Python Found On VTA Bus Last Month Up For Adoption

BURLINGAME (CBS SF) -- A snake that was found on a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority bus last month is up for adoption, officials with the Peninsula Humane Society & the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said Tuesday.

The snake, a ball python given the name "Rumplesnakeskin," was found on a VTA bus seat by passengers Sept. 27.

Ball pythons can be ideal pets because they only grow to about 2 to 3 feet long and they are friendly, PHS/SPCA officials said.

After Rumplesnakeskin was found, the bus driver pulled over at a bus stop at Encinal Avenue and El Camino Real in Menlo Park and the snake was taken off the bus to Palo Alto Animal Services by an animal control officer.

PHS/SPCA spokeswoman Buffy Tarbox said after nine days at Palo Alto Animal Services, Rumplesnakeskin was taken to the humane society because no one claimed him and humane society staff are more able to care for him.

Experts at the humane society believe the snake is male.

"He's super friendly," Tarbox said. "Hopefully he's done with his journeys on buses."

The snake has been in the caring hands of PHS exotic animal specialist Daiela Todorcevic.

"Sometimes people like to take them out in the daylight to get some UV's and sometimes they slither away," said Todorcevic. "I've seen people carry them in their pockets, almost like a therapy animal. So you never know, their owner might be looking for them."

Rumplesnakeskin is very friendly and docile. He would make a terrific pet but for the right kind of owner.

"They are so different from owning a cat or a dog. They need lighting and heat. They need humidity," said Todorcevic. "You have to change up their enclosure all the time so they don't get bored. Anything they need, the owner has to provide."

That includes meals: a mouse every two weeks.

"We feed dead prey. We never feed live. It can be very harmful for them if they don't want to eat it," explained said Todorcevic.

Tarbox said the fee to adopt Rumplesnakeskin is $35.

PHS/SPCA staff will help potential adopters understand what care Rumplesnakeskin will need. Ball pythons can live to be 30 years old.

Anyone interested in adopting the snake can go to the humane society's Center for Compassion at 1450 Rollins Road in Burlingame.

The center is open Monday to Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on the weekends from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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