A five-foot snake prompted a police call to the far-east end of Saskatoon’s Eighth Street over the weekend.
The Saskatoon Police Service received the call Sunday night about a large red-tailed boa on the Eighth Street extension. Conservation officers were called to the scene and police captured the reptile, placing it in a Rubbermaid container offered to them by a passing driver.
The Saskatchewan Association of Conservation Officers took custody of the slithery critter and transported it to the University of Saskatchewan’s veterinary college for an assessment.
A local snake wrangler has since taken the animal, according to police. The wrangler will keep the snake for 30 days before the reptile is sent out of the province.
Conservation officers believe this particular snake may have been held illegally and was dumped off by an owner who no longer wanted it or could not take care of it. Exotic constrictors and venomous snakes are illegal to import and possess in Saskatchewan without a permit, according to captive wildlife regulations.
The red-tailed boa is not venomous.
