A striking bell for the animal ambulance North and Central Drenthe this week. Someone found a Koningspython along the Rijksweg in Hoogersmilde. Normally you will find the Koningspython in warmer places, but now it was next to an 80-kilometer road.
Annemay Bock, coordinator at the animal ambulance, says that these are not reports that they often receive. “Coincidentally, we also received a report of two escaped snakes two months ago.” Then it was a royal python in the Asser district Pittelo and a Mexican royal hose in Taarlo.
Research by branch organization DIVEDO from 2023 shows that 500,000 reptiles are held as a pet in the Netherlands. According to chairman Rogier Van Rossem of the Herpetofauna Foundation, who is committed to the well -being and protection of reptiles and amphibians, there seems to be no increase in keeping these pet.
“If it happens more often that snakes are found ‘in the wild’ in the same environment, I think it is the same person who loses or leaves them behind,” says Van Rossem. Bock says he doesn’t see a connection between the snakes found in Drenthe. “One of the snakes found in July is again with his owner. He indeed indicated that the snake had escaped. The other snake was not from the same owner.”
The two types of snakes that Van Rossem sees the most in reports are the Koningspython and the rat hose.
The Koningspython who was found along the Rijksweg in Hoogersmilde finds Van Rossem a special case. “Usually snakes are found in residential areas because they escape through a window. If a snake is found along the road, as in this case, it seems that he has been aware of it in the neighborhood.”
According to Van Rossem, a snake only leaves the house when it is very hot outside. “If it is blowing outside or colder, a snake does not go outside, if they already escape from their terrarium, they look for a dark and warm spot in the room. Moreover, we usually find snakes 200 to 300 meters from the house from which they have escaped. They don’t get that far.”
As with the purchase of more pets, it is underestimated, according to Van Rossem. “It is people to think that you can take care of an animal, but snakes still need a different care than a cat.”
There is also a solution if it is up to Van Rossem. He argues that you can have a reptile or amphibian in the house under certain conditions. “If there are conditions how big a loft should be and what things you should have, it quickly becomes more expensive. That way you ensure that there are impulse purchases.”
And if you have taken a snake, but you will find out that you cannot take good care of it, Van Rossem thinks it is important that there are more reception locations for these animals. “There are shelters where you can go with a snake or iguana, but there are few and often they are already full. There should be more of this.”
The Koningspython from Hoogersmilde has now been taken to Doezoo animal shelter in Leens in Groningen. There they hope that the owner will pick up the snake again. Under the Facebook message of the animal ambulance, delivered reactions came that the snake looked lean. Tom van der Made van Doezoo indicates that the animal was not so meager that it was in danger. “He needed some food. He now gets that,” says Van der Made.