A CONSTRUCTION worker was taken aback over the weekend when he discovered a red-tailed boa constrictor in the yard of a home he and others were working on in Barrigada.
Dianne Vice, wildlife biologist for the Department of Agriculture, said the 6-foot snake was found on Sunday and the Guam Police Department was immediately notified.
Vice said the boa constrictor found in Barrigada is a healthy male and a common pet-store species. As far as she knows, however, this is the first time a boa constrictor has been found on-island.
“It had marks in its snout indicating it was kept in captivity,” Vice said, adding the snake probably escaped or was a released pet.
Boa constrictors as well as pythons and anacondas have been a growing problem in the mainland, especially in Florida where the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission banned the ownership of Burmese pythons and constrictors as pets.
According to the National Geographic website, boas can grow up to about 13 feet and weigh up to more than 100 lbs. The snake can eat almost anything it catches, including birds, monkeys or wild pigs.
Boas are about 2 feet long when born but are known to continually grow through a lifespan of between 25 to 30 years. The website also notes that the largest boa found measured up to 18 feet.
Vice stressed that the snake can be invasive to Guam as it was in Cozumel, Mexico and in Miami, Fla.
Vice commended the group who found the boa constrictor.
“What’s great is that they saw something that’s new and reported it in,” she said.
People who find what appears to be a new species on Guam are urged to call the pest hotline at 475-PEST (7378).
