17-02-2025
Grocery worker find venomous snake in a box of bananas. The snake is doing great.
A southern New Hampshire grocery store worker found more than produce in a recently delivered shipment, and instead opened a package containing a venomous stowaway.
An employee at Market Basket in Manchester, New Hampshire found a snake inside the package, according to Mack Ralbovsky, the Vice President of Rainforest Reptile Shows. Rainforest Reptile Shows hosts presentations about reptiles and took the snake into its custody after the store called officials.
The snake was found either Friday or Saturday, according to Ralbovsky and the New Hampshire Fish and Game Law Enforcement Division and Operation Game Thief, who first posted about the snake on Sunday morning.
According to the division, the store employee found the snake in a banana shipment.
'The hitchhiker turned out to be an Ornate Cat-eyed Snake, a mildly venomous snake species native to Ecuador,' the division said.
A bite by such a snake is not fatal to humans, but can cause some pain and swelling, said Ralbovsky.
An officer from the division picked up the snake on Saturday, then handed it over to Rainforest Reptile Shows, said Ralbovsky from Rainforest Reptile Shows.
Ralbovsky wasn't able to say where the shipment came from and the grocery store chain did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
'Hitchhiker friend' is doing well in temporary habitat
As of Monday morning, the snake is doing great, Ralbovsky wrote in an email to USA TODAY. The snake has a temporary habitat while the organization works with its nonprofit, RRS Oasis, to create a permanent space for it.
The nocturnal species eats mainly lizards and frogs, he added. The organization plans to either adopt a specialty diet for the snake or try to get the snake to eat small, frozen thawed mice.
'We are asking for monetary support to assist in creating a more naturalistic and suitable space for our new hitchhiker friend,' Ralbovsky wrote, adding that the agency houses over 300 reptiles, birds and more.
The organization often works with animals that were previously owned illegally, confiscated by law enforcement, or neglected or abused, he said.
Among the animals RRS Oasis and Rainforest Reptile Shows houses, over 60 of them are venomous reptiles like the one found at the grocery store. They house snake species such as cobras, rattlesnakes, taipans and vipers, the agency said in its post Sunday.
'Every single one comes from situations like this, rescued with the help of law enforcement,' the organization wrote on Facebook. 'We work to rehabilitate and improve their health, giving them the best life possible.'
What to know about Ornate Cat-eyed Snakes
The Ornate Cat-eyed Snake can be found throughout the Chocoan lowland, foothills of the Andes, as well as in areas such as eastern Panama, Colombia and Ecuador and northern Peru, according to
The snakes can live in multiple ecosystems such as rainforests, seasonally dry forests and pastures. They are commonly found along marshes, swamps and lagoons, the website reported.
According to the website, the snakes are "calm and rarely attempt to bite" but when they do bite, humans experience intense pain, edema and hemorrhagic blistering. The snakes are also known for emitting a foul-smelling odor.
Snake may stay with rescue organization or become an ambassador
Ralbovsky said the snake will stay with Rainforest Reptile Shows and RRS Oasis from here on out.
The snake may also be helpful when training officers on how to safely work with 'dangerous reptile species,' he wrote. 'It may go to an accredited zoo or aquarium to be put out on display and teach about the natural world as an ambassador to (its species). '
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@
