An exotic snake found in Mono earlier this week has been pronounced dead by the Ontario Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA), according to an animal control agent.
Discovered by columnist Constance Scrafield- Danby and her husband Colin within days of occupying their new home in Mono, the body of an approximately four-foot long boa constrictor was found in a rooftop heating vent. Because snakes are cold-blooded it was thought that the reptile might still be alive but dormant due to the cold weather.
But Lindsay Ward, an agent for the OSPCA's Orangeville and District Branch who arrived on the scene to collect the snake's body, said that in order for the animal to have survived the elements, the outside temperature would have to have been above 10 degrees Celsius. Even if the snake was alive upon discovery, it probably would not have survived Monday's temperature, which hovered around freezing.
Ms. Ward said the challenge in finding out if the snake was alive was in the heart rate. When a snake goes dormant its heart rate can drop to one beat per five minutes, so they had to warm it up first to get the heart beating faster. Eventually Ms. Ward, who has owned snakes in the past, took the doomed animal home and kept it overnight on a heating pad, but by the next morning the decay process had begun and the snake had to be disposed of.
The snake is not native to North America, leading the SPCA to believe that it may have been a pet to the previous owners of the Airport Rd. home, and that it may have crawled into the vent in an attempt to seek warmth.
Ms. Ward said boa constrictors can grow up to 13 feet long, depending on the size of their domicile. There is no bylaw against having one, but a permit is needed in Dufferin to keep an exotic snake as a pet.
Discovered by columnist Constance Scrafield- Danby and her husband Colin within days of occupying their new home in Mono, the body of an approximately four-foot long boa constrictor was found in a rooftop heating vent. Because snakes are cold-blooded it was thought that the reptile might still be alive but dormant due to the cold weather.
But Lindsay Ward, an agent for the OSPCA's Orangeville and District Branch who arrived on the scene to collect the snake's body, said that in order for the animal to have survived the elements, the outside temperature would have to have been above 10 degrees Celsius. Even if the snake was alive upon discovery, it probably would not have survived Monday's temperature, which hovered around freezing.
Ms. Ward said the challenge in finding out if the snake was alive was in the heart rate. When a snake goes dormant its heart rate can drop to one beat per five minutes, so they had to warm it up first to get the heart beating faster. Eventually Ms. Ward, who has owned snakes in the past, took the doomed animal home and kept it overnight on a heating pad, but by the next morning the decay process had begun and the snake had to be disposed of.
The snake is not native to North America, leading the SPCA to believe that it may have been a pet to the previous owners of the Airport Rd. home, and that it may have crawled into the vent in an attempt to seek warmth.
Ms. Ward said boa constrictors can grow up to 13 feet long, depending on the size of their domicile. There is no bylaw against having one, but a permit is needed in Dufferin to keep an exotic snake as a pet.