Couple's rat snake terror in park

Fixx · #1 (**permalink**) 13-06-2007, 03:31 PM

"A 4ft (1.2m) snake has dropped from a tree and terrified a courting couple in an Ipswich park."

BBC News

tom1400 · #2 (**permalink**) 13-06-2007, 03:53 PM

lol i think i would jump if that landed in front of me but once i got together i'd go over and pick him up

DeanThorpe · #3 (**permalink**) 13-06-2007, 04:02 PM

hmm it doesnt say what park.
I wander whast gona happen to it?

Art_Gecko101 · #4 (**permalink**) 13-06-2007, 04:03 PM

probably christchurch... Dean was it you?? have you been hiding up trees dropping snakes on people again?

DeanThorpe · #5 (**permalink**) 13-06-2007, 04:07 PM

haha..no im at home, trese is at the park... was what i was wanderin but trese would prolly have known about it if it happened there, i spoke to her ten mins ago and she didnt mention it.

DeanThorpe · #6 (**permalink**) 13-06-2007, 10:29 PM

ah it was christchurch park, was yesterday, trese got told about it by the builders today.
Apparently one of the park rangers [not sure if its one we know] is keeping it, he keeps them, ill find out who has it tomoz at work.
Its a florida ratsnake apparently..but dont know any more specific.

Spikebrit · #7 (**permalink**) 14-06-2007, 12:20 AM

yer i read about that today. Why can't a snake fall on me in christchurch park *pouts*.

Apparently the guy who found it used to keep snakes and wants to get back into keeping them.

Jay

DeanThorpe · #8 (**permalink**) 14-06-2007, 01:25 AM

ah yeh, just checked out the evening star online

----------------
Park snake recovering from cold
Evening Star
13 June 2007 | 14:03

Mark Smith with the snake A SNAKE which caused a stir by slipping out of an Ipswich park tree is today recovering from a cold.

The Evening Star revealed yesterday how a couple's intimate moment at Christchurch Park was interrupted when a four-foot constrictor, believed to be a rat snake, fell out of a tree above them.

The reptile is being cared for by Ipswich Borough Council arborist Mark Smith, who said it is in good health and recovering from a respiratory problem.

He said: “When I first got the snake it had respiratory problems, its mouth kept gaping open.

“Now it seems to be getting better.

“It is just like a human getting a cold in cold, damp conditions, which it was it was like early Sunday morning.

“Now it's being kept in the warm it's cleared up.”

Mr Smith, 39, has not yet fed the snake. The reptiles go for long periods of time without eating, and signs including body weight and excrement show it was not long since the park snake last had food.

The snake also needs to get used to its new surroundings before it will consider eating.

Officials caught the snake after the canoodling couple raised the alarm.

A search for its owners has been launched by rangers.

Mr Smith said: “If someone had lost the snake I'd expect them to have read about it in the Star, or heard from someone who had.

“That's why I think it's probably been dumped.”

Mr Smith has vowed to adopt the snake if the owners do not come forward. He has kept snakes and lizards in the past.

He said: “It's strange as Saturday night I was talking to a friend about how I wanted to get back into keeping snakes - and then the following day I'm told one fell out of a tree.”

Grey rat snakes are non-venomous and grow to about six feet long. They feed on rodents, squirrels and other small mammals as well as frogs, birds and lizards.

n Do you know who the owner could be? Were you and your partner the couple disturbed by the snake? Call The Evening Star newsdesk on 01473 324788 or e-mail starnews@eveningstar.co.uk

AND THE EARLIER STORY

Couple's shock as snake drops from tree
Evening Star
12 June 2007 | 16:09

Mark Smith with the snake AN AMOROUS couple are recovering from the shock of their lives today after a four foot snake narrowly missed them when it dropped from a park tree.

No one knows what the reptile - thought to be a grey rat snake native to south eastern America - was doing in Christchurch Park in Ipswich but its discovery has left rangers stunned.

The couple, who park workers said had been sharing an intimate moment in the park's arboretum, were disturbed when the agile tree climber fell to the ground just yards from them.

Unsure of whether the constrictor was dangerous, the terrified pair raised the alarm but the search for the scaly rodent-hunter had to be called off as darkness fell on Saturday.

When rangers returned to the spot on Sunday they found the snake nearby and immediately removed it from the park.

Today a search has been launched for its owner as rangers try to find out if it escaped from its home or was dumped there.

Sam Pollard, Ipswich Borough Council's parks manager, said: “It's a complete shock. I know we have slow worms in the park and they look a bit like snakes but we've never had anything like this.

“A young couple had been sitting in the arboretum and this snake dropped out of the trees behind them and on to the ground. It kind of put paid to their amorous ways.”

Grey rat snakes are common in parts of Florida and have spread to other areas of south eastern America.

The Christchurch Park snake, which measures four-and-a-half feet, fell from a holm oak tree, also known as a holly oak, near to a bridleway which runs alongside the arboretum.

Mr Pollard said: “It's quite possible someone has disposed of the snake from the bridleway into the park.”

The snake is being cared for by Mark Smith, a borough council arborist who has also kept snakes and other reptiles in the past.

Mr Smith, 39, said the snake had initially been sluggish because conditions were much cooler than it was suited to.

He said: “When they found him he wasn't moving at all.

“If it was warm enough it could probably feed in the park. If it had been 25 or 30 degrees it would have been very active.

“I don't think it's been there very long but it's hard to tell. It's got a few marks and scrapes and it's lost a few scales but it does seem to be quite happy.”

Do you know who the owner could be? Were you and your partner the couple disturbed by the snake? Call The Evening Star newsdesk on 01473 324788 or e-mail starnews@eveningstar.co.uk .

n. Are you an exotic pet owner? Send us your pictures of your pets to Starnews@eveningstar.co.uk or Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN.

Did you know?

As well as this week's reptilian discovery, Christchurch Park has had other bizarre discoveries in the past. In September 1995 a penguin which had been taken from Banham Zoo was found swimming in the Wilderness Pond.

Rat snakes:

generally grow to about six feet long but the record for a rat snake is about seven feet

they eat small mammals, frogs, birds, lizards and eggs

lay their eggs in rotting vegetation or hollow logs

can live to between 15 and 20 years in the wild

in their native America they live in marshland, farmland, swamps and pinelands and even residential areas

they prefer sandy soil and scrub

constrictors use their body to squeeze their prey until it is dead and then swallow it whole

NOW SAM POLLARD I DO KNOW,...HE IS DA PARK BOSS AND THE ONE WHO I GET IN TROUBLE OF IF I DONT OPEN

LOL
If only it had scared him and i could have rescued him then he would like me

Hope the guy mark who has it really does know what he is doin though,

ratboy · #9 (**permalink**) 14-06-2007, 12:21 PM

at a size of 4.5 feet, it should certainly have grown out of eating frogs and lizards... these would be a last resort... there are PLENTY of birds and mammals around that it would much have preferred to eat.

Overall a good, factual article though ... at least they did not make it out to be a potential killer

DeanThorpe · #10 (**permalink**) 14-06-2007, 08:30 PM

it was prolly attracted to thier body heat...dirty begers...

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