A "15 - 20 ft boa constrictor" spotted in nearby lake

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/07/...Au0qd.facebook

It's always a shame when this happens because it gives us responsible reptile owners a bad name, and I really hope there's a happy ending for the snake and that nobody or their pets get hurt, but this blatantly misinformed local news story had me chuckling a little. I really want to find out what they end up pulling out of the lake. Who knew the worlds largest boa constrictor would find its way into a lake a short drive away from my house.

Considering all of the people who have claimed to have seen it, I'm surprised no one has gotten a picture yet, even a cell phone pic.

I wonder if it's actually a 20ft long snake and it's someones escaped retic or something. I would like to watch animal control try to get that out of the water. But I think it's more likely that they're exaggerating. My money is on a 4 ft water snake :P

A 4ft Water Snake?

Now that would be classic haha

LOL, I'd love to see a snake that can swim 25 miles an hour. It'd be pretty neat to see a snake zipping along across the lake with a big rooster tail plume spraying up behind it. :O:D

Hmm, I wonder if I could train my boas to pull a water skier?

I especially love the "we advise people not to put their babies in the lake" part. I got a good laugh out of that.

Mark, don't you know that a snake that big can wind it's tail up and use it as a rotor?? I've seen it happen in countless cartoons. So it has to be real right?

http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2...dent_says.html

Here's the follow-up story. I'm not laughing so much anymore.

With this now gaining much more attention as it has now evolved into an anaconda according to some "reptile expert," and with the inclusion of "scandalous drama" this is now gaining much, much more unneeded attention. What's worst is that this is around the time that both green anacondas and boa constrictors are being considered for a Lacey Act listing. What really pissed me off is that the "reptile expert" claimed the snake could, indeed, survive a New Jersey winter should is "hide in someone's basement." This is no bueno at all and definitely not any laughing matter as a high profile story that this is becoming could very well have negative legal implications, which should be taken very seriously.
http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2...dent_says.html

Any other commentators out there trying to do damage control in article comments? I'm doing my best, but I can't do it by myself.

By the way, there is claimed to be a picture that a resident took of it and that the proclaimed reptile expert was said to have seen, but fact is, it was never released. Until I see the picture and know who exactly this reptile expert is, I personally remain very skeptical. In the mean time, as people who work with snakes, we need to take this very seriously.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MarkS

LOL, I'd love to see a snake that can swim 25 miles an hour. It'd be pretty neat to see a snake zipping along across the lake with a big rooster tail plume spraying up behind it. :O:D

Hmm, I wonder if I could train my boas to pull a water skier?

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Still hearing on the news about how there's an anaconda loose in the lake with no first hand sightings. Perhaps Lake Hopatcong has a Loch Ness Monster of its own.