Officers believe the snake was abandoned by its owner after growing too large to care for

NEED TO KNOW

• Animal control officers in New Jersey removed an eight-foot Burmese python from underneath a resident’s shed
• When the snake arrived at an SPCA facility, veterinarians scanned it using X-rays, which showed that it had recently eaten a large opossum and was in good health

• Officers believe the snake was abandoned by its owner after growing too large to care for

Animal control officers in New Jersey received an unexpected phone call this week, reporting that a massive, eight-foot-long python was in a resident’s backyard, slithering underneath their shed.

According to the Monmouth County SPCA, officers were called to a home in Freehold Township, located in central New Jersey, after the large snake was discovered in Leslie and Edward Daley’s backyard.

“I was watering my flowers last Friday around 4, and I saw something yellow moving very slowly across the front of my shed. And then his tail was 8 feet behind him,” Leslie told CBS New York, recounting the moment she found the reptile in her yard.

The snake, later identified as an approximately eight-foot-long Burmese python, had slithered beneath the floor of a wooden shed.

Officials said that they called in a local contractor to help them remove floorboards from the shed so they could reach the python.

“Our trained ACO got to work and gently unwound him so as not to cause injury (to the snake or us!) Thanks to patience and professional technique, the python was freed and taken to the MCSPCA for safekeeping,” the SPCA wrote in a Facebook post shared on Wednesday, Aug. 5.

Speaking to News 12 New Jersey, Animal Control Officer Scott Crawford said that while it’s currently unknown where the snake came from, he believes its owner released it after it had grown too large to care for.

“There is a population that owns these things in the area, and whether it’s because they don’t have the proper permit or they feel it’s gotten too big for them to take care of, like in this situation, we suspect they dumped him out,” said Crawford.

When the snake arrived at the SPCA facility, veterinarians scanned it using X-rays, which showed that it had recently eaten a large opossum and was in good health.

“It was really, generally speaking, in a good body condition,” medical director Dr. Samantha Mammen told the outlet. “Not dehydrated, color was appropriate. It wasn’t too cold to the touch.”

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Burmese pythons, which eat a variety of mammals, birds and reptiles, are identified by their tan color and dark blotches along their back and sides, which can look like “puzzle pieces or the markings on a giraffe,” according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.

The species is a semi-aquatic predator that is native to some parts of India, China, and the Malay Peninsula and is considered an invasive species in some parts of the U.S., including Florida.

The snakes are also some of the largest in the world, and are often measured at about six to nine feet in length.

“It likely would’ve fared well throughout the summer months, but once the fall and winter came, it wouldn’t have survived,” Mammen told News 12.

Following the snake’s vet exams, the SPCA reached out to a local pet shop, which helped officers find a suitable home for the reptile.

“We cleaned him up, put him in a secure tank and reached out to our reptile friends at Fins & Feathers in Red Bank who helped us find safe placement,” the organization said. “A snake expert with the proper reptile permits and housing will keep this guy safe, and if no permitted owner comes forward, the snake will have a happy home for life!”

New Jersey allows residents to own some exotic pets, including pythons, as long as they have a permit with the state’s Division of Fish and Wildlife. However, in its Facebook post, the SPCA reminded residents that exotic pets “DO NOT belong in the wild, as releasing them harms local wildlife, domestic pets and the exotic animal itself.”

“If you can no longer care for a reptile, please reach out to a local rescue or shelter instead,” the SPCA added.

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