A ball python that spent roughly two weeks loose around Coventry and West Warwick, Rhode Island, is recovering after surviving a rescue from a car engine despite injuries so severe that two veterinarians recommended euthanasia.
A third clinic chose to treat the snake instead. Thanks to their medical care, the snake, now named Sally, is improving.
Here's what to know
Outside a liquor store in West Warwick, a staff member named Taylor and several customers spent nearly an hour freeing Sally after she left one vehicle and got into another. As WJAR reported, she had been using a car to keep warm.
Emily Arpin, who co-owns ET Reptiles in Warwick, estimated to WJAR that Sally had been loose around Coventry and West Warwick for roughly two weeks. She said the initial calls described the animal as a 6-foot boa constrictor, but it turned out to be a much smaller ball python.
According to Arpin, someone had previously caught Sally and then released her again after mistakenly thinking she was native wildlife.
"These guys are from Africa. They're not native, so definitely someone's pet," Arpin said.
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WJAR, citing the shop, reported that once rescuers got Sally out, they found damaged scales, tissue extending from her cloaca, and possibly broken ribs.
More background
Arpin sought a second opinion from Odd Pet Vet, which examined Sally and determined that she could be treated, even though WJAR reported that two emergency veterinarians had advised euthanasia because of her condition.
The shop said one of Sally's vertebrae appeared misaligned and that her care included X-rays, a barium swallow to check her gastrointestinal tract, and the removal of dead tissue.
Sally was not wild Rhode Island wildlife; she was an exotic pet outside her native habitat who ended up in a car while seeking shelter.
According to Arpin, Sally has been getting better, and staff say she's friendly. "She doesn't seem like she's in pain," Arpin said. "She didn't eat, but that's not too much of a concern."
What's being done?
ET Reptiles in Warwick is still caring for Sally, and staff members expect her to make a full recovery.
"It was about an hour of them trying to finagle their little fingers in there to get to her, because she was being very stubborn," Arpin said of Taylor and the customers who helped free the snake.
Arpin emphasized that the vehicle was a dangerous place for the snake: "There's a lot of moving parts in a vehicle, so even just her being in the car would be a dangerous scenario."
Arpin told WJAR that people who can no longer care for animals such as ball pythons should seek help rehoming them instead of releasing them outdoors.
Arpin said people should not let an exotic pet loose in New England. "They can't survive in our weather," she said.
Where can I learn more?
Sally's rescue is one of several cases involving snakes turning up in dangerous places while looking for warmth or shelter. Other reports have documented pythons and other snakes being found in vehicle engines, dumpsters, homes and other unexpected spots.
• In Florida, deputies found a ball python curled around a car engine while searching for its owner.
• In downtown Los Angeles, rescuers pulled a 20-foot python from a dumpster after it was abandoned.
• A snake keeper opened a cabinet and discovered a wild Western ratsnake hiding in a substrate bag.
• Deep in the Florida Everglades, a remover wrestled a hissing Burmese python during a tense capture.
• On Queensland's Sunshine Coast, handlers pulled a swollen python from beneath a home after it swallowed a family cat.
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