Snake escapee is safely back in shop

A red milk snake spotted sun baking in the Terryland Forest Park after a thief stole it from a pet shop a fortnight ago was recovered safe and well after a red alert was issued by the Galway SPCA.

Staff from Petworld had believed the non-venomous snake had escaped in the shop in Terryland and was hiding out.

However, a concerned resident at Gleann na Trá housing estate spotted the two-foot long orange and white striped reptile taking in the rays while lying on the hot footpath and rang the Galway SPCA on Tuesday morning.

They established that it was the same snake which had gone missing two weeks earlier and it had definitely been the victim of a heartless theft – because it could not have travelled to that location on its own volition as these snakes do not swim and travel in a straight line.

A team of volunteers from the GSPCA and staff from Petworld spent two hours searching in the area but to no avail. On Tuesday afternoon they got a confirmed sighting from a motorist that the snake had crossed the road and was sunning itself on the path outside the Hibernian Football Club pitches.

Another call to the pet shop by a customer on Wednesday morning proved more fruitful. Staff from Petworld were able to rescue the snake from beside the Hibs pitches and return it to its enclosure which is heated to at least 22 degrees round-the-clock.

“It’s horrible. This snake doesn’t know how to hunt for itself. We’re very lucky we have this weather otherwise it would not have survived at all,” explained Tara Croke of the GSPCA.

Petworld supervisor Richard Lewis said while snakes can go a long time in between feeds, the biggest concern was the cold and rain.

“I just wish whoever stole it would have rang us and said they found it instead of dumping it in a forest which is an alien environment for a snake bred in captivity. I don’t know if it could even have fed as it’s never had live prey.”

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.