Cagey Victoria reptile refuses to be lured from storm drain

When Victoria city crews put a video camera inside a sewer Wednesday looking for a possible sinkhole, the camera instead captured a snake. A big one.

City crews were back on Quadra Street at Balmoral Road Thursday to investigate a section of a storm drain where a suspected boa constrictor or python, possibly two metres long, is holed up. It is believed the snake is an escaped pet and not poisonous, but a positive identification has not been made.

The abandoned section of pipe in which the snake was found has been “plugged” and blocked with sandbags so it can’t easily escape.

“It can’t get out,” said Mike Ippen, manager of utility operations.

On Wednesday at 7:30 a.m., city crews were investigating a reported sunken section of pavement on Quadra Street. The technician put a camera in a four-to-five-metrelong section of pipe at Balmoral Road going toward Mason Street.

The pipe was reached through a manhole cover at Balmoral, and the pipe sits about a metre below the ground.

Instead of sludge or a collapsed pipe, the camera operator looked through the lens to see the face of a snake. The city will not immediately release the photo of the snake — which captures the reptile’s face and body — concerned the magnification and angle might distort its size and raise concerns among nearby residents.

“The snake looks quite large,” Ippen said. When the snake is removed, it could turn out to be smaller than thought.

The city called Victoria Animal Control Services, which tried to snare the snake and then tried to bait it.

“They went to a pet store or something like that and got a mouse and tried to lure it,” Ippen said. “And that has not worked.”

Later Thursday, crews were planning to try baiting and luring techniques, or chasing the snake out with heat lamps.