Six-foot albino Burmese python found in Chilliwack woods

A six-food albino Burmese python was found in the woods near Chilliwack three days ago.

The snake, believed to be someone’s pet, was covered in mites, malnourished and dehydrated when it was discovered, and is now being nursed back to health by a veterinarian in Maple Ridge.

A family found the snake and brought it in to Dewdney Animal Hospital.

Dr. Adrian Walton can only hold the snake in his care for about six to nine months, and if he can’t find a new home for it, it will have to be euthanized.

“She was basically abandoned in the woods up near Chilliwack,” said Walton. “She was probably not well taken care of prior to being dumped off, and we know because she came with these little black specks and these are actually mites.”

“And since mites are species-specific, we know that these would have been on her before she got abandoned.”

Walton also said she was probably kept in too small a cage, because she has a small wound on the front of her face.

It is illegal to own a Burmese python under the Controlled Alien Species Act in British Columbia, because they can get 18 feet long and can weigh up to 150 pounds.

“It does get a little bit bigger than the average person is willing to keep in their home,” said Walton.

Call the Dewdney Animal Hospital at (604) 467-1161 if you have any information about the snake.