CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Neil Reimer, Department of Agriculture, Plant Quarantine Branch manager, held up a 3 1/2-foot ball python that was found yesterday. The snake is healthy and tame, letting others carry and pet it.

---

Snake that man finds in
garage was likely a pet

The nonvenomous ball python
was used to being handled,
a state official says

A 3 1/2-foot-long visitor surprised an East Honolulu resident in his garage late Thursday night.

The unwanted guest was a ball python, a nonvenomous snake so named because it coils its head into a tight ball when frightened.

State officials said that upon seeing the snake, the Kuliouou resident shut the door and called inspectors from the Department of Agriculture for help.

"It was very docile and was used to being handled," said Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Janelle Saneishi. "It could have been someone's pet."

The ball python and other snakes are illegal in Hawaii because they have no natural predators and pose a serious threat to Hawaii's environment, according to state officials. They are especially dangerous to native birds because many prey on their eggs.

The ball python can grow up to 6 feet long and is native to Africa.

Agriculture officials urge anyone who has illegal animals to turn them in under the state's amnesty program, which provides immunity from prosecution and accepts the animals with no questions asked and no fines assessed.

Anyone with information on illegal animals is asked to call the Pest Hotline at 586-PEST (7378).

Under an agreement with the Honolulu Zoo, all illegal reptiles are kept alive and sent to a reptile farm in Florida, where they are placed into other zoos or educational facilities.