Live Gopher Snake Found at Home Depot on O’ahu

Employees of an O‘ahu dwelling enhancement shop got a slithery surprise from a pallet hitchhiker before this week.

In accordance to a news release from the state Division of Agriculture, a live snake was captured late Wednesday evening, July 6, at the Kapolei Home Depot. Honolulu law enforcement officers, responding to a 911 simply call from keep employees at about 11 p.m., utilised a bucket to seize the snake, which was spotted on a pallet in a shipping and delivery container of mixed products.

The snake was taken to the Kapolei Police Station, in which agricultural inspectors from the DOA took custody Thursday morning, July 7. Agriculture inspectors from the DOA Plant Quarantine Department also went to the shop to study the place and educated the retail outlet to contact the DOA if any other hitchhiking animals ended up spotted.

The snake, discovered by reptile specialists as a non-venomous juvenile gopher snake, measures about 21 inches lengthy. Gopher snakes are uncovered in North The us and can expand up to about 7 feet. Their diet is composed of small rodents, young rabbits, lizards, birds and their eggs. The snakes get rid of their prey by constriction and suffocation.

Snakes are unlawful to have in Hawai‘i. They have no normal predators and pose a really serious threat to the state’s ecosystem.

The DOA reminds the public that individuals with illegal animals can switch them in less than the state’s Amnesty Application to any DOA office, the Honolulu Zoo, the Pana‘ewa Zoo in Hilo or any humane society, no concerns questioned and no fines assessed. The most penalty below state regulation for possession and/or transporting illegal animals is a Course C felony, punishable by up to a $200,000 good and up to three yrs in prison.

Any individual with facts about unlawful animals should connect with the statewide toll-totally free Pest Hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378). Sightings or captures of unlawful animals or invasive species must also be documented to the hotline.