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A dog walker in Charlton, Massachusetts, got a surprise this week when they spotted an albino ball python on the side of the road.
The unusual discovery marked a first for the local animal control and highlighted the risks that can come with escaped or abandoned exotic pets.
What happened?
After the individual reported the sighting, Charlton Animal Control recovered the snake from Center Depot Road.
In a social media post, the department wrote: "We picked up an albino ball python on Center Depot Road if anyone happens to be missing one."
For Animal Control Officer Emily Sears, the find was a first. According to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, the officer had never been called to pick up a snake before.
But what makes the incident unusual is not the species itself, since ball pythons are common pets in New England, but the fact that one turned up outside.
Its presence on the roadside points to two likely possibilities: It either escaped or was abandoned.
This Charlton case is not without precedent. Massachusetts has seen other similar incidents in recent years, including a ball python found in Brookfield in 2013, a 5-foot python discovered in a Worcester hotel room in 2017, and a young python found beside Lincoln Street with a "Free Snake" sign, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported.
Why does it matter?
Even when a species is nonvenomous and kept as a pet, an animal loose in an unfamiliar environment can create risks for the animal and alarm the public.
For the snake, the danger is immediate. Ball pythons are not native to Massachusetts, so being left outside can expose them to injury, starvation, and temperatures they are not built to survive. Humans can be dangerous to them, too. And for residents, an unexpected encounter with an exotic animal can be unsettling, especially when it happens in an ordinary setting such as a roadside, or the animal happens to be a python.
"Abandoning pets is becoming more common, and it's important to know there is always help," Sears told the Telegram & Gazette.
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