Snake Sighting Sparks Alarm Then Relief

Snake hysteria taken to a new level, now any snake sighted is a child eating giant python. This must have been one big black rat. We are doomed as keepers, the public will shut us down it’s only a matter of time.

Snake Sighting Sparks Alarm Then Relief
HOCKESSIN, Del. - Folks in a neighborhood near Newark, Delaware are breathing easier.

It turns out they haven't been invaded by a huge, man-eating snake after all, reported Fox 29’s Bruce Gordon.

Slideshow: Images Of Spotted Snake

When a local teenager snapped a photo of a big snake coiled in a tree off Scottfield Drive, word quickly spread that it might be a Python or maybe a Boa Constrictor.

Neighbors were frightened.

"My husband has always been after me to carry some type of mace for attacking exuberant dogs and he said he didn't know if it'd work on a snake but perhaps I should consider carrying it," says neighbor Cynthia Griffith.

"Everyone's like 'Well, watch your daughter because they tend to go after other small kids,'" recalls Destiney Verucci. "It sound silly but as soon as I heard this whole snake thing, I was like, 'That's it! The air conditioner's going on, the windows are shut!'"

It turns out the reptile was an Eastern Rat Snake, sometimes called a Black Rat Snake.

Experts say rat snakes often climb trees to hunt for baby birds or bird eggs. They also eat small rodents - but never small children.

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/...rm_Then_Relief

I find it interesting that many people in this country are unaware of the existence of our native snakes. An exotic species makes the news and suddenly our nation is overrun with dangerous creatures that weren't here yesterday?

We grew up hunting, catching, then releasing snakes in our neighborhood. I feel sorry for the folks who are so ignorant of our natural resources.

Dangerous rat snakes....

"My husband has always been after me to carry some type of mace for attacking exuberant dogs and he said he didn't know if it'd work on a snake but perhaps I should consider carrying it," says neighbor Cynthia Griffith."

Maybe someone should tell the poor lady that if she is ever charged by an exuberant snake she should just carry a rat in her pocket to toss and distract the snake,then she could make her get-away.It's really sad that a sight that would delight many of us is deathly frightening to many others.

"Everyone's like 'Well, watch your daughter because they tend to go after other small kids,'"
Wow.... thats a first. How dumb and ignorant can a person be. Douche bags

This happened 10 minutes from my house. A worker at Pet Kare (2 minutes from where this happened) said it was a ball python, not a rat snake. Wow i heard that and walked away. Good thing i just get crickets there.

All i can do is shake my head and laugh we have these as native snakes all around my house.Give me a break.And ofcourse it has to be assumed its a boa or python.Between the clueless media and citizens i don't kno who is worse!

Its disapointing that the public believes everything the media says, especially fox news.. Yes, of course, mace, the snake repellent. For those burmese pythons that chase you around to try and kill you. And as other people pointed out, it immediately is suggested to be a python or boa. Its just so sad that every snake sighting now is immediately thought to be our fault. If these people would actually spend some time learning about snakes, they'd find out they're no crazy killers. Yes they have potential, but in my opinion, most of the time its your fault. My ball python and SD retic have struck at me, but both times it was my fault. They're not out to kill or hurt us.

That's 3 miles up the road from my house! I'm not surprised...Delawareans say "deers".

Its disapointing that the public believes everything the media says, especially fox news..

Stupidity abounds ... huh ...