With the success of the Disney animated film ‘Zootopia 2’, there is a widespread movement in China to purchase a venomous viper resembling the snake character ‘Gary the Snake’ in the movie.
According to CNN, with the global box office success of ‘Zootopia 2’, interest in the newly emerged snake character ‘Gary the Snake’ is increasing rapidly. In particular, safety concerns are raised in China as the demand for poisonous snakes that look similar to the character increases.
Gary the Snake is the first character to appear in the film, and is known to have been made into a motif of snakes in Southeast Asia. With the help of Judy Hobbs, a rabbit, and Nick Wilde, a fox, he shares a journey to change negative perceptions of reptiles.
“Zootopia 2” was a big hit right after its release in China at the end of last month, and it was the highest-ever box office record among foreign animations. Its box office revenue in China exceeded 3.55 billion yuan, and its global cumulative revenue also exceeded 1 billion dollars.
As the favorability of the character grew thanks to the movie’s popularity, searches for Indonesian salmosa, which resembles “Gary the Snake,” soared on major e-commerce platforms in China. The trading price has also risen, reportedly forming hundreds to thousands of yuan.
CNN reported on the 12th that it was confirmed that sales of blue salmosa on major Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Douyin, Xiao Hongshu, and Shen Yu were suspended.
In recent years, exotic pets, including reptiles, have been rapidly spreading among young people in China. According to Chinese state media, as of the end of 2024, the number of people raising exotic pets reached about 17 million, and more than 60% of them were from Generation Z. The size of the related market is estimated to reach 100 billion yuan.
Snakes accounted for more than 50% of companion reptiles in the 2025 China Pet Industry Report. These reptiles are primarily sold in offline stores after being bred, but some are also shipped directly to buyers online.
Under Chinese law, mail delivery of dangerous substances such as live animals and poison is prohibited, but breeding Indonesian salmosa is not illegal. However, as more and more cases of purchasing highly toxic snakes online, concerns from authorities are also growing.
Unlike the characters in the movie, a real-life viper is by no means a harmless fashion product, a Chinese media outlet warned. “If a viper escapes or leads to human damage, it can turn into a public safety issue.”
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
