Phone calls, reports, photographs, everything."