boa constrictor

16 Stories

'Emotional Support' Snake Doesn't Fly

Airline doesn't allow woman to carry on a 4-foot boa constrictor

(Newser) - The TSA reports it headed off a real-life sequel when it found a snake on its way to a plane. Agents at Tampa International Airport found a 4-foot boa constrictor in a carry-on bag last month when it showed up on a checkpoint X-ray, the agency said. The passenger told...

Researchers Solve a Mystery About How Boas Breathe
Now We Know Why Boa
Constrictors Don't Suffocate
new study
Mar 27, 2022 10:50 AM CDT

Now We Know Why Boa Constrictors Don't Suffocate

They can shift their breathing to different areas of their body while eating

(Newser) - Scientists and snake fans have long wondered how exactly boas and other constrictors can ingest massive prey without suffocating. Biomechanics researcher John Capano of Brown University found the answer somewhere in the 200-plus pairs of ribs that run the length of a boa’s body, reports NPR News. In new...

Here's How to Thwart the USPS From Its Mission

An 8-foot boa constrictor on this Kansas mailbox seemed to do the trick

(Newser) - Rain, snow, sleet, even barking dogs are fine, but a Kansas postal worker had to draw the line when he found an eight-foot-long red tail boa constrictor draped over a mailbox. The letter carrier was delivering mail Friday in Overland Park, a Kansas City suburb, when he spotted the huge...

Car Owner Checks Fluids, Finds High Levels of Snake

And police sound a little too cheeky about having to retrieve the boa constrictor

(Newser) - There are days when all the stoplights turn green, and then there are the days where you go to jumpstart your car and hear an ominous rattle : An unidentified resident of Stoughton, Mass., was having the latter sort of day when they went to check their fluids and found a...

Massive Snake Falls From Ceiling Onto Sleeping Man

The central New York man got a rude awakening

(Newser) - A central New York man got a rude awakening when a large snake fell from his bedroom ceiling and landed on him while he slept, per the AP . The state Department of Environmental Conservation says one of its officers responded to a call on June 29 from a man who...

School's Out! (On Account of MIA 9-Foot Boa)

Kids sent home as 70lb snake goes missing in St. Louis; officials find her in the floor

(Newser) - Around 400 students at a suburban St. Louis school got part of the day off Friday after a 9-foot-long boa constrictor wriggled out of her aquarium, setting off a frantic search. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that a teacher alerted officials at Brentwood high and middle schools of the escape...

Boa Constrictor Wraps Around Ohio Woman, Bites Her Nose

Unnamed woman was rescued by firefighters

(Newser) - Firefighters have rescued an Ohio woman after a boa constrictor wrapped around her neck and began biting her face, reports the AP . The unnamed 45-year-old Sheffield Lake woman called 911 Thursday afternoon asking for help, reports the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram . The boa constrictor was one of two snakes she had rescued...

Daredevil's 'Very Peculiar' Death Leaves Cops Perplexed

For one, they have no idea what happened to Misty the boa constrictor

(Newser) - "I still have lots of questions," New York State Park Police Detective Sgt. Brian Nisbet tells the Niagara Gazette . For one thing, where is Misty the 7-foot-long boa constrictor? Nisbet is investigating the April 19 death of daredevil Kirk Jones, who was in his early 50s. Jones went...

How Boa Constrictors Really Kill Their Prey

They cut off a prey's blood flow, which kills in minutes

(Newser) - Most people think constrictors like boas and anacondas squeeze the air out of their prey with their muscular coils. And most people are wrong, according to a new study that offers an entirely different theory. Dickinson College researcher Scott Boback explains that colleague Dave Hardy first noticed two decades ago...

Woman Goes to Plunge Toilet, Gets Angry Boa Constrictor

Giving her the fright of her life

(Newser) - Stephanie Lacsa was in the bathroom at her San Diego office Tuesday when she noticed the toilet water was a bit higher than usual. She grabbed a plunger, only to discover what she says is "every person's worst nightmare": a 5-foot boa constrictor sliding out of the toilet,...

Boa Constrictors Found Beside Playground

East London parents 'terrified' at sight of snakes

(Newser) - Talk about unwelcome visitors: Two 8-foot boa constrictors were spotted in an east London park last week and drew a small crowd when police came to remove them, the BBC reports. The snakes, which can grow to 18 feet, were spotted by "terrified parents" beside the park's playground...

There's a 20-Foot Snake in a New Jersey Lake

Boa constrictor spotted a dozen times

(Newser) - Move over, Nessie: There's a deadly monster in New Jersey's biggest lake, and there's no sign that this one's a hoax. A boa constrictor between 15 and 20 feet long has been spotted about a dozen times in Lake Hopatcong, CBS New York reports. One couple...

Snake Nips Model's Breast, Dies of Silicone

Youch

(Newser) - Fangs a lot. An amorous boa constrictor nipped Israeli model Orit Fox's breast during a salacious tete-a-tete and ended up dead—from silicone poisoning. Fox's teasing tongue play with her slithering pal on Spanish TV turned to horrified screams as the snake sunk his fangs into her left boob, reports...

Snake's 'Virgin Birth' Results in Odd Offspring

Mom has 22 little ones, without help from a dad

(Newser) - A female boa constrictor has produced not just one baby born by immaculate conception, but rather two litters totaling 22 little miracles. Stranger still, the baby snakes have some very unusual traits. Instead of having the X and Y chromosomes like humans, snakes have Z and W chromosomes—ZZ produces...

Man Finds 4-Foot Snake Under Hood of Car

He has no idea how it got there

(Newser) - How's this for car troubles: A Massachusetts man found a four-foot-long boa constrictor curled around the engine of his car. Neighbors reported seeing the snake under a car yesterday afternoon, My Fox Boston explains. When police investigated, they found the snake clutching the engine for warmth; it took 30 minutes...

Pet Boa Constrictor Kills Owner
Pet Boa Constrictor
Kills Owner
Jun 11, 2010 1:43 AM CDT

Pet Boa Constrictor Kills Owner

Cops pry animal from owner's neck

(Newser) - A suburban Omaha man was strangled by his pet boa constrictor in his home as he was showing off the snake to a friend. Cory Byrne, 34, died in a local hospital just hours after cops and paramedics pried the 9-foot snake from his neck. The snake is being held...

16 Stories