Florida man’s pet boa constrictor Pedro escapes during labor emergency
A scary boa constrictor South Florida community and was threatened with a gun and the shovel was an escaped pet named Pedro.
5 to 7 meters long snake, unauthorized trip Riviera Beach Police Department spokesman Mike Jachles said the owner somehow facilitated the release of his pregnant wife after an uproar over her going into labor.
Jachles said snake It is approximately 20 years old and was stated to have been in the owner’s possession since he was 15 years old.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen at this point. We don’t have anything ongoing against him,” Jachles said of the facility’s owner. “He said this had never happened before and that it somehow came out frantically while he was tending to his wife and rushing out.”
In the beginning Pedro was wrong as a Burmese python on March 1 when Jay Slagle first encountered her outside her home. Slagle was on his way to work at the luxury Louis Vuitton store. Palm Beach Gardens Mall.
Slagle’s compound is located next to a pocket of dense forest, and neighbors think the snake may have come from the wooded area.
Pythons are a damaging invasive species in Florida and killed humanely without leave throughout the year.
Slagle, 65, shovel in hand, said he was not ready to kill Pedro because he was dressed for work, the snake was docile and he “wanted to preserve some good karma and didn’t want to destroy it.”
“I’ve lived here since 2003 and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Slagle said. “Because of the wildlife sanctuary, we encounter a lot of critters, but no snakes.”
His neighbor may have had a different idea about Pedro when he called 911.
“There’s a big python in front of my door,” the neighbor said, according to 911 recordings. “I’m about to shoot. I don’t want to be accused of discharging a firearm in a residential area. I’m just saying.”
Riviera Beach Police Officer Josh Wilson arrived and helped Slagle throw the snake into the trash can. A trapper was called and he mistook Pedro for a python.
What is the difference between a boa constrictor and a python?
Experts said it can be easy to confuse pythons with boa constrictors, especially for the layman.
Burmese pythons and five other python species also considered High-risk prohibited species in Florida. They may not belong to another person except for research, educational exhibition, and control or destruction purposes. Pythons began establishing themselves in Florida in the mid-1980s. They have insatiable appetites I did so much damage to the Everglades The state has full-time contract hunters who are paid by the hour to find and kill snakes.
Boa constrictors are not a restricted species in Florida and can be kept as pets without a permit or license. The Florida Museum of Natural History’s website said boa constrictors likely lived wild in Florida until the 1970s, but there was only one breeding population located in and around Miami’s Charles Deering District.
Pythons have thick, dark markings on their skin like giraffes, while boa constrictors have more hourglass-shaped markings on their skin that are tan, light brown, grayish brown or cream colored.
Do boa constrictors make good pets?
python hunter Taylor Stanberrywho won $10,000 grand prize It was said at the 2025 Florida Python Challenge that boa constrictors can make good pets if handled frequently.
Aneth McCarthy, assistant director and chief curator McCarthy’s Wildlife Refuge He accepted in unincorporated West Palm Beach.
“Boa constrictors can be very friendly if you handle them a lot,” McCarthy said. “But when it’s time to eat, they don’t think it’s a friendly time and they may bite. I don’t think they’re the best snakes to keep.”
Jachles said at one point someone realized Pedro was a red-tailed boa constrictor, which saved his life.
As of March 4, Pedro was in a rescue facility, Jachles said.
“When a cat gets stuck in a tree, they call the fire department, when a snake comes out they call the police,” Jachles said.
It was unknown what Pedro’s owner had planned for his friend of 20 years.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has an Exotic Pet Amnesty Program that connects non-native pet owners who can no longer care for them with qualified adopters who can provide the animals with new homes.
To participate, pet owners can email PetAmnesty@MyFWC.com or call 888-IVE-GOT1 (483-4681), ext. 1
McCarthy said the shelter could also adopt Pedro.
“Hopefully we get the call,” McCarthy said. “If they call, we will take it. We have space.”
Kimberly Miller He is a journalist with USA TODAY NETWORK FLORIDA. As the Embracing Florida reporter, he covers weather, the environment and critters. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. You can get all of Florida’s best content delivered straight to your inbox every weekday by signing up for Florida TODAY, the free newsletter. palmbeachpost.com/newsletters.
This article was first published in the Palm Beach Post: Escaped boa constrictor Pedro rescued after scare in South Florida
