Stunned man finds huge snake hiding in his new couch

Two Florida cops tackled a slippery customer after a man found an uninvited guest in his newly-delivered couch in the form of a 1.5 metre boa constrictor hiding under the cushions.

The Clearwater Police Department reported on December 4 that a man in the Marilyn Pines condominium complex called them about a snake in his new sofa.

Officers were dispatched to the complex, which is home to residents aged 55 and over, and found the boa hiding in the item of furniture.

Police are seen searching the couch for the snake.
Police in Florida removed a snake slithering inside a sofa in a condo complex in Marilyn Pines. Source: Newsflash/Australscope

The officers carried the couch outside before they removed the reptile and then took the item of furniture back inside.

They proceeded to deliver the snake to a local pet shop, where two female officers who recovered the snake posed for snaps while holding the specimen.

The police department reported that the man had only just bought the couch and believed the snake was already hiding in it when he took it home.

The boa constrictor, also known as the red-tailed boa or the common boa, is non-venomous and kills its prey by grabbing it with its teeth before constricting it until it can no longer breathe.

A man at the local pet shop holds the snake.
Police proceeded to deliver the snake to a local pet shop. Source: Newsflash/Australscope

Once the prey is dead, the boa consumes it whole.

Boa constrictors are endemic to South America north of the 35th parallel but are often kept and bred in captivity further afield. An introduced population is known to thrive in southern Florida.

Adult specimens typically measure 2 to 3 metres long in the case of females and 1.8 to 2.4 metres long in the case of males. However, specimens can sometimes grow up to 4 metres in length.

Australscope

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