September 25, 2008 in City

Boa doing well in foster home

8-foot-long constrictor unclaimed a week after it was found in Post Falls

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The boa constrictor is now called Hercules.

Since no one has claimed the reptile discovered in a Post Falls yard last week, the snake’s “foster parent” apparently felt safe giving it a nickname.

“I’m pretty certain that a person would have noticed by now if their 8-foot-long snake was missing,” said 36-year-old Matt Harrington.

Kootenai County authorities first encountered the boa Sept. 16 in the 13600 block of Bodine Avenue. The snake was initially taken by a veterinarian from North Idaho Pet Emergency clinic. While authorities have places to lodge dogs and cats until the animals can be reclaimed or adopted, there’s no such location for reptiles.

“We don’t just have a list of snake foster parents,” Kootenai County sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger said.

But a county animal control deputy happened to know that Harrington raised snakes and asked him to care for the boa temporarily.

“I’ve had him for a week now,” said Harrington, who was told the boa would only be at his house until Monday.

The Coeur d’Alene man says he’ll keep Hercules or adopt him if the county can figure out how that works.

“We’re going to have to talk to legal about this one,” Wolfinger said. “We’ve never had to deal with this before.”

After doing a little research, authorities at least found out the reptiles are legal.

County ordinance dictates that Kootenai County residents must abide by state regulations, authorities say. Idaho regulations say it’s only necessary to register dangerous, or “deleterious,” animals.

“They have no reptiles listed, so apparently they don’t consider snakes as deleterious,” Wolfinger said. “Really, there are not a whole lot of regulations out there for keeping snakes as pets in the county.”

Meanwhile, Hercules is doing well.

Harrington said he’s let the snake out to play, which actually means the reptile tries to find warm places to curl up and sleep.

All five of his children, ages 5 to 14, are learning to handle the 50-pound boa, he said. The Harrington children are accustomed to snakes; their father already has a 2 ½-foot-long python. The two snakes have yet to cross paths because Harrington is not sure how they will get along.

But taking on Hercules as a pet wouldn’t be hard, he said. The reptile, estimated to be 4 to 10 years old, just needs to eat a big rat once a month, he said.

As for his personality, he said, “snakes don’t smile.”

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