Daily Reptile News

Boa constrictor found in trash can in Palm Bay

Palm Bay police early this morning responded to reports of a six-foot-long Colombian red tail boa constrictor inside a trash can.

The 70- to 80-pound snake was found curled up in the can at about 1:30 a.m. today Erfurt Street in the northwest section of the city.

Palm Bay police contacted Brevard County Animal Services, which dispatched an agent to retrieve the snake.

“This being in the garbage can could mean that somebody probably just threw it out. If it had crawled in there it would have knocked the can over,” said Capt. Bob Brown, spokesman for Brevard County Animal Control.

This type of snake requires a permit to own, Brown said.

“We didn’t identify an owner and there was no microchip. We’ll keep him but he could be adopted out. Normally, we try to find a zoo to adopt him out to,” he said.

Rattlesnakes changing their tune, strike with no warning

TYLER, TX (KLTV) – Some snake experts say rattlesnakes are not rattling like they used to, often striking with no warning. The distinctive sound means back away. “You usually hear them rattling before you even see them,” said Bob Griffin, a rancher. “That’s normal behavior.”

But, the normal behavior by rattlesnakes is not being heard. Snake experts and ranchers like Bob Griffin say rattlesnakes are not rattling like they used to. “I think it’s in their evolution,” said Griffin.

Mike Clanton is a reptile keeper at Caldwell Zoo. He says it is normal for rattlesnakes to be silent before attacking their prey. “If they are sneaking up on the prey item, they would lose a meal,” said Clanton.

But, when encountering a human or animal larger than itself, the reptiles normally sound off. “If they don’t feel like they will get away from it or stay still, that is when they will rattle,” Clanton explained.

Why are some ranchers and wildlife experts hearing less of the rattle? Daryl Sprout, a herpetologist and owner of Snake Encounters in Dallas had some answers.

“It is very true that in nature that natural selection is already beginning to prefer snakes that do not bring attention to themselves and therefore draw incoming fire from humans,” said Sprout.

He says human interaction with the slithering creatures is on the rise, and as we invade their habitats, they are adapting, perhaps finding survival in silence. “Right now, clearly, rattlesnakes that don’t draw as much attention to themselves when humans walk by are the ones with the higher survival rate,” said Sprout.

While all snake experts may not be sold on the idea of silent rattlers, all agree to leave them alone, noisy or not. Snake experts also say the volume of a rattlesnake rattle could depend on the species and location of the snakes.

Palm Bay family finds big rattler in driveway

A Palm Bay woman and her family are a little more cautious outside their home today after finding a large eastern diamondback rattlesnake coiled up in their driveway.

“I never heard that before, that rattling, that hissing,” said Deborah Hepburn, a Miami-transplant who recently moved to Remington Green Drive in southeast Palm Bay.

“It just kept rattling and I just respected its space,” she said.

Hepburn had just pulled into her driveway about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday when her mother-in-law in the car behind her suddenly yelled for her to back up, Hepburn said.

“I backed up and there it was, right in the driveway. I could have been hurt but I’m very blessed. We just called 9-1-1 and the police came right over,” said Hepburn, who told dispatchers the snake was “too big to kill.”

Palm Bay police arrived and called Brevard County Animal Services to retrieve the snake.

Hepburn, her mother-in-law and a number of neighbors waited at a distance as a Brevard County Animal Services agent arrived to remove the venomous, four-and-a-half foot long eastern diamondback from the yard.

The snake was taken to an area of public lands near the Brevard-Osceola county line.

“It was big,” said Capt. Bob Brown, spokesman for Brevard County Animal Services, of the snake.

“The snake had been displaced by some nearby development.”

Eastern diamondbacks are considered one of the most dangerous snakes in North America. Their habitat includes an area from North Carolina to the Florida Keys.

The rattle heard by Hepburn and others was a strong warning that the snake was feeling threatened, officials said.

“He was sending signals that he would defend himself. He’s saying I’m going to hurt you if you keep messing around,” Brown said.

Hepburn said the episode left her more aware of her surroundings but not fearful.

“I’ve lived here for nearly a year. A snake won’t run me away,” Hepburn said.

“I’ll just be more cautious.”

Dead snake found in Fairview Township truck

A Fairview Township resident found a large dead snake in the bed of their pickup this morning, according to York County 911.

A dispatcher received the call about 8:51 a.m. from the resident, who lives in the 400 block of Ross Avenue.

A state Fish and Boat Commission officer will dispose of the snake, York County 911 said.

There was no word of how or why the snake was deposited in the truck.

Popular classroom snake in Burlington dies

BURLINGTON, Iowa —

A popular classroom snake that called a Burlington classroom home for several decades has died.

Naja, a corn snake, belonged to science teacher Joe Desy at Horace Mann Middle School.

The Hawk Eye reports the snake died on Oct. 6 due to natural causes. Desy estimates Naja was about 45 years old, which he says is old by reptile standards.

Desy wrote in an obituary that Naja’s early years were spent ridding Iowa farmlands of small rodents. At about the age of 8, the snake came to the school and was “resident reptile and teacher of all things good and true about snakes.”

6-Legged Freakshow Supertoad Has Extra Spring in Step

Be it a 2 headed calf or a six-legged toad, we can’t help but welcome mutant creatures with our measly two open arms. Same went for a Wang An, a villager in China who found this six-legged amphibian on his porch. Wang was closing his front door when the toad leaped toward him with such a spring that it almost reached his face.

Not sure what will pop up next but if any of you see a flying, eight-legged micropig, you darn well better send us photos. Check below for another shot of the supertoad.

Snake ban disputed in Wilkins

During a meeting that addressed interim real estate assessments and a time-sensitive bridge repair project, an obscure ordinance prohibiting snakes and other exotic animals took center stage in Wilkins.

Corey Hobbel of Dunbar Drive voiced his opposition to ordinance 6518, which prohibits ownership of “poisonous, non-poisonous or constrictor” snakes in the township.

Last month, Mr. Hobbel received a notice instructing him to remove his boa constrictor from his property after a neighbor saw him holding it in his front yard.

He said the ordinance unfairly classifies all snakes as dangerous, and said he would appeal the notice as well as the ordinance.

“Some people are dog people, some people are cat people. Me and my family, we’re snake people,” he said. “I take care of my animals. They’re not contained in a cardboard box, they’re in a professional enclosure that is lockable and they’re safe.

“If it’s a matter of me keeping my snake indoors and locked up, I will be more than happy to do so. But to outright have to get rid of my animal — which is part of our family, weird as that might sound — I don’t see the logic.”

Code enforcement officer Leonard Hill said the ordinance — which also prohibits animals such as hippos, elephants and jaguars — was most likely written based on a model ordinance years ago, and admitted it covers a broad range of animals.

But he also said irresponsible pet owners could release their snakes into the wild and cause a pest control problem in the township.

Although no commissioners moved to amend the ordinance, commissioner Paul Padula suggested that Mr. Hobbel bring the board information from places he had lived in the past so members would have an idea how to balance the safety of the residents and the rights of snake owners.

“I think the police, fire department and paramedics should know about it,” he said. “I think people need to be made aware of what it is. But I think we need to figure out if there’s some sort of neutral ground somewhere we can come up with.”

In other news, the board tabled a proposed rental registration ordinance and unanimously approved an ordinance allowing interim real estate assessments on new construction projects in the township.

The ordinance will apply interim assessments to construction projects as soon as their occupancy permits are issued, rather than waiting until businesses open.

Manager Rebecca Bradley said the Woodland Hills School District already applies interim assessments to projects, so the township may do so as well.

Resident Karl Creary said the new assessments could discourage businesses from coming into the township.

“I know we’re not trying to make Wilkins Township less attractive to new business, but I think that would be the effect of any ordinance that would be aimed at squeezing out every last drop of tax revenue from new construction,” he said.

The final date to submit bids to repair the Balint Lane Bridge has been pushed back to next Wednesday in order to increase interest in the project. Officials hope to repair that bridge, which collapsed into Saw Mill Run during flooding in 2009, before winter.

And with a projected $700,000 deficit in 2012 on the minds of commissioners and residents alike, Mr. Hill encouraged the board to consider the township’s priorities, particularly a fully staffed police department.

He said a suggestion by Commissioner Michael Szoko to reduce the police force from 12 to 10 was not the best way to run the department and urged the board to find other ways to make cuts.

Commissioner Sharyn Fialla said she strongly urges residents to offer suggestions to the board regarding the pending deficit, and which services they believe are most important to the township.

“The residents have to understand they can no longer have it all in Wilkins Township,” she said. “It’s going to be either or, and that either-or scenario might still involve tax increases.”

The next budget meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Oct. 25.

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