Large red-tailed boa found in wooded area in Matthews

INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. — 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 who were taking soil samples found a red-tailed boa in Matthews in a wooded area behind Red Lobster.

The biologists called Animal Control. Officials believe that 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,” Officer Jeremy Schnabel of Matthews Animal Control said. He took it to Carolina Waterfowl Rescue, which told Channel 9 that people should bring in snakes native to North Carolina instead of killing them.

Officials want black snakes or king snakes who like eggs, and will trade a dozen eggs as a reward.

READ MORE: Indian Trail bird rescue group: Your snake for our eggs
 
The boa wasn't what they had in mind.

"We weren't really expecting this big of a constrictor,” Jennifer Gordon with Carolina Water. “It's a good thing that somebody found him.”

Press 'PLAY' to watch raw video of the snake:

Gordon thinks it hasn't missed many meals and has been feeding on animals like 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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