Escaped Thamnophis turns up in Neuss
Text: Anke DREIER and Jennifer REJCHEL
Images: Anke DREIER
On Tuesday, 19 August, a video of a Thamnophis in a garden in Neuss appeared on Facebook via Eichhörnchenrettung Neuss/Krefeld e.V. (Squirrel Rescue Neuss/Krefeld). Anke DREIER was made aware of it relatively quickly when she was tagged in the video. The somewhat shaky video clearly showed a Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis ‘Flame,’ and Anke immediately contacted the finder, Sandra LEYDHECKER.
As reported by the Neuß-Grevenbroicher Zeitung on 21 August, the finder became aware of the Thamnophis because the neighbour’s cat was ‘playing’ with it. At the same time as posting the video on Facebook, she called the fire brigade because she did not know what kind of snake it was and thought it might be poisonous. Admittedly, given the animal’s bright colours, this was not a bad idea at first glance.
Anke acted quickly and called the squirrel rescue service. She got contact to the person who had found the animal while the fire brigade was still at the scene, so she was able to explain what kind of animal it was and offered to pick up the Thamnophis straight away, which the fire brigade gratefully accepted.
Anke’s son drove straight there and was able to collect the animal from the fire station.
The animal turned out to be a very thin, approximately two-year-old male that had been injured by the cat. The animal was in really bad shape. Anke tried to administer a little first aid while she found out who the animal had run away from, but the chances were really bad.
But our Anke wouldn’t be our Anke if she hadn’t found out where the animal belonged, so the owner was able to pick up his animal again on Wednesday, 20 August. In fact, it had already been on the run for a week before the cat attack.
Unfortunately, the animal was found dead in the terrarium on 21 August. Presumably, the stress was simply too much for the animal, and who knows what else it had to endure outside that week besides the cat. The male had several scratches and a piece of its tail was missing. So, despite Anke’s courageous efforts, we are unfortunately unable to deliver a happy ending.