Free to Good Home: 5 Loving Boa Constrictors

[RebelOne]

NEWARK, DE-September 27, 2005 - Maybe it's that's face, the one only a mother, and an exotic pet owner could love.
Boa constrictors have become all too popular in Delaware. But it's illegal to have them. That's why John Calwell now has five constrictors at the SPCA. It's an all time high considering his agency usually takes in one or two a year. Four of the snakes were found abandoned at a New Castle apartment complex. The fifth was confiscated from a Wilmington man who didn't have the required permit.

Exotic snake owners also need permits in New Jersey. In Pennsylvania, laws vary by municipalities. But in all three states, reptiles seem to be showing up a lot more lately, legal or not.

Remember Sid the 13-foot-long python that slithered away from its owner in Bucks County, or the alligator-like reptile called a caiman that was found lounging in a Swarthmore creek?

There's a reason for permits for exotic pets like snakes: In the wrong hands they can be dangerous or even deadly. That's why the SPCA will keep these snakes until it can find a suitable owner with a permit.

(Copyright 2005 by WPVI-TV 6. All rights reserved.)

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=animals_oddities&id=3480842

That last paragraph is totally bogus. I owned 2 boas at one time. There is no way they can be dangerous or even deadly. Only to the rats and mice they eat.