$15K EXOTIC SNAKE IN BACK SHED
AN exotic albino snake worth up to $15,000 will soon be in the hands of Bio Security after being found at a Gold Coast home.
Local snake catcher Samuel Howard of Wild Encounters said he managed to catch the rare but “friendly” American corn snake, a type of constrictor, late on Tuesday night.
The 1.5m male snake was found in a hay bale shed at a Mudgeeraba property after the homeowner went down to the stables to feed his horses.
“They’re not a venomous snake, they’re very much like a python, a constrictor,” he said. “It’s not just a wild one, it’s a little more sought after.”
Mr Howard said the snake was amelanistic, which means it has a lack of pigmentation – part of the albinism gene.
While he wasn’t too sure how much the snake was worth, it could fetch as much as $15,000 thanks to its genetic mutation, he said.
But the corn snake is classed as an invasive pest species in Australia and there are currently no private keepers allowed to keep them, except for a limited number of zoos.
“They can carry airborne diseases,” Mr Howard said.
“The big problem is they carry diseases that our Australian snakes are not immune to. It’s very much like a cane toad (as a pest).”
According to the government’s prohibited invasive animals page, the snake also eats native species and out-competes native animals for resources.
The penalty for keeping an exotic animal without a permit under federal environment law is up to five years’ jail and/or a fine up to $110,000.
Mr Howard said the snake was likely to have been illegally imported through the black market, or bred from illegally imported parent snakes.
“We’ve talked with Bio Security, they’re collecting (the snake),” he said.
“There is a very good chance it will be euthanised because it’s an illegal animal.
“No zoo is looking for one and no one wants to risk adding it to their collection.”
Mr Howard said he had heard of people stuffing the snakes into shoes and socks and even placing them down their pants to get through customs.