How can you tell if a snake is scared?
By its squinty eyes?
Trooper Ryan Tanner thinks he can, after a 5-foot boa constrictor was found Friday morning along state Highway 14 near Lieser Road.
“That snake looked scared and cold,” Tanner said. “As you can see in the picture, he curled up in a ball.”
Troopers with the Washington StatePatrol see a lot of speeders, drunk drivers and collisions in Vancouver, but seldom do they find good-sized snakes lounging in the grass next to a large terrarium.
John Hallman, a driver with Triple J Towing, was the first to spot it, and soon Trooper Jesse Layman arrived on scene.
Layman, wearing gloves, picked the serpent up and posed for a photo that Tanner took.
The snake didn’t appear injured, which would have happened if help hadn’t arrived before it slithered onto the highway.
“We’re pretty fortunate that Trooper Layman had the courage to pick up that snake,” Tanner said. “I’ve heard from a lot of people who said they wouldn’t get close to it.”
An officer with Clark County Animal Protection and Control arrived and soon the snake was safely confined at the Humane Society for Southwest Washington.
Snakes are cold-blooded and need to be kept at the right temperature range and fed properly, said Lisa Feder, director of operations for the animal shelter at 1100 N.E. 192nd Ave. in far-east Vancouver.
This one is a juvenile in good condition, she said.
Boas aren’t venomous but can bite and constrict around their prey until it no longer can breathe.
“They definitely are to be respected,” Feder said.
Workers at the shelter will hold the snake on “stray status” for at least three days, in case its owners want to reclaim it, Feder said. If its owners don’t come forward, the snake will be taken to a reptile rescue center.
Troopers don’t know whether the snake and its container fell from a moving vehicle or were dumped, Tanner said.
Snakes, some as large as eight or ten feet long, arrive at the shelter every month or so, Feder said.
Anyone with information about the snake is asked to call the WSP at 360-449-7999; or the Humane Society at 360-693-4746.
John Branton: 360-735-4513; http://www.twitter.com/col_cops; john.branton@columbian.com.
