Boa constrictor removed from under pickup truck: Scottsdale FD

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Scottsdale Fire officials had to deal with a rather unusual rescue.

Per a brief statement by Cpt. Dave Folio, crews responded to a call involving a snake inside the motor of a pickup truck.

"The owner, who had driven the vehicle from Mesa to Scottsdale, noticed a boa constrictor sticking its head out from under the truck after parking,' read a portion of the statement.

(Courtesy: Scottsdale Fire Department)

Aaron Ricks said he was taking a lunch break when he noticed something dangling from the front of his car, near the engine

"I thought it was a grocery bag or some sort of plastic. Maybe I ran over something," said Ricks. "So I walked back over to the truck to see what it was, and was totally shocked to see this big ol' snake looking down and looking right back at me."

Ricks later called a non-emergency police line, and was then transferred to the Scottsdale Fire Department.

"Dispatchers were hilarious," Ricks recounted. "They were like 'excuse me, what are you reporting?' and they said we'll send the fire department out. They came out, and I think at first they were very skeptical. They said they didn't believe there would be a snake in the truck."

Cpt. Folio said crews removed the truck's undercarriage skid plate to get the snake out.

"Thankfully, the snake was unharmed during the process," read a portion of Cpt. Folio's statement.

Workers at the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary didn't believe the find at first, but they were happy to take the snake in, and said the snake was lucky to be safe.

"A lot of times when animals go into engines, it's never good," said Mason Brill with the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary. "They get caught in a belt or they get essentially cooked, so this girl is pretty unscathed. Maybe she has a minor burn right here, but nothing too serious."

Now, officials will try to find out where the snake belongs.

"If there is an owner that wants to come forward and claim this animal, they will have the ability to reach out to us, and we'll try to set something up," said Brill. "Otherwise, this animal will live the rest of its life either here or, if we can find it a home, we will try to adopt this animal out."