Shoppers were shocked to find a 6 foot boa constrictor inside a cart on August 12th. Animal control was sent to the Target located on Sunnybrook Drive in Sioux City, Iowa around 11:30am.
The Columbian red boa constrictor was found in a cart inside one of the cart corrals. The snake wasn’t noticed until it was inside the store. Sioux City Police were contacted, but are still unsure if store employees or customers saw the snake first. Animal control believes the snake was placed into the cart intentionally.
The Racine Zoo in Wisconsin provides plenty of information about Colombian Red Tailed Boas. Males tend to range between 6 and 8 feet in size. Females are typically 7 to 9 feet long, and as the larger snake can weigh up to 30 pounds. While the snake can live up to 20 years in the wild, they can live up to 40 under human care. Fun Fact: this snake can unhinge it’s jaw so that it can consume prey with bodies larger in diameter than the boa’s head.
Now I’m sure we’ve all gone to Target at some point and something completely unexpected happened. Whomever found the snake, while doing the right thing and contacting the proper authorities, missed the big picture here. They could’ve potentially gone home with a free snake! I mean that’s one hell of a deal from Target. It’s also better than the usual find of trash inside shopping carts.
This situation is still under investigation by the Sioux City Police Department.
