A family in Englewood, Florida got the shock of their lives when a bunch of rustling sounds inside their attic turned out to be a 6-foot snake! Florida man Bob Van Der Herchen and his wife Linda Van Der Herchen had no idea that there was a 6-foot boa constrictor snake living in the attic. According to Bob, his son Adam and wife Linda would often complain about hearing scratching or shuffling noises from inside the attic.
Often when you hear noises in your attic or basement, maybe people assume it’s caused by a bird, mouse, raccoon, or some kind of rodent. However, to Bob’s surprise, he found that a snake had taken up residence in the insulated attic space and had been living there for some time. It wouldn’t be until Bob saw something moving in the ceiling according to a Fox News report that he realized it wasn’t a snake at all.
According to catseyepest.com, boa constrictors are not commonly found in North America: “Unless you live in a tropical rainforest, you probably will not find a boa constrictor in your home. It’s common for them to live in wooded areas, dry tropical forests, and desert-like areas, but in the wild, they aren’t found in North America. However, they are hugely popular in the exotic pet trade, so you might see them keeping some critter connoisseurs company.”
Bob called up snake trapper Mark Lampart who suspected that the snake was likely someone’s pet that had escaped, and was living in the wild for some time before using a tree branch to gain access to Bob’s attic crawl space. It took Mark and Bob several hours to coax the snake out of the attic home according to the FoxNews report. Eventually, they would do so using a very large white PVC pipe and a great deal of patience.
Bob said to FoxNews that “When he [Lampart] started pulling old Fox that “I think the snake looked bigger than six feet!” When he pulled the snakeskin out, I thought “That’s the sign that he must have been there for quite a while.”” Boa constrictors don’t pose that much of a threat to humans so long as you stay clear of them.
According to the Animal Diversity Web or the ADW for short, “Boa constrictors rarely, if ever, attack humans except in self-defense. Humans, even children, are far outside the range of prey size taken by boas. Boa constrictor bites are painful but are unlikely to be dangerous as long as standard medical care is obtained.” In addition to this, the ADM declares that “Boa constrictors are not venomous. Large captive snakes must always be handled with extreme care, especially when being fed, as a hungry snake strikes and constricts in a largely automatic sequence of behaviors. Very large snakes should be handled and fed only with more than one person present.” This will definitely make you reconsider having one as a pet.
Thankfully in the case of Bob Van Der Herchen, his boa constrictor problem is a thing of the past. As for snake trapper Mark Lampart, according to his Instagram account (@caveman_sharker) he keeps very busy trapping snakes, sharks, lizards, and all manner of wildlife. He also poses with the animals he often captures! What an adventurous life it must be to live in Florida! If any person suspected that a large reptile was living on their premises such as a crocodile, alligator, or in this case, a boa constrictor, always contact a professional to come deal with the situation rather than try to deal with it yourself. When it comes to wildlife, you should always err on the side of caution.
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