Large boa constrictor found hopelessly stuck in car’s dashboard in North Carolina
The idea of a 8-foot snake showing up in a car is enough to freak out most people, but imagine if it’s a boa constrictor — and it’s stuck.
That was the challenge animal control officers faced Tuesday in Stanly County, just east of Charlotte.
“It is never a dull moment at APS,” Stanly County Animal Protective Services posted on Facebook.
“Our officers were dispatched out to a situation where a pet Boa Constrictor got himself stuck in the dashboard of his owner’s car. The snake was removed unharmed, and he is back at home!”
A photo shared by the department shows some parts of the dashboard had to be removed to reach the hefty snake.
County staffer Jamie Parker, who assisted in the rescue, joked on Facebook that the team “just talked nice” to the snake and it backed itself out.
Stanly County Sheriff’s Office officials told McClatchy News the snake got loose in the car while being taken to a veterinarian. It escaped a container and slithered to the warmest part of the vehicle. The owner described it as 8.5 feet long and weighing about 40 pounds, officials said.
Boa constrictors are a nonvenomous but cumbersome tropical snake, known to swallow its prey whole. They can grow to 13 feet long and weigh more than 100 pounds, according to National Geographic.
Hundreds of people have reacted and commented on the county’s Facebook post, many of them grateful that the snake wasn’t hurt. However, just as many expressed discomfort at the idea of a large snake hiding somewhere in their car.
At least one person wanted the recording of the 911 call released, while others took to calling the affair a vehicle “de-snaking.”
“So you mean to tell me this snake was just chilling, slithering around the car while the owners just casually driving?” Haley Jordan Valdez wrote on Facebook.
“I would die,” Dawn Phillips posted.
“Is there some body camera footage of this cause I’m gonna need to see that!” Mel Serrot wrote on the county’s Facebook page.
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 6:21 AM with the headline "Large boa constrictor found hopelessly stuck in car’s dashboard in North Carolina."