An exotic snake was found in Matthews and taken to the Carolina Waterfowl Rescue after a Channel 9 report Thursday about snakes.
Two biologists from Raleigh were taking soil samples found the red-tailed boa in Matthews in a wooded area behind a Red Lobster restaurant.
The biologists called Animal Control. Officials believe the snake hadn't been free for long, because it would not have survived.
“It wasn't aggressive toward us, but like most wild animals, it was trying to get away,” said Officer Jeremy Schnabel of Matthews Animal Control.
He took it to Carolina Waterfowl Rescue officials, which told Channel 9 that when people find snakes native to North Carolina they should bring them in instead of killing them.
Officials want black snakes or king snakes, which like eggs, and will trade a dozen eggs as a reward.
The boa wasn't what they had in mind.
"We weren't really expecting this big of a constrictor,” said Jennifer Gordon with Carolina Waterfowl Rescue. “It's a good thing that somebody found him.”
Gordon thinks it hasn't missed many meals and has been feeding on animals such as rabbits and maybe pets.
"It could eat kittens for sure," Gordon said. "It's definitely another reason to keep your cats inside."
They think the snake used to be someone's pet but ended up in the woods.
"I would pretty much feel certain that somebody decided that it got too big or got too expensive to keep, and so they just let it outside," Nancy Riggsbee of Carolina Waterfowl said.
Schnabel doesn't think the snake was on its own too long because the climate is not conducive for its survival. He doesn't want to see it happen again.
"We can take it," Schnabel said. "We're not going to turn away something like that, and it would have a better future with us than it ever would be in the woods here."
Red-tailed boas are mainly found in South America and are common pets.
Carolina Waterfowl Rescue officials told Channel 9 that a person contacted them, saying that he or she had lost a red-tailed boa in Charlotte. However, the group determined that it is not the same snake.
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