A SNAKE HAS been found up a tree in Ballybrack, south Dublin this week and staff at a local veterinary practice are on the lookout for its owner.
A client of the Bairbre O’Malley Veterinary Hospital, Bray climbed up the tree when he spotted a snake hidden among the branches on Monday evening.
As soon as the man discovered the snake he rang the veterinary hospital who told him to throw a blanket over the snake and put him in a cardboard box.
The male, 3 foot long, albino corn snake was taken into the vet’s practice around an hour later. Staff there have put a call out on social media for the owner of the snake to come and collect it.
However, they’ve had no luck so far.
“We still have him, we’re still trying to find the owner but there’s been no luck unfortunately,” Stephen, a veterinary nurse at the hospital, told TheJournal.ie.
“It’s strange because usually with social media you would think someone would have come up to get him.”
Maybe someone dumped him. There’s been no word from anyone.
https://www.facebook.com/270933886149/photos/a.10151602501861150.1073741828.270933886149/10154449109676150/?type=3&permPage=1
The snake is currently being kept in a vivarium, with a heat pad and UV lights to keep him warm.
“He’s quite an active little lad. He’s not shy at all. He was nervous when he first came in but he’s fine here now. We’ve been giving him baths every morning, they love baths,” Stephen told us.
He said the hospital will have to look at re-homing the snake if the owner isn’t found soon.
However, they may have to carry out a wider search for a potential home, as there aren’t many places in Ireland that will take in abandoned reptiles.
Animal collection manager at Kilkenny’s National Reptile Zoo Jonny Doyle said it was becoming increasingly difficult to re-home reptiles in Ireland.
“We do have a lot of people coming forward with abandoned pets. Anyone can buy a small alligator online and get it shipped straight to your door. There’s no legislation as of yet to control any of that,” he said.
It’s getting harder because in the boom time people went mad with buying loads of different reptiles and now some of them are getting too big or people are getting bored with them.
Anyone with information about the snake are being asked to contact the Bairbre O’Malley Veterinary Hospital on 01 272 3857.
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