Posted on 10/08/2009 11:09:09 AM PDT by JoeProBono
Two brothers were just driving along N.C. 133, near Orton Plantation, on Wednesday morning when they noticed a large snake - different from those native to the area - in the roadway.
“We thought it was a rattlesnake,” said Billy Ballard, of Oak Island. But a closer look and, later, an expert opinion revealed it was actually a boa constrictor that stretched at least 7 feet long.
The snake had been injured, and a pool of blood circled around its head, Billy Ballard said. So, not wanting the snake to suffer, he and his brother Ronnie picked it up and placed it in the bed of their pick-up truck.
“He just hissed,” Ronnie Ballard said.
“He sounded like a dragon,” his brother added.
The brothers, on their way to Wilmington for an appointment, brought the snake to the StarNews, where about a dozen people - the ones who apparently did not have a phobia of snakes - came outside to hear the brothers' story.
The brothers weren't afraid of handling the thick snake, which had brown and black cryptic markings, and they even held its head high in the air with its tail dangling below to show its length.
“We were raised with animals and with snakes,” Billy Ballard said.
The brothers said they were looking for a veterinarian to treat the snake, and a StarNews representative contacted the Cape Fear Serpentarium. The owner of the Serpentarium, a well-known snake collector, said he'd be happy to check out the boa.
The brothers said they hoped the Serpentarium would help the snake recuperate.
“He's wounded. We just have to care for him,” Billy Ballard said. “He's got a family. You can't tell me he's just a stray......
“Okay, but I’ve been thinking, and I’m a little worried about Snuggles getting out to the highway and maybe getting hit by a car. I mean, what would happen to him then? “
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