John Jefferson
Firefighters in Scottsdale, Arizona, responded to an unusual call on Wednesday after a driver noticed a large snake sticking out from under his pickup truck.
Aaron Ricks, who was driving from Mesa to Scottsdale, called the nonemergency police line after he parked and noticed a large snake – identified as a boa constrictor – sticking its head out from under his truck, FOX 10 Phoenix reported.
“I thought it was a grocery bag or some sort of plastic. Maybe I ran over something,” he told the outlet. “So I walked back over to the truck to see what it was, and was totally shocked to see this big ol’ snake looking down and looking right back at me.”
Police transferred Ricks to the Scottsdale Fire Department and firefighters answered the call.
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Once they arrived at Ricks’ truck, the fire department said crew members “carefully removed the vehicle’s undercarriage skid plate” in order to access and remove the boa constrictor.
The snake was not harmed during the removal and was turned over to the Arizona Herpetological Society, the department said.
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Mason Brill of the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary told FOX 10 the snake might have suffered a minor burn from being so close to the truck’s motor, but there were no major injuries.
“A lot of times when animals go into engines, it’s never good,” Brill said. “They get caught in a belt or they get essentially cooked, so this girl is pretty unscathed. Maybe she has a minor burn right here, but nothing too serious.”
If the snake is somebody’s pet, which is what the fire department suggested based on her appearance, Brill said they can contact the sanctuary to arrange for pickup.
If an owner doesn’t come forward, the snake will live the rest of her life at the sanctuary if she can’t be adopted out.
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