BIDDEFORD — A Biddeford resident received a slithering surprise Tuesday afternoon, when a 5-foot red-tailed boa constrictor was found curled up on the porch of a residence at 68 High St. in the city’s downtown.

“Around 2 p.m. we got a call that there was a snake curled up on the porch,” Dep. Police Chief JoAnne Fisk said Wednesday morning.

The snake, also known as the common boa, was taken to the Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk, where its owner may pick it up, Fisk said.

The Southern Maine Animal Welfare Group posted a photo of an animal control officer holding the trespassing reptile on Tuesday afternoon.

On Wednesday, the group updated its post to say the snake had been reunited with its owner.

“Sushi the snake has been returned to its owner. Thank you for all the shares and likes to help spread the word and get owner and pet back together,” the post reads.

The snake, which is legal to keep as a pet in Maine, is native to parts of Central and South America, and some other tropical areas. 

This isn’t the first shocking snake discovery in Biddeford in recent years.

In August 2016, a woman checking on a vacant house on Sky Oaks Drive found a 3-foot python in the residence. The snake, a legal ball python, was retrieved by the Maine Warden Service to be returned to its owner.

In November 2015, a 11-foot albino Burmese python was seized from an apartment by game wardens. Unlike ball pythons, it is illegal to possess Burmese pythons in Maine.

— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or abennett@journaltribune.com.