Large snake found in Kaukauna turns out to be juvenile ball python

KAUKAUNA - This story could make your skin crawl.

Commenters on Facebook were wild Sunday afternoon about a report that Appleton police had found a 10-foot boa constrictor in a Dumpster.

Some people offered to adopt the snake. Others were concerned for the snake's welfare and upset that someone was so cruel to toss the animal in the garbage.

In truth, the snake was discovered in Kaukauna, and it was a 2-foot-long juvenile ball python that belonged to a former resident and had been missing for two months. It was found in a bedroom and then placed in an outside recycling bin until Kaukauna police arrived.

Police, in turn, called Jamie Kozloski, founder and director of Kingdom Animalia Exotic Animal Rescue, a nonprofit organization based in Suring that rescues exotic animals and conducts educational programs.

"People were saying (on Facebook) that it was a 10-foot boa constrictor," Kozloski told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. "The roommate told the police officer that it was a 5-foot boa constrictor. I got there, and it was a 2-foot young ball python.

"It's just like with a bat — people are nervous around it, so it appears to be a lot bigger than it actually is."

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Kozloski took the python to her Suring facility.

"It's healthy, and it's gorgeous," she said. "I'll probably end up using that guy for programs to teach kids about how to care for them properly and to not release them if you ever don't want them anymore."

Ball pythons are found in sub-Saharan Africa and are popular in the pet trade. They reach 5 feet long and are nonvenomous, constricting their prey. The name refers to the snake's tendency to curl into a ball when stressed or frightened.

Kozloski said ball pythons are not dangerous "in any way, shape or form, unless you're a mouse."

Kaukauna's ordinance 11.12 bans the keeping of ball pythons or any other snake.

The ordinance says, "No person shall keep or harbor any reptiles, pigs, sheep, goats, cattle, horses, chickens, ducks, geese, bees, or hives of bees within the corporate limits of the city."

Kaukauna Assistant Police Chief Jamie Graff said the fine for a violation is $114.

"We don't enforce that too much," he said.

No citation was issued Sunday.

Graff said the python belonged to a man who was a subtenant in a house in the 300 block of West Third Street. The man was jailed on a probation hold two months ago and hadn't returned to the house.

"Nobody knows where he's at," Graff said. "He must have skipped town."

The tenant was cleaning a bedroom, in preparation for a new subtenant, when he discovered the snake.

"It had been roaming around in the house for two months," Kozloski said.

Duke Behnke: 920-993-7176, or dbehnke@postcrescent.com; on Twitter @DukeBehnke