Great Boa Constrictor terrorizes NJ Lake

WCBS - TV 2 (NY) ^ | Tracee Carrasco

[njslim]

A new danger has been lurking in the waters of the largest lake in New Jersey, in the form of a potentially dangerous snake. As CBS 2’s Tracee Carrasco reported, a boa constrictor that could be up to 20 feet long is on the loose around Lake Hopatcong, and neighbors have been worried.

[njslim]

SNAKES!!! IN THE LAKE...!!!

[Starboard]

Can the movie be far off?

[Maceman]

Boa Constrictors don’t get to be 20 feet long. Whatever the snake is, it has been misidentified.

Probably a specie of python.

In any case, it will be dead before Winter as the temperature drops.

[x1stcav]

I thought Menedez was down in the Dominican Republic being terrorized by Cooban Intelligence.

[njslim]

Probably true

Went diving under the ice with my dive club one year......

[EEGator]

Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherf****** snakes in this motherf****** lake!

[Ditter]

I have heard that these giant snakes are making their way along the Gulf Coast from Florida. We have ranch land south of Houston about 20 miles from the coast. I hope these things don’t make it this far, I will be seriously creeped out and I will refuse to get out of the truck!

[FroggyTheGremlim]

Is Lautenberg still alive?

[SandRat]

But, but, but,... it has EPA protection.

[Maceman]

I have heard that these giant snakes are making their way along the Gulf Coast from Florida.

Snakes are cold-blood animals, which means they can't make their own body heat and thus their body temperature is determined by the surrounding air temperature.

Large constrictors like pythons and boas are tropical snakes that require external temperatures at least higher than the mid-70s at the lowest, and often above 80 degrees F.

As you can see by the winter weather map below, there are not many places in the U.S. that maintain those average temperatures year round.

Thus, based on this map, it is clear that large tropical constrictors cannot live year-round outside of handful of south eastern states, and thus cannot maintain permanent populations outside of these areas.

As you can see, Texas is not one of those states where they can thrive.

People keep these animals as pets in all climates (although anyone who keeps a snake longer than 8-10 feet is nuts, in my opinion), and often release them when they get too big. So that can happen in any state. But these snakes generally will die as the weather gets colder.

[Pearls Before Swine]

As da mob sez in Joisey... don’t let’im put the squeeze onya.

[GladesGuru]

Could be a green anaconda, in which case waterfront property values may drop as the “Invasive Species” feeding behaviors become widely known.

Perhaps it is not a snake - could it be a relative of ‘Nessy’?

;-)

[Ditter]

Great news thanks. We have enough snakes on our property already, copperheads, cotton mouths, coral snakes, maybe a small ground rattler or 2 and a variety of non poisonous snakes.

Snakes are the only creatures on earth that I actually enjoy killing. When we lived on the ranch my husband called me “the fat babe” (I wasn’t fat) after a cartoon woman who was always killing snakes.

[TMSuchman]

http://www.smithsonianc try this

Titanoboa

[TMSuchman]

http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/sc/web/video/titles/16626/titanoboa-vs-t-rex This should be better

[GladesGuru]

The controlling factor would likely be the lowest winter refugia temperature to which the snake would be exposed.

Ground temperatures and now basement temperatures are likely the controlling factor.

[al_c]

Dang global warming climate change!

[CGASMIA68]

Not necessarily as its didn’t get to its current size in one season

[sheana]

I.
Hate.
Snakes!!

[Maceman]

Not necessarily as its didn’t get to its current size in one season

It sure as hell didn't get to its current size living outdoors for years in New Jersey. Even the article says that its likely that it was a pet, obviously owned by an idiot, who released it into the wild.

There is no way that this animal survived last winter living outdoors.