AUBURN - While the town’s animal control officer was excited to see a 4-foot-long python curled up outside Grove Medical Associates on Monday, the police chief and fire chief’s reactions were much different.
Police Chief Andrew J. Sluckis Jr. took to social media and wrote, “Didn’t think I would see a python today at work can’t wait to see what animal control does with this big guy. This is NOT in my job description!!”
Many folks responded, noting that the snake is an unusual piebald python.
When Fire Chief Stephen Coleman saw the post, he responded, “Good thing I’m on vacation. I would NOT have come to help.”
But Animal Control Officer Aimee Contois said she was happy to respond to help the wayward reptile, which was mostly in good health while nearly scaring the life out of those coming and going from the doctors’ offices Monday as it sunned itself between a planter and the door.
“Snakes, unfortunately, freak people out,” she said.
Contois said she likes snakes, and pythons like this one are generally docile. They are constrictors that will bite if confronted, though that’s rare. As pets, she said, they’re a bit of work.
“They require certain heat and humidity conditions,” she said, noting that this particular snake had a few minor health issues including scale rot and some burning.
Pythons are nonvenomous, she said, and eat a diet of small rodents, sometimes having to be fed live mice if they don’t develop a taste for frozen.
The python is usually found in the rainforest, grasslands and woodlands of native to the tropics in the Eastern Hemisphere. Snakes like the one in Auburn are more likely bred in captivity, Contois said.
Contois said she was interested to see the snake, which was most likely bred to have the piebald pattern where there are patches of lighter colors. She said while the snake’s “color morph” is beautiful because of its markings, what makes it special also puts it at higher risk when left outdoors.
“It would make it easier for its prey to see,” Contois said, adding that birds and animals that feed on snakes would also have a much easier time hunting this one over a snake with natural camouflage.
While she knows a few more things about this snake, she’s opted to hold back some information that only the owner would know so she can be sure, if someone comes forward, that they’re actually the owner.
“It’s a pet, probably someone’s prized pet,” she said. Such a snake could cost between $300 and $800, she said.
The snake is in the care of a reptile expert for at least seven days to allow the owner to come forward. If no one claims the snake, Contois said she will working with the expert to find a suitable home with a person who has experience caring for pythons or perhaps at an educational facility.
“It’s a beautiful and docile snake,” she said. “And maybe seeing it opens people up to having less fear.”
Anyone with information about the snake, how it ended up in Auburn or whom it may belong to, can call Auburn Police.