News Release: March 10, 2006 NR06-03

For Immediate Release:  March 10, 2006 NR06-03

SNAKE FOUND IN MAUNAWILI

HONOLULU – A Maunawili resident captured a 17-inch albino corn snake on his lanai and reported it to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) on Wednesday, March 8^th.  An agricultural inspector retrieved the animal from the home on Lola Place and it is being safeguarded at the HDOA’s Plant Quarantine Branch.

The resident said he spotted the snake on Tuesday night on the outdoor lanai area of his home.  He used a glass vase to capture the animal and called HDOA the following afternoon.  The snake was later identified as a non-venomous albino corn snake, Elaphe guttata.

Snakes are illegal in Hawaii.  Corn snakes are common in much of the mainland United States and northern Mexico.  They can grow to more than six feet long with a normal diet of small mammals (mice and rats) and birds and their nestlings.  Residents should be careful in approaching any snake and should report it immediately to the state’s toll-free hotline, 643-PEST (7378).

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For more information, contact:

Janelle Saneishi
Public Information Officer
Hawaii Department of Agriculture
Phone: (808) 973-9560
E-mail: hdoa.info@hawaii.gov