Daily Reptile News

Driver finds grass snake hitching a ride in the wheel of a rental car

A CAR rental firm driver had one slippery customer to deal with after he found it curled up in the wheel of a car.

The 2ft snake was found entwined around the brake discs and calipers of a Vauxhall Corsa at Thrifty Car and Van rental in Tritton Road, Lincoln.

It was spotted by driver Roger Marson, 63, as he helped fellow driver Rita Pearman pull out of a tight parking space.

“I was watching her pull out and all of a sudden noticed this little snake’s head poking out between the hubcap,” said Mr Marson, who is certain it was a grass snake.

“It’s not every day that you discover a snake wrapped around the wheel of one of our rental cars – it gave me a real shock when I first discovered it.

“The little thing was really trapped and took some manoeuvring to set him free.”

Mrs Pearman, 58, had to gently rock the car back and forth to try to release the green and black snake, which had trapped its tail.

“I was just about to start driving when Roger screamed at me to stop the car,” said Mrs Pearman.

“He told me there was snake trapped in the car, but I didn’t believe him.”

Remarkably, Mr Marson managed to coax the uninjured slippery creature and release it into shrub land behind the rental firm.

But the green and black critter must have liked its new set of wheels because it slithered back within minutes.

Determined to ensure the snake was safely released, Mr Marson took it to countryside near his house in Sturton by Stow where he set it free.

This is not the first time snakes have been spotted in the city.

The Echo reported in July how a green and brown snake, believed to be an adder, was seen by a mechanic at a workshop in Stamp End before giving workers the slip.

And last year a 9ft adder skin, complete with evidence of the eyes and nostrils, was discovered on Lincoln’s Ermine estate.

Jim Tweedle, owner of JC Exotics said: “You would need to be very careful about releasing a snake back into the wild, as there are chances it could be venomous or not native to the UK, meaning it may die. I’d recommend calling an expert.

“There are only three snakes indigenous to UK, which are the adder, smooth snake and grass snake.

“We tend to get a lot of calls where someone has discovered a snake in this sort of situation.”

Human Error Blamed for Snake’s Escape from Zoo

ATLANTA — A final report from the state Department of Natural Resources confirms human error was to blame for a snake’s escape from Zoo Atlanta last month.

The two-foot long tiger rattlesnake slipped out of quarantine on Aug. 27.

“A cage door was left unsecured,” Dr. Dwight Lawson, Ph.D, Deputy Director of Zoo Atlanta said last month. “The snake was able to get out of that.”

It was found dead Aug. 30 at an unoccupied Grant Park house. The property owner called the zoo after learning about the missing snake.

“Her husband, who apparently was working on renovating a house, had said that he had killed a snake on the property presumably the day before,” Lawson said.

The zoo issued a public apology and disciplined the employee responsible for the snake’s escape.

“The caretaker is an experienced professional,” Zoo Atlanta spokeswoman Keisha Hines said in a statement Tuesday. “Procedures for the handling of quarantined reptiles have already been adjusted and are being formally revised.”

The DNR made several suggestions for further securing zoo animals, which the zoo says will be in place by Oct. 11.

Man drops off 2-foot alligator he ‘found’ in Brooklyn park at police station

The city is going to the gators: Another baby alligator surfaced on the streets of New York over the weekend – and animal control officials are scrambling to find the cold-blooded critter a new home.

The 2-foot-long reptile – one ofa handful to pass through police custody recently – was dropped off Sunday afternoon at the NYPD‘s 88th Precinct stationhouse in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, by someone claiming to be a good Samaritan.

The “finder” said he happened upon the scaly stray in a Brooklyn park – but cops don’t exactly buy that story, police sources said.

More likely, the sources said, the alligator got too big to be a pet, so the “finder” forked it over to cops. It is illegal to keep an alligator – or any other species of wild animal – as a pet in the city.

Besides, the not-so-little-anymore gator could get somewhat, er, snappy, said Mike Pastore, head of field operations for Animal Care & Control of New York City.

“He has teeth wrapped around his whole head,” Pastore said. “He can definitely do some damage to someone.”

Brooklynites were stunned to hear about the unusual pet.

“They can eat you,” said Tina Wilson, 39, who lives near the precinct stationhouse. “You become lunch.”

Kevin Lawrence, 27, said that if the beast was slithering around a city park, children could have been in danger.

“It’s crazy and not safe,” he said. “Those aren’t animals to be pets.”

Late last month, another baby alligator caused a headline-making stir when it showed up under a car in Astoria, Queens – one of three reptiles found in the city that day.

Sleeping boy bitten by snake in Bell Gardens

It was a terrifying wake-up call for a Bell Gardens teen on Tuesday morning. Asleep in his bed, he was bitten by a snake that had been hiding in a nearby wall heater.

Authorities responded to the home on the 6600 block of Ajax Avenue after the three-foot snake was found at about 12:30 a.m.

Once first responders determined that the snake was not poisonous, they called animal control, who transported the reptile to SEAACA in Downey.

The family had moved into their new house a month ago. Earlier this week, 15-year-old Arturo Lopez felt something bite him while he was sleeping.

On Monday night, the snake apparently slithered back onto the boy’s bed and bit his hand, so he got up and turned the light on, just in time to see the snake crawling back through a hole in the wall.

The family originally thought it was a baby boa constrictor, but it turned out to be a 2-year-old ball python, which is not nearly as notorious. Veterinarians said ball pythons typically grow to about six feet. They are not poisonous and can live in spaces like the wall of a bedroom for years.

“As long as it can find food, which is rodents like mice,” said Dr. Brad Brunskill, a veterinarian from SEAACA.

It’s believed that the snake belongs to the woman who used to live in the house. A neighbor said the former resident had warned them that her pet snake had gone missing.

“They’re a real escape artist. They’ll get through the tiniest hole that they can fit through and go wandering all around,” Brunskill said.

Besides being a little bit unnerved, the boy is expected to be fine. The snake will be held for five days and then put up for adoption.

Error on the monster Rattle Snake in yesterdays news

We got bad info from a bad news sorce. The snake was actualy reported at 5-6 feet long. Here is the real story below.

A fat and happy 5- to 6-foot-long rattlesnake was recently captured and released in El Dorado County.

The lengthy reptile was found at the El Dorado Irrigation District’s Deer Creek wastewater treatment plant on rural land five miles south of Cambridge Road and Highway 50.

The snake was captured in early August with a noosed snake catcher by treatment plant operator Jim Sadler.

The snake was estimated at 5 to 6 feet long.

“It is a big creature,” said Deanne Kloepfer, EID spokeswoman. “We returned it to the wild.”

Sadler, who made the lasso device used in the reptile relocation, told Kloepfer that the snake was docile. It was coiled and sleeping, she said.

“That’s a pretty good-sized rattlesnake,” said Bill Tabb, lead reptile keeper at the Sacramento Zoo.

Florida Man Helps Alligator Nearly Loses Arm

Alexander Alcantare encountered an injured alligator near his home and was attempting to take matters into his own hands when the alligator attacked him. Previously he had lost an arm when rescuing some baby birds.

Because of his lost arm he failed to properly restrain the injured alligator. To add insult to injury Mr. Alcantare was later charged for possessing the alligator and the reptile was put down for attacking him.

Despite all Mr. Alcantare continued to remain philosophical about his ordeal stating “That´s what happens when you deal with wild animals, you´re going to get bitten,”

Deputies Handcuff Alligator Near Elementary School Crossing in Florida!

A crossing guard in the Tampa area actually found the gator near the school this morning. It was in the path of the school children’s path to school early Monday. While the crossing guard and three deputies were waiting for animal control to get there, the gator actually started walking toward the children who were making their way to school.

As that happened, the deputies actually had to catch the gator. They put a rope around the alligator’s neck and tail. The resulting thrashing actually broke off chunks of a nearby wall. Eventually the deputies handcuffed the alligator’s hind legs and wound electrical tape around its mouth. After that the Florida Fish and Wildlife officials took custody of the unwanted morning guest.

What a scary morning it must’ve been for the elementary school children! Thankfully the deputies were able to handcuff the alligator in time to keep it from doing more damage to something other than the wall.

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