Rescues Boa Constrictor Found on Highway 92
By Hope Bidegainberry on January 10, 2018
The Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA (PHS/SPCA) rescued an injured boa constrictor that had been found on the westbound shoulder of Highway 92 near the Crystal Springs Reservoir. The snake had a broken jaw and was brought to PHS/SPCA’s expert veterinary team for care.
“On October 22, 2017 a member of the public spotted the injured snake on the side of the highway and called us for help,” said PHS/SPCA’s Communications Manager Buffy Martin Tarbox. “The snake had a severely swollen and broken jaw, which without treatment, is a certain death sentence since she was unable to eat.”
The snake was treated with a makeshift splint to keep her jaw closed and stable with the hope her broken jaw would mend itself. She was also provided pain medicine and antibiotics.
“It was touch and go for a week and we weren’t sure she was going to make it,” according to Tarbox. “She started to respond well to the treatment and after a few weeks the jaw had mended and she was able to eat on her own. Despite what she’s been through, she’s extremely friendly and outgoing. We have no prior knowledge of how the snake ended up on the side of the highway, but she was clearly someone’s pet. Unfortunately no one came forward to claim her, so now she’s looking for a new home.”
PHS/SPCA staff named her Rocky Balboa as a nod to the fictional boxer who overcame the odds and as a play on the snake’s boa constrictor species.
Rocky Balboa is available for adoption at PHS/SPCA’s Center for Compassion at 1450 Rollins Road in Burlingame. Her adoption fee is $40. Like all boa constrictors, Rocky Balboa does need specialized care and feeding. PHS/SPCA strongly encourages the feeding of frozen, defrosted mice or rats which are available at most pet supply stores. Feeding live rodents is considered unnecessary and inhumane for the both the prey and the predator.
PHS/SPCA is an open door shelter that accepts all animals regardless of age, health or even species. Each year PHS/SPCA adopts out 6,300 animals.