Animals

Slithering Snakes! I Just Found A Python!

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Now there’s a surprise. Someone searching for cans inside a dumpster Wednesday found a ball python snake instead.

What to do? Take it to the nearby San Diego Police Department on Imperial where officers called in the County Department of Animal Services (DAS).

“We don’t know whether someone abandoned the snake in the dumpster, if the reptile was inadvertently thrown out with the trash or if it slithered in on its own looking for warmth or food,” said DAS Lt. Kalani Hudson. “What we do know is the snake was well cared for and is healthy.”

The reptile found Wednesday is an adult snake measuring about three to three-and-a-half feet. Snakes can be microchipped, but this particular snake didn’t carry one so no information could be found on the owner.

Originally, the call came in about a boa constrictor, but the snake is actually a cousin of sorts, a ball python. Both are constrictors. Ball pythons are considered strong but docile. They can strike out and bite, but they don’t have fangs and aren’t considered venomous.

RELATED: Spring Brings Warm Temps, Scaly Critters 
RELATED: Animal Services Gets Snake Savvy

While they aren’t native to this area, it is legal to own them and you can buy them at your neighborhood pet store. The snakes are called ball pythons because they curl up into a ball when they’re loose or when they’re being held.

“We will hold the snake for the legal holding period of three days and if an owner doesn’t come forward, DAS will work with the Herpetological Society to find it a permanent home,” said Hudson.

Meantime, if investigators find the snake was willfully abandoned in the dumpster, the person responsible could be charged with a misdemeanor.

Tracy DeFore is a communications specialist with the County of San Diego Communications Office. Contact